Some backfield story lines I’m following today:
- Eagles RBs: My preseason rankings placed Ryan Mathews (RB-21 ADP) at
#40 among RBs, behind RB handcuffs like Spencer Ware, Jerick McKinnon, and
Devontae Booker. Outside of Jamaal
Charles and Adrian Peterson, he was the most overrated RB on my draft
board. Yesterday the Eagles carried the
ball 30 times; Mathews accounted for only two of them, losing five yards in the
process. Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon
Barner ran the ball far better. Whether
his absence was due to poor play or an ankle injury—or possibly both—it would
be foolish to think that Mathews will be the lead back in Week 4. This is, at minimum, a time-share backfield
going forward, with Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner serving as terrific speculative
waiver pickups.
- Broncos RBs: On Sunday I warned of four hugely overrated Week 3
RBs. As it turned out, I couldn’t have
been more wrong about two of them, as LeSean McCoy and Carlos Hyde defied my
version of common sense, finishing in the top two in RB fantasy scoring. My other two picks—C.J. Anderson and Matt
Forte—proved to be unstartable. Forte’s
unsustainable numbers aside, Anderson’s YPC has dipped from 4.6 to 3.7 to
2.6. While Devontae Booker hasn’t done
much better, heading into Week 3 Anderson’s workload concerned me. If Denver can keep him at about 20 touches a
game, great. If he starts pushing 25+
regularly (400+ over a season), then Booker’s stock will rise.
- Buccaneers RBs: Charles Sims left the injured Doug Martin (3.4 YPC)
in the dust on Sunday, posting top 10 fantasy RB numbers while earning a
healthy 19 touches. My concerns about
Martin (288 carries in 2015 after two injury-plagued seasons) continue to
grow. I’d rather spend a WR3 on Sims
than a WR2 on Martin. Surely Sims won’t
become the lead back when Martin is healthy.
But the latter is a bigger health risk than most realize.
- Giants RBs: My pick to assume the Giants’ lead RB role this season—Paul
Perkins—was invisible yesterday.
Instead, Shane Vereen and Orleans Darkwa dominated. So now I have to decide whether to hold
Perkins for a couple more weeks to see if one of these two falter. For now, Rashad Jennings is to this week from
Jeremy Langford was a week ago; if you’re holding onto the 31-year-old, trade
him before he’s nearly worthless.
- Bears RBs: I’m been talking up Langford’s decline for weeks. Yesterday his injury, combined with Jordan
Howard’s great play, all but bury Langford’s fantasy value in the near term—and
possibly for the rest of the season.
Whether or not Langford can play Week 3, this is now Howard’s backfield
until/unless he relinquishes it.