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Colby Cavaliere | Archive | Email |
Staff Writer


The Shot Caller's Report - Running Backs
Your Guide To Fantasy Lineups: Week 17
12/27/18
QBs | RBs | WRs


Bye Weeks:
N/A

Dalvin Cook

In a wacky week, you might consider starting Cook against the best fantasy defense against RBs.

Grab a Helmet

Dalvin Cook vs CHI: Since the change in offensive coordinators the Vikings have truly made Dalvin Cook the focal point of the offense. He’s averaging 19 touches a game over the last two weeks in decisive wins over Miami and Detroit. The run game has allowed play action passes to be more effective and eliminated some of the game changing mistakes in the passing game. Cook and the Vikings host the Bears this week in a “win and in” scenario, so I expect Minnesota to play inspired at home. Teams have had some marginal success in the 2nd half of the season running on Chicago’s defense and they may be sitting some defensive starters as well.

Melvin Gordon @ DEN: In his return from a multi-week knee injury, Gordon was the only Charger offensive player to contribute against Baltimore. With the passing game completely bottled up, Gordon was still able to return fantasy value with 54 total yards and a touchdown. LAC still has an outside shot at winning the division so expect this team to go all out in the final regular season game. Denver’s run defense got absolutely mauled Monday night against Oakland, and make for a prime “get healthy” spot for the Chargers offense. Gordon has been as reliable as they come all year, so don’t hesitate now!

James Conner/Jaylen Samuels vs CIN: It looks like Conner is on track to return after practicing in full on Wednesday. The Steelers have skewed pass heavy all season and I don’t see that changing much this week. They really should be able to control this game from the outset, and I do think both backs will produce in this game. Samuels has proven his versatility the past few weeks, and barring a setback, Conner should be fired up to return to form. Conner might be a bit of a risk for an in-game reinjury, but watch practice closely this week. It’s all-hands-on-deck for a must-win game. Conner is a RB2 with upside, and Samuels could be worth a FLEX start.

Grab Some Pine


Joe Mixon vs PIT: Try as he might, Mixon just hasn’t been able to carry this offense by himself. With the starting quarterback, and both starting receivers gone for the year Mixon is the only offensive threat and defenses know it. Combine that with the fact that the Bengal defense puts the team in negative game scripts, you have a terrible mix of circumstances for the 2nd year back. By some absolute miracle Mixon has been able to keep up RB1 numbers for most of the final quarter of the season, but things have caught up to this offense, and that severely limits his ceiling.

Doug Martin @ KC:
Don’t let last Monday night fool you. Martin has been only a marginal fantasy option for most of the year, and despite a decent output against the Chiefs the last time they played, this game is in KC with a lot on the line. The Raiders played inspired football last week in possibly the last game in Oakland against a dead in the water Denver team. The Raiders are ripe for a letdown and despite their recent struggles, the Chiefs should win this one easily. Martin will need a touchdown to be relevant, as I don’t think the game script will allow for much yardage.

Chris Carson vs ARI: Carson and the Seahawks run game have been tearing things up as of late, and oddly enough, this is the reason why I don’t like Carson as a high end option this week. Despite what Pete Carroll says, Seattle has nothing to gain in this game, and I honestly don’t expect the starters to play into the 2nd half. Seattle should be able to build a solid lead and let rookie Rashaad Penny absorb most of the carries. Maybe Carson does enough with limited snaps to net some production, but there are other places to look.



Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers