X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

Fooled Me Once, Not Again - Sophomore Running Backs Set to Disappoint

By Keith Allison (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me!  In fact, shame on me so much I should be kicked out of my fantasy league. Just like any human being, fantasy football owners do not like getting fooled twice. If a player burns them, and costs them the chance of winning their league championship - and the prize money and trophy that goes with it - the chances of that same owner drafting the player two years in a row are lower than the chances Drew Brees has of winning the rushing title in 2016.

This column is part one of a four-part series about which second-year players are bound to be busts again for the poor fantasy owners that draft them.  Here are three sophomore running backs set to disappoint fantasy owners again in 2016

Editor's Note: Purchase a full season NFL Premium Pass (including Draft Kit + DFS Premium), and also get MLB Premium + DFS for free through October. Premium DFS lineup picks, expert lineups, tools and more - seven days a week. You can see screenshots of our NFL Premium and MLB Premium and DFS tools. What are you waiting for?

 

Three Sophomore RBs To Avoid

T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars

Alabama running backs have not had it easy the past couple years in the NFL.  Trent Richardson has been a colossal bust, Eddie Lacy has had more trouble staying in shape than avoiding tacklers, and now Yeldon is the latest Nick Saban product whose fantasy value is spiraling downward.

Yeldon had it good in 2015.  More than 50 percent of Jacksonville’s running plays went to him, he had nobody behind him on the depth chart worthy of taking too many touches let alone his job, and he rarely faced eight-man fronts due to Jacksonville’s potent passing attack led by quarterback Blake Bortles.  Yet even though he was the top tailback in one of the more explosive offenses in the AFC, Yeldon managed a mere three touchdowns and only rushed for 740 yards.  He was a fantasy oddity --- a workhorse running back with average weekly outputs.

Once Jacksonville signed bulldozer Chris Ivory in the offseason, the writing was on the wall that Yeldon was not going to have it as good in 2016.  Ivory and Yeldon will probably divide the playing time and split the carries, which means neither will have great fantasy value unless one of them gets hurt.  Yeldon should be a better runner with a year of experience under his belt, but he will likely have to settle with 10 touches per game with Ivory sharing the backfield with him.

 

Matt Jones, Washington Redskins

Not many starting running backs entering the 2016 season have the lack of depth behind them that Jones has.  All he has to contend with is third-down back Chris Thompson and seventh-round draft pick Keith Marshall.  Jones appears to be entrenched as the starting tailback even though he only averaged 3.4 yards per carry and never proved he could stay healthy or hold onto the football during his rookie campaign.

So here is Jones lining up in an offense with the ever-improving Kirk Cousins at quarterback, tight end terror Jordan Reed and a nice mix of veterans and youngsters at wide receiver keeping defenses distracted, and Washington head coach Jay Gruden fully aware of how to utilize his skills, AND Jones has no highly-touted speedster or well-known veteran hanging around to steal his spot.  This sounds like a running back a fantasy owner would want to draft in the first couple rounds, right?

Jones lost four fumbles during his limited action last season, and his action was limited because he would usually get benched after turning the ball over, not to mention he suffered a season-ending hip injury.  And now Jones failed to make it through the preseason unscathed after spraining his shoulder this past weekend.  The man has raised more flags than an official does during a violent soccer match.  Even with the lack of dependable runners behind him on the depth chart, Jones has the makings of being one of the bigger busts of 2016.  He is one of the poster boys for the moniker high-risk/high-reward, and I am not ready to take that risk.

 

Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons

Coleman was supposed to make fantasy owners and Falcons fans forget all about Michael Turner, Steven Jackson and other running backs that had ruled the roost in Atlanta over the past several seasons.  He opened his rookie season as the starter, but the combination of cracked ribs and the electrifying Devonta Freeman made Coleman an afterthought by the time he returned.  Freeman racked up 1,600 combined yards and 14 touchdowns, so he enters 2016 as a top-10 fantasy running back, while Coleman is just his handcuff.

Coleman did not show the pass-catching skills, durability or ball security that Freeman did in 2015, hence why he is the second-stringer.  Coleman is going to have to improve in those areas to prove he deserves to be on the field for more snaps in 2016.  He will be an above-average handcuff because he has starter skills and because he runs on a fast track at the Georgia Dome, but it is difficult to see him as much more with Freeman in his way.

Atlanta’s starting tailback job is Freeman’s to lose.  There is no doubt Atlanta will try to get Coleman a fair amount of touches, if for no other reason than to keep Freeman fresh, but the only way he will be a fantasy factor is if Freeman gets nicked up.  Draft Coleman to be an insurance policy if you already drafted or protected Freeman, but do not bank on Coleman being a fantasy force.

 

NFL & Fantasy Football Chat Room

[iflychat_embed id="c-0" hide_user_list="yes" hide_popup_chat="no" height="400px"]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF