In the grand tradition of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, here is an examination of how injuries affected the defensive back position in 2012 and the ramifications for 2013. Please do not misunderstand me; this article will by no means be regarded as one of the most important works of world literature or considered epic in scale. It is pretty dang long, though, and therein lays the comparison to the 1869 classic by Tolstoy.
The defensive back position may have been the hardest hit by injuries for Individual Defensive Player (IDP) purposes in 2012, making an already tricky group to maneuver fantasy wise on a yearly basis even more so.
There is a reason why my esteemed colleague Gary Davenport suggests waiting on drafting defensive backs, and that is because they are by nature a confounding group. Toss in the fact that some of the top tier cornerbacks and safeties were injured for extended periods of time, and 2012 was a downright quagmire when searching for consistent fantasy production.
Pinpointing which injuries may affect future fantasy production and which injuries merely hampered a player's performance for last season is crucial when constructing our rankings heading into 2013.
First up will be players that played five games or less last season and what their injuries may mean for fantasy purposes moving forward. This group will often offer up some nice draft day value as owners will simply look at final point totals or three-year averages of points amassed by a player, allowing a gem or two to fall into the savvy owners lap at a great value come draft day 2013.
The Atlanta Falcons placed the franchise tag on cornerback Brent Grimes prior to the 2012 season and then proceeded to get less than one game's worth on their $10.281 million dollar investment. Grimes tore his Achilles tendon in Week 1 after posting six total tackles and would be placed on Injured Reserve.
A scrappy cornerback that isn't afraid to stick his nose in and help stuff the run, Grimes has amassed 253 total tackles, 13 interceptions, and a forced fumble during his six years in the league.
He finished as a Top 10 fantasy scoring cornerback in both 2009 and 2010 utilizing his versatility in being able to line up on the right or left side of the secondary. That versatility will serve him well as he possibly searches for a new team in 2013 and looks to prove that he hasn't lost any speed and effectiveness due to the Achilles injury.
Grimes will turn 30 years old in...