Fantasy enthusiasts can certainly be a panicky bunch. One of the kids in the NFL.com fantasy forums was worried that FB Mike Tolbert was going to take goal-line carries away from Ryan Mathews.

And there have been recent reports that the Chargers really like Tolbert. I’ve read them, but do not believe that Tolbert is going to be taking anything away from Mathews. But just to be sure, I reached out to NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks who has spent some time with the Chargers this year.

Brooks said that the Chargers did work Tolbert in some “jumbo packages” earlier this year, but that was before Mathews had signed with the team. So it would be hard to imagine Tolbert taking carries away from the player who the Chargers jumped up the draft boards to get.

If you watched the way Mathews ran against the Bears in the Chargers’ first preseason game Saturday, he is the perfect type of guy to run the ball at the goal line. Mathews is also pretty good catching the ball out of the backfield.

Put your fears away, people. Mathews is still worthy of a No. 1 pick.

– Adam Rank

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