RADIO
We are past midseason and we have seen just about everything to be seen from the running back position. The Washington backup RBs, Darrel Young and Roy Helu, have combined for six touchdowns over the past four weeks. And Eddie Lacy is doing what he is expected to do in carrying the running game for an NFL team that desperately needed someone to step up-- Lacy leads all NFL running backs in rushing yards with 446 over the past four weeks.
But not everything has been positive. Several high-draft-pick running back have just about lost the majority-- if not all-- of their fantasy football value. Since being traded from the Browns to the Colts in September, Trent Richardson has stunk it up in every way, shape and form. The Colts keep winning, but not on the legs of T-Rich. In his latest outing, he managed 20 yards on the ground, which is putrid for an NFL running back. Ray Rice has been less-than-relevant as a RB, and is rushing at almost two fewer yards per carry than his career average .
This week we will take a look at the distribution of running back carries for the Titans, Bills and Steelers, and what the future holds for those running back depth charts in Week 10 and beyond.
NFL Running Back (RB) Updates - Week 10
Tennessee Titans Running Backs (RBs) - Chris Johnson, Shonn Greene, Jackie Battle
The Tennessee Titans relied heavily on the legs of Chris Johnson in their latest win against the St. Louis Rams. He had his best game of the season, racking up 150 yards on 23 carries to go along with two touchdowns. Johnson has shared a small portion of his carries at various times with Shonn Greene and Jackie battle, both capable backups. Shonn Greene has played sparingly but his fresh legs could play a bigger role as the season rolls along. The Titans have said that they'd like to get Greene more touches, up to 15 a game, and he also received a handful of goal-line carries last week. The Titans have a tough schedule coming up that features the Colts twice, the Broncos and the Cardinals, however they have two games with the Jags and the second matchup is Week 16 (Championship Week in many leagues). Contingent upon how the season shakes up, all three RBs should be monitored closely. At this point CJ2K is the only back worth starting weekly, as he is currently receiving 74% of the total carries, while Greene and Battle total about 26% combined. Greene can be started as a flex option in deeper leagues for the right matchups, as he will most likely be getting the goal-line carries in addition to his 10-15 touches.
| |
Carries |
% |
|
Chris Johnson |
138 |
74% |
|
Jackie Battle |
35 |
19% |
|
Shonn Greene |
14 |
7% |
Buffalo Bills Running Backs (RBs) - Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller, Tashard Choice
Fred Jackson has been a pleasant surprise for his owners, racking up six rushing touchdowns so far. The emergence of Jackson as a starting RB has led Spiller owners to be wary of starting Spiller week-in and week-out. Spiller has a long history of injuries, and was fighting an ankle sprain for the past few weeks, but had a nice game in Week 9. In addition to Jackson dominating the running game, he has held his own in the passing game. Currently fourth on the team with 28 receptions and 245 yards receiving, he totals 747 total yards rushing and receiving. Despite Jackson's on-field performance, Spiller's ability is no doubt there, and he is a definite buy-low candidate. Unlike Jackson, Spiller has the ability to break free and rip off yardage in large chunks. Spiller has had huge runs this season of 46 yards, 54 yards and last week 61 yards. These bursts keep him from receiving the heavy volume of carries fantasy owners prefer to see. The wildcard RB here is Tashard Choice, who will be expected to take handoffs in bulk should either of these RBs go down, but Choice has no value with a healthy Buffalo backfield. The Bills are 3-6 and their QB situation is a mess. With a BYE coming up Spiller is a buy-low candidate. There is a lot of promise with their schedule that favors RBs including Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville immediately after the BYE.
|
Carries |
% |
|
|
Fred Jackson |
117 |
47% |
|
C.J. Spiller |
102 |
41% |
|
Tashard Choice |
32 |
13% |
Pittsburgh Steelers Running Backs (RBs) - Le'Veon Bell, Felix Jones, Jonathan Dwyer
Five games into his NFL career, rookie RB Le’Veon Bell is looking like he can maintain the role of a true starting NFL running back. The Steelers have a plethora of running backs that have had their opportunity to handle a full workload; none besides Bell has emerged, and none has the ability to maintain the workload. Through five games Bell has rushed 80 times for 282 yards and three touchdowns. The Steelers are struggling at 2-6, but they have always committed to running in order to establish the passing game. While the Steelers have continued to give Bell the bulk of the workload, Jonathan Dwyer has made the most of his carries. He has only received 15% of the team carries, but that number may increase as the complementary back to Bell. The problem is that he’s averaging two carries per game over the last five (since Bell’s arrival). Bell is the exclusive running back in Pittsburgh, although that may shift a bit as we approach the final quarter of the season if Pittsburgh keeps losing. The Steelers close out the season with @Baltimore, Miami, Cincinnati, @Green Bay and Cleveland.
| |
Carries |
% |
|
Le'Veon Bell |
80 |
53% |
|
Felix Jones |
31 |
21% |
|
Jonathan Dwyer |
23 |
15% |
|
Other |
16 |
11%
|
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In case you missed them, here are some other RotoBaller Week 10 articles. Let’s win some leagues!
- Going Bonkers – Week 10 Sleepers for Fanduel
- Week 10 Fantasy Football Rankings - Standard and PPR Leagues
- Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups - Tight Ends (TE)
- Week 10 Waiver Wire – Wide Receivers (WR) & Defenses (DEF)
- Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups – Quarterbacks (QBs)
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire – Running Backs (RBs) for Week 10
- Week 10 Waiver Wire Running Backs (RB) – Overlooked Players
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