Dave Richard

I'm in the process of doing our annual projections (we get a head start on them before the draft, then tweak them after the draft), and I'm on the Carolina Panthers.

With the club passing on other RB options (aside from LaBrandon Toefield) in free agency, third-year RB DeAngelo Williams is about a month away from being the unquestioned, No. 1 RB for the Panthers. If that happens, Williams would vault into No. 2 Fantasy RB territory with the potential to be a No. 1. Take away any durability reservations you might have on him, and he's virtually a perfect running back. Small, quick, speedy, great field vision, very good hands ... Williams was a huge favorite of mine coming out of Memphis three years ago and I'd like to see him get a real chance to play.

But here's the cherry on top: In 7 games last season where he had at least 10 carries, Williams had at least 4.0 yards per carry in ALL SEVEN. Additionally, he's topped 4.0 yards per carry in 10 of 12 career games with at least 10 rushes -- the two he missed on were games where he averaged 3.9 and 3.7.

Could it be that the Panthers wanted to give Williams' body a 24-month quasi-break after being used so much in college? Could it be that they're ready to rev him up for the 2008 season?

We'll find out next month -- if the Panthers don't draft a running back, then Williams will be the top cat in Carolina.

I'm back in the office today following a six-day visit to Houston, where the fans are RABID about the Texans in 2008.

While I like the Texans a lot, I'd like them better if they were in any other division in football. Because of the strength of the AFC South, it's going to be really hard for Houston to win the division, much less win more than eight games. I think they're going to have to take five-of-six division contests to take the South and play in January. They've done well against Jacksonville in the past but not so much the Colts or Titans. That's got to turn around. Houston knows it -- the rest of their schedule is almost immaterial.

We have new rankings up. As I've been doing all offseason long, here's a look at why who has gone where. You can find the positional rankings here: http://cbs.sportsline.com/fantasy/football/rankings and the top 200 here: http://www.sportsline.com/fantasy/football/rankings/top200. If you like this feature, or have a suggestion on how to improve it, please leave a comment below or email me at: dmfantasyfootball@cbs.com.

The only real change is Brandon Marshall, who cut up his arm in a home accident (a McDonald's bag was reportedly involved) He's slipped out of the Top 15 among receivers and almost the Top 50 overall but is still a No. 2 Fantasy WR on the assumption that he won't have any complications from his injury.

One more: Jason Elam signing with Atlanta. Do not be fooled by Elam's name value and draft him in 2008. Even though he'll play at least nine games in a dome, he's on a team with a lot of problems offensively. I would not expect the normal high output of points from Elam, though he could end up being Atlanta's highest scorer this season (will he score twice as many field goals as Michael Turner runs for?). I wouldn't draft him in a standard 12-teamer.