STU ROSENBERG: Texans' Foster has right moves

With the Injury Fairy back with a vengeance and the few healthy members of my fantasy baseball team feverishly squeezing the Charmin and engaged in a game of "anything you can do poorly I can do 100 times worse," it's time to retreat to my happy place and channel all this manic energy in a more positive direction.

Yes, it's time to talk fantasy football.

The 2011 NFL regular season is set to kick off in little more than three weeks, so let's dive right in with our preseason top 10 players to target on draft day (for a complete, 16-round fantasy football mock draft, go to modbee.com):

1. Arian Foster, RB, Texans: It's tempting to go with Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson here — both will be No. 1 picks in many drafts — but Foster ranks highest on my list for three very simple reasons:

• His run-catch ability — he rushed for an NFL-leading 1,616 yards and 16 touchdowns (also tops in the league) while catching 66 passes for another 604 yards and two TDs in 2010) — is the best kind of scary;

• the Texans' offense is no one-trick pony, with a top-flight passing attack featuring Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Schaub and All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson sure to keep defenses honest and away from those pesky nine-man fronts; and

• Foster will remain on the field on passing downs because he's a key part of Houston's aerial attack.

There's always the risk that Foster could be a one-hit wonder, but there's also the possibility that he could approach, if not improve on, his 2010 numbers, which is why he goes first in my book.

2. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings: Peterson produced the worst statistical campaign of his four-year NFL career in 2010, but the numbers weren't exactly chopped liver (1,298 yards, 12 TDs rushing; 36 rec., 341 yards, TD). Better still, Peterson got a handle on his career long battle with fumble-itus, putting the ball on the ground just once in 283 attempts compared to seven fumbles in 314 carries in '09 and nine cough-ups in 363 rushes in '08.

If Donovan McNabb has anything left and can stretch the field with receivers Percy Harvin and Atwater High grad Bernard Berrian, Peterson will be the biggest beneficiary.

3. Chris Johnson, Titans: Johnson has rushed for 4,600 yards and 34 TDs in his first three NFL seasons, and though his status as one of the NFL's elite backs is unquestioned, there are concerns.

Johnson ran for 1,364 yards (third-best in the AFC) and 11 TDs in 2010 — nice numbers, but more than 600 fewer yards than his 2,006-yard rampage in '09, which included 14 rushing scores. His receiving numbers also fell from 50 catches for 503 yards and two TDs in '09 to 44 catches for 245 yards and one TD.

Johnson was held under 70 yards rushing in eight games thanks largely to the Titans constantly having to play catch-up with a suspect passing game that could be even worse in 2011.

4. Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs: Even this diehard Raiders fan can't ignore Charles' emergence as a big-time back for Kansas City the past two seasons. Coming off a year in which he rushed for 1,467 yards (but only 5 TDs) and added another 468 yards on 45 receptions (including 3 TDs), Charles could be the best dual rushing-receiving threat in the NFL this side of Foster. And it's easy to see him doubling, maybe even tripling, last season's TD output.

5. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers: Some will be reluctant to play the quarterback card this early, but I'd be happy to take the money and run with Rodgers and his 4,000 yards and 30 TDs passing and 300 yards and 5 TDs rushing.