Reggie Bush's Profile at Pro-Football-Reference

Reggie Bush @ Jockbio.com

Power Outtage

Pan down:  Reggie's bush keeps getting better, but his key fantasy stats keep getting worse.  He dominated at the college level, but quickly learned that in the NFL, every team has someone almost as fast as you, with bigger guys that make holes seem smaller.  He is incapable of running the ball between the tackles effectively as you have to be able to last past the first hit in the NFL.  Reggie goes down quickly.

TKO

Bush will go into '09 on a left knee that has experienced a PCL partial tear (four games in 2007), a torn meniscus (4.5 games in week seven of 2008) and an MCL sprain (2.5 games in week 15 of 2008), oh and he had micro-fracture surgery on this knee on January 9^th, 2009.   Since Reggie's game is built on speed and elusiveness, this could spell trouble with a capital Knee.

Reggie does have one thing going for him...his age.  He is 24 years old so coming back from a surgery like that is more likely for him than it would be for a guy that is 4-5 years older.   The headaches he causes opposing defenses with his catches out of the backfield are well-documented.   This is what sustains what little fantasy value he still holds.   If you are in a league that awards points for receptions, our tune changes a bit as those 80-90 catches (assuming a 16 game season) add up to a ton of points.

2009 Fantasy Outlook

What does the risk/reward equation look like for Reggie?   It looks littered with injury potential and not a ton of fantasy points in return (pts per reception leagues withstanding).  He was on quite the role before he went down during week seven in 2008, so it's not like he doesn't have potential.  His next biggest problem (outside of his gimpy knee) is Pierre Thomas, who is doing everything in his power to make the Saints feel stupid about dropping a 2^nd overall pick on Reggie.  Thomas bulked up in the off-season in response to reports that Coach Sean Payton was looking to bring in a short-yardage back for 2009.  Payton called off that search in May.  Pierre is his guy.

This worshipper of Kim Kardashian's shapely backside is looking at third down duty and spending some time in the slot, as he is too talented to limit to third downs only.  It won't be enough touches to justify a starting slot on your team, though.  And even if he's given enough touches, we are confident he can be depended on long term.