Top Week Fourteen Runningbacks
@RJ_Kasper December 12
Doug Martin vs NO ($6200) – Martin is a pretty chalky play this week, but that doesn’t merit a fade. He is facing a 30th overall dvoa defense and I truly believe his team will have the lead in this game. I mentioned in my QB Breakdown that the Saints are banged up on offense, which means their defense will probably be on the field a lot. Their defense is awful. TB could score a lot of points and that could come via Martin. He is a good cash and GPP play. I also believe Sims could be a sneaky GPP play here.
Lesean McCoy @ Phi ($6100) – Just as chalky as Martin, McCoy also has “narrative street” to work with. McCoy hates Chip Kelly for trading him and you can be he’ll have a chip on his shoulder in this game (no pun intended). If any coach in the league would play into a narrative, I believe it would be Rex Ryan. That bodes well for Lesean and those that roster him. I love him in cash and GPP alike. He will be mega chalk, but fun to route for on Sunday.
Deangelo Williams @ Cin ($6000) – I wish his price were slightly cheaper. I don’t hear that many people talking about him, but it is hard to overlook him. He does contribute in the pass game just as well as he runs the ball, making him game-flow independent. Maybe he isn’t quite safe for cash but he is absolutely a strong GPP play. He is old, which is not a good trait when you’re a RB, but on this team it is hard to see him not produce. Even in this “perceived” bad matchup. I think he is an elite GPP pivot while everyone is on the Pit pass attack. In Week 2 everyone was on Big Ben, but it was Deangelo who got 3 TDs and stole the show, could happen again.
Thomas Rawls @ Bal ($5800) – It’s another Rawls week. Not much to divulge here. He is the 3 down back on a run first team against a terrible Bal team. Their D has stepped up recently, but that doesn’t mean much when the O is so banged up. They have no prayer against this Seattle D and that’s the perfect correlation with Rawls.
Lamar Miller vs NYG ($5700) – Everyone knows you attack the Giants through the air, which is fine because Miller catches passes too. He got 20 carries last week for 100 yards and I project him to have around 23 touches this week. Miller has cooled off recently and I hope his ownership stays super low. This is the spot to jump on Miller and watch him explode, especially if there is any rainy weather Monday night. Giants have a bad defense and Miller is due. I almost jumped on last week, but decided to save him for this week. I think it will pay off.
Shaun Draugh @ Cle ($4800) – Another week, another heavy dose of Draughn in my lineups. If you haven’t rostered Draughn in the last 3 weeks, you need to re-evaluate your process (You can tweet me about this @rj_kasper). The guy has caught 22 passes in 4 weeks. He is an every down back and Gabbert has been much better than some other NFL starting QBs (cough, Foles, cough). I have no idea who will win this game, I’ll be honest, but I do know Draughn is a lock for 18+ touches and should have no problem meeting value.
Darren Sproles vs Buf ($3500) – In a slate where I am not too confident in value plays I dig deep for Sproles. Maybe this is chasing points. However, Murray is being benched and Mathews hasn’t been healthy (shocker), leaving Sproles to be the guy. He filled in well last week as the feature back and they rode that to a big upset over NE. Sproles is only GPP for me, especially if Mathews is back. Make sure you monitor the Eagles RB situation this weekend though, before making this big gamble.
Lesean McCoy @ Phi ($6100) – Just as chalky as Martin, McCoy also has “narrative street” to work with. McCoy hates Chip Kelly for trading him and you can be he’ll have a chip on his shoulder in this game (no pun intended). If any coach in the league would play into a narrative, I believe it would be Rex Ryan. That bodes well for Lesean and those that roster him. I love him in cash and GPP alike. He will be mega chalk, but fun to route for on Sunday.
Deangelo Williams @ Cin ($6000) – I wish his price were slightly cheaper. I don’t hear that many people talking about him, but it is hard to overlook him. He does contribute in the pass game just as well as he runs the ball, making him game-flow independent. Maybe he isn’t quite safe for cash but he is absolutely a strong GPP play. He is old, which is not a good trait when you’re a RB, but on this team it is hard to see him not produce. Even in this “perceived” bad matchup. I think he is an elite GPP pivot while everyone is on the Pit pass attack. In Week 2 everyone was on Big Ben, but it was Deangelo who got 3 TDs and stole the show, could happen again.
Thomas Rawls @ Bal ($5800) – It’s another Rawls week. Not much to divulge here. He is the 3 down back on a run first team against a terrible Bal team. Their D has stepped up recently, but that doesn’t mean much when the O is so banged up. They have no prayer against this Seattle D and that’s the perfect correlation with Rawls.
Lamar Miller vs NYG ($5700) – Everyone knows you attack the Giants through the air, which is fine because Miller catches passes too. He got 20 carries last week for 100 yards and I project him to have around 23 touches this week. Miller has cooled off recently and I hope his ownership stays super low. This is the spot to jump on Miller and watch him explode, especially if there is any rainy weather Monday night. Giants have a bad defense and Miller is due. I almost jumped on last week, but decided to save him for this week. I think it will pay off.
Shaun Draugh @ Cle ($4800) – Another week, another heavy dose of Draughn in my lineups. If you haven’t rostered Draughn in the last 3 weeks, you need to re-evaluate your process (You can tweet me about this @rj_kasper). The guy has caught 22 passes in 4 weeks. He is an every down back and Gabbert has been much better than some other NFL starting QBs (cough, Foles, cough). I have no idea who will win this game, I’ll be honest, but I do know Draughn is a lock for 18+ touches and should have no problem meeting value.
Darren Sproles vs Buf ($3500) – In a slate where I am not too confident in value plays I dig deep for Sproles. Maybe this is chasing points. However, Murray is being benched and Mathews hasn’t been healthy (shocker), leaving Sproles to be the guy. He filled in well last week as the feature back and they rode that to a big upset over NE. Sproles is only GPP for me, especially if Mathews is back. Make sure you monitor the Eagles RB situation this weekend though, before making this big gamble.