It was another one of those weeks where there was a bunch of fantasy running back related news and activity and too much of it wasn’t good. Eagles RB Miles Sanders and 49ers RB Raheem Mostert are set to miss multiple weeks due to injuries and Bengals RB Joe Mixon and Ravens RB Mark Ingram came out of Week 6 with some bumps and bruises that might affect their short-term future production.
Fantasy Alarm will keep you up to date on all the latest breaking fantasy football news as it happens. In the meantime, the following analysis provides a closer look at a few of the NFL backfields that deserve your attention. We hope that it helps you better manage your fantasy football teams.
Dallas Cowboys
Ezekiel Elliott had a Monday night he’d soon like to forget, losing two first half fumbles in what ended up being a crushing defeat for the Dallas Cowboys. Zeke ended up on the Cowboys bench for a bit and watched his backup Tony Pollard record season highs in carries (10) and snaps played (36%). He’s fumbled five times this season, losing four of them. You have to wonder if the pressure of playing behind an inexperienced offensive line, which had always been one of the Cowboys’ strengths, is starting to get to Elliott. His season long yards before contact per rushing attempt is at a career low 2.0 and he’s already dropped three passes. He dropped four all of last season. In using the eye test, he just doesn’t look like the same confident player that we’re used to seeing on the football field. Perhaps a Week 7 matchup against a Washington Football Team against whom he’s scored nine total TDs in seven career games may help Zeke get back some of his mojo. If he has a big Week 7 maybe it might be best to test the waters and see if you can swing a trade where you still get first round trade value back for him. If you can’t, hold onto him. The Cowboys are only one game into the post Dak Prescott era, but this Cowboys offense looks broken.
Detroit Lions
It’s time for Adrian Peterson to pass the torch to D’Andre Swift. With Swift enjoying a Week 6 breakout game in which he rushed for 116 yards and two TDs on 14 carries, he deserves an expanded role in the Lions’ offense. Lions head coach Matt Patricia favors a committee approach and may want to gradually increase Swift’s touches since he’s never had more than 196 carries in his college career, but he’s clearly the best overall RB on the Lions roster. Peterson and Kerryon Johnson both deserve to have a role in the Lions backfield, but Swift has four down potential and can get it done on the ground and through the air. He has enough football smarts to use his ability to read the field and determine what defenses are giving up. That allows him to make adjustments on the fly. There’s no reason why Swift shouldn’t be getting double digit carries on a weekly basis moving forward. There is hope. Swift did have a slight advantage in snaps played (38%) over Peterson (35%) in Week 6. Johnson brought up the rear with 22% snaps played.
Kansas City Chiefs
There’s no way that Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s 161 rushing yard performance on Monday was his last stand. CEH was on pace to have over 1,300 rushing yards and close to 500 receiving yards by the end season and while the addition of Le’Veon Bell should eat into some of his ROS fantasy production, he is still a fantasy relevant RB. Adding Bell was a smart move by the Chiefs. Financially it didn’t cost them much, and his addition provides the Chiefs with a solid one-two punch similar to what the Browns had when both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt were healthy. Bell and CEH complement each other. At 5-7 and 207 pounds, CEH is explosive and elusive. The 6-1, 225lb Bell is a great pass catcher and been very successful at running the ball in the red zone. CEH has just one TD this season and has failed to score on 18 red zone carries. From 2013 to 2017, Bell scored TDs on 20 of his 37 (54%) carries from inside the five-yard line. Bell is also very good at pass protection, a skill that CEH has yet to master. If you’ve been starting CEH every week you can continue to do so in Week 7. Bell will almost surely be active but will likely be a bit limited as he familiarizes himself with the Chiefs’ playbook. Beyond Week 7 no one is completely sure as to how the Chiefs will utilize Bell and CEH but it’s likely that both will continue to have fantasy value. Look for Bell to add much of his value working from the goal line and within the Chiefs passing game. How dangerous is the Chiefs’ offense? They already have one of the best, if not the best, QBs in football guiding their pass attack, and if they ever run into a defense that can stop their pass attack, that defense will have a loaded backfield to deal with.
Los Angeles Rams
There seems to be lots of fantasy players who are upset that Rams head coach Sean McVay hoodwinked them into believing that Cam Akers was going to have an increased role in Week 6’s matchup against the 49ers. As most of you are aware Akers played one snap and had zero carries. Coaches lie. They have to. Believe what your eyes are telling you when you read a Rams box score. Darrell Henderson is the team’s lead back. Cam Akers and Malcolm Brown should be rostered due to the volatility surrounding the RB position but for now, they shouldn’t be in your starting lineup unless you’re in a pinch due to bye weeks.
New York Jets
We should mention that in the first game in the post Le’Veon Bell era rookie RB La'Mical Perine lead the Jets’ backfield with 58% snaps played, followed by Frank Gore with 35% and Ty Johnson with 6%. However, Gore led the way with 11 carries, Perine had seven carries and Johnson had three. Common sense would dictate that Perine’s actual playing time will eventually increase, but that’s up to head coach Adam Gase. Perine seems like a good stash at this point.
San Francisco 49ers
Raheem Mostert is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the dreaded high ankle sprain. With Mostert out in Week 3 and Week 4 Jerick McKinnon had 14 carries in each game and played 62 and 92% of the offensive snaps, respectively. If Tevin Coleman , who has been on the IR with a knee injury, is able to play Week 7 he’d likely get the early down work with McKinnon having a role in passing downs. If Coleman is out Week 7 look for Jamycal Hasty to get some early down work. With Mostert forced out of his Week 6 matchup against the Rams in the third quarter Hasty carried the ball nine times for 37 yards (4.11 YPC).