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Joseph Hutchins | Archive | Email |
Staff Writer


The Shot Caller's Report - Running Backs
Your Guide To Fantasy Lineups: Week 16
12/20/18
QBs | RBs | WRs


Bye Weeks: N/A

Chris Carson

Chris Carson has finished as the RB7 and RB9 the last two weeks and gets a tasty matchup with KC.

Grab a Helmet

Jaylen Samuels @ NO: I’ll be without Aaron Jones for the championship tilt this weekend as the Packers’ dynamo was placed on IR Wednesday following a painfully brief Week 15 performance (sprained knee). That would have left me dangerously thin at RB had James Conner been able to get back on the field for Pittsburgh this Sunday, instantly devaluing Samuels, a Week 15 breakout and my new RB2. As of this writing, however, Conner is highly doubtful, meaning Samuels, who exploded for 142 rushing yards on 19 carries, is once again set to handle a sizeable workload for the Steelers. We can’t expect another 142 at the Superdome and it would actually be foolish to expect even 100. The Saints haven’t allowed a single back to notch triple digits this season. I’m confident the multi-talented Samuels can contribute as a receiver, however, in a game the Steelers need. Start him.

Jamaal Williams @ NYJ: The best news for Aaron Jones owners who nabbed Green Bay’s next man up, Jamaal Williams? Aaron Rodgers has decided to play in the Pack’s final two games. One could hardly blame him or Green Bay’s leadership for wanting to play it safe, but Rodgers was right to keep grinding since he gets paid a lot of money to do exactly that and two games is 13%-ish of a regular season. Williams isn’t the back Aaron Jones is and could really have struggled with Deshone Kizer under center, but he’s a more polished receiver whom Rodgers trusts, holds up well in the red zone, and has very little in the way of competition for carries with Jones on the shelf. The Green and Gold grabbed Kapri Bibbs off the waiver wire Monday, but otherwise have no other running backs on the roster (unless you count fullbacks).

Chris Carson v. KC: Seattle’s got a stable of viable running backs, including a guy they were willing to spend a first round pick on in April’s draft (Rashaad Penny). Yet, with two weeks to go in the season, it’s a guy who was four picks away from being last year’s Mr. Irrelevant who leads the NFL’s most prolific rushing team in all major rushing categories (attempts, yardage, and touchdowns). Carson’s carried the ball twice as often as Penny or Mike Davis, despite missing a couple games, and is coming off back-to-back 22-carry performances which netted him 35+ fantasy points. That’s about as reliable as it gets this time of year. The ‘Hawks kicked away a chance to lock down a playoff berth last Sunday and now get the Chiefs at CenturyLink. You beat KC by keeping Pat Mahomes off the field and Carson’s just the guy to do it.

Grab a Gatorade

Adrian Peterson @ TEN (Sat): AD appeared in this same space just two weeks ago and did not disappoint (did disappoint?) when he tallied a gruesome 16 yards on 10 carries against the Giants. He was better last week against a rugged Jacksonville defense (51 yards on 17 carries) but draws another stingy opponent this Saturday down in Nashville. The Titans are still very much in the playoff hunt and have stoned two RB studs in a row, holding Leonard Fournette and then super-rook Saquon Barkley to a combined 67 yards on 28 carries and no touchdowns. It’s a miracle Washington is sitting at .500 and still competitive minus its top two QBs and most of its pass-catching options, but their faint playoff hopes are likely to be officially extinguished this weekend. If not, I’m officially starting my Jay Gruden for Coach of the Year social media campaign. Peterson sits.

James White v. BUF: It’s been a strange campaign for New England’s jack of all trades. He started off the year ostensibly plugging holes in a short-handed Pats lineup (Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, Julian Edelman, Gronk) but looked like a featured option more often than not. Through the season’s first nine weeks, the diminutive former Badger averaged a stellar 15.2 FPts/G in standard leagues and an eye-popping 22.0 in PPR leagues. Then Gronk and Michel got healthier and Burkhead returned and…before you knew it, White seemed to have become an afterthought. Since Week 10, he’s only averaged 5.7 FPts/G (9.7 PPR). Those are serviceable numbers but not what we’d come to expect. Josh McDaniels knows NE is better with White involved but are we guaranteed an uptick in production with so much on the line in Week 16? I may end up regretting this one, but he’s just too risky.

Kenyan Drake v. JAX: The Dolphins lost Frank Gore early in last week’s loss to the Vikings and Drake owners with fond memories of his late 2017 explosion—he led the NFL in rushing over the final month—had to be rubbing their hands together in excitement. That excitement quickly turned to disbelief, presumably, when rookie Kalen Ballage and not Drake received most of Miami’s carries the rest of the afternoon. Adam Gase was cagey in post-game interviews as to why the rookie Ballage got the nod (“just kind of how it went”), but we can assume it had something to do w/ poor execution and missed assignments. Even Drake admitted as much when he called it his worst game of the year. I’m guessing he touches the football more this Sunday, but the possibility of another quick hook is frightening. The matchup’s not that encouraging either. Sit him down.

Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers