Running Back

Rashaad Penny: 2020 Dynasty Profile

I wrote about Penny back in February, but a lot has changed since then. The Seahawks selected Penny out of San Diego State with the 27th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Coming into the NFL, Seattle expected Penny to fill their starting running back position. Dynasty drafters flocked to Penny, and some spent the 1.02 rookie pick on Penny, behind Saquon Barkley at the 1.01.

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Devy Profile Kenneth Gainwell

Devy Profile: Kenneth Gainwell

The Memphis Tigers have produced some very dynamic players over the last three years. Darrell Henderson, Tony Pollard, and Antonio Gibson are in the NFL with the potential to be home-run threats for their teams at the running back position. The most potential impactful player at the next level from Memphis is eligible for the NFL Draft after the 2021 season. His name is Kenneth Gainwell. Gainwell is 5’11” 191 and a former three-star recruit. Gainwell was a wildcat quarterback in high school and rushed for 4,730 yards on 501 attempts. He was recruited by Arkansas State, Idaho, Ole Miss, and Tulane. Ultimately, Gainwell decided to play for the Memphis Tigers. He started his career at Memphis with a few carries but was ultimately red-shirted as a freshman.

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Damien Williams Opt-Out: Rapid Reaction

The likely Kansas City Chiefs starting running back, Damien Williams, has opted out for the 2020 NFL seasons due to COVID-19 concerns. He will sit the season out but who can blame him? The NFL players are just like you and me. They need to think of their families and themselves before anything else if that’s what they think is best.  From a fantasy/dynasty football perspective, this feels like the first “opt-out” seriously impacting our little world and deserves some attention.

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ACC Devy Spotlight: Javian Hawkins

In the next few years, some very talented running backs will be declaring for the NFL Draft. When they declare, it is anyone’s guess with everything up in the air during the worldwide pandemic. While players like Chubba Hubbard, Travis Etienne, and others get the spotlight because of their talents, other talented running backs remain under the radar. This ACC Devy Spotlight will turn the focus on Louisville running back Javian Hawkins.

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Austin Ekeler: 2020 Dynasty Profile

Austin Ekeler: Los Angeles Charger and defier of the odds. The UDFA out of Western State blew the top off every fantasy analyst’s big board last year by finishing as the RB4. Oh, and he shared the load with Melvin Gordon from weeks 5 onward. He was electrifying every step of the way finishing second among running backs in both catches and receiving yards, plus finishing number one in yards per touch. Ekeler makes his living in PPR leagues due to his ability in the passing game, both as a reliable check-down and a threat out of the backfield where he played 30% of his snaps. How good is he as a receiver? Since 2017, Ekeler is the number one receiving back in the NFL ranked by PFF at 94.2. Numbers two and three on that list? Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara. Enough said.

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Derrick Henry Contract Extension: Rapid Reaction

Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans have come to an agreement that will keep the bruising running back in town for years to come. First reported by Ian Rapaport, the deal got done just an hour before the 4:00 P.M EST deadline for teams to sign franchise-tagged players to long term deals. While the exact details have yet to be disclosed, we know via Adam Schefter that the deal is a 4-year, $50 million contract with $25.5 million guaranteed. This moves him up a spot from the fifth highest-paid running back by average annual value (AAV) in 2020 to the fourth, leapfrogging David Johnson. More importantly for Henry, it moves him up to fourth in total value, just behind Le’Veon Bell at $52.5 million. With the workhorse back staying in Tennessee, what does this mean for the Titans offense?

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Tarik Cohen: 2020 Dynasty Profile

Tarik Cohen: 2020 Dynasty Profile

Cohen came into the NFL as a fourth-round pick in 2017, where he profiled as the pass-catching complement to two-down grinder Jordan Howard. Throughout his three seasons, Cohen has played every game and has increased his receptions year over year. In 2018, Cohen shined as the Bears’ offense found success. He averaged an incredible 10.2 yards/reception and 8.0 yards/target.

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High Upside Late-Round Redraft Targets

In the late rounds of redraft leagues, I’m always hunting for upside. There’s no point in playing it safe and taking boring contributors that provide no opportunity to make a difference or to be league-winners. These four players are an example of what I’m talking about, one at each position. I’m not saying that any of these players will hit, and I would bet against some of them doing so. However, they all have high-end potential. If I’m wrong about one of them, I can cut them after a week or two with little to no harm.

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Phillip Lindsay: 2020 Dynasty Profile

After joining the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2018, Phillip Lindsay quickly wrestled the starting running back job away from fellow rookie Royce Freeman. Lindsay surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons while scoring 17 total TDs. In March, Phillip Lindsay’s hopes of rushing for 1,000 yards in a third straight season were effectively dashed when the Broncos signed Melvin Gordon to a 2 year, $16 million contract. Since entering the league in 2015, Melvin Gordon has functioned as an all-purpose workhorse, averaging over 16 carries per game and tallying at least 55 targets in four straight seasons. Assuming Gordon is given a similar role in Denver, the workload for Phillip Lindsay will be dramatically reduced.

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rookie

DFF Rookie Round Table, Part 5: AJ Dillon

Given AJ Dillon’s massive frame, penchant for stiff arms, and his ability to break tackles and find space against stacked boxes, he seems like the ideal candidate for a massive workload in the coming seasons. He is the exact running back type that the Packers want to pound the rock during the winter months at the Frozen Tundra.

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Dead to Me: Kerryon Johnson

I’ve loved the “Dead to Me” series of articles. It’s provided an excellent way to create redraft content throughout the offseason and take a closer look at the week-to-week effectiveness of one or two players at a time. By going in-depth and zooming in, we can discover how these players have been hurting your fantasy redraft teams for multiple years. After the 2020 NFL Draft, there are a bunch of new players that are now dead to me in redraft. I already looked at Marlon Mack as a primary victim of the NFL Draft. Now, it’s time for another player who’s now dead in my eyes because of the NFL Draft, Kerryon Johnson.

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Dead to Me: Redraft

Have you ever had that feeling of frustration that you can’t shake? These two players make me feel that way. I will never deal with these players again in redraft formats. They’ve both burned me multiple times, and I want no part of them in 2020. I’m not saying that these players are worthless, but I will look for any way to pick someone else in redraft. All ranks are for a PPR format.

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Fantasy Free Agents: Running Backs

In this series, I‘m going to take a look at each offensive position’s free agent class and break them down for potential fantasy production going forward. As disappointing as the free agent quarterbacks were, this group of running backs may present some surprising values. However, one thing I noticed was that there are quite a few teams

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RB Theorem: Rookie Stunner Series – Joseph Addai

Deep within the relevance of a quality offense, a rookie named Addai emerged as the perfect cog to the Peyton Manning machine. This Rookie Stunner Series is based around first round RBs (from 2005-2014) who reached (or clawed) at the 1,200 yards from scrimmage plateau. Also for Dynasty and illustration purposes, I break down how

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RB Theorem | Chpt. IV: Mr. Under-Appreciated

As a kid one my best friends was NFL films. I have revealed this countless times on various podcasts. This was not because I was a total booger eating loser. It was simply by choice. My downtime was spent listening to Steve Sabol’s pontificating intros of epic lore. John Facenda would poetically dialogue over top

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2018 Dynasty Sleepers: RB Edition

Everyone has their own definition of what makes someone a sleeper, breakout, bust, etc., and to each their own. I decided to use Fantasy Football Calculator ADP to identify three players currently being drafted in the 8th round or later who present with immediate and/or long-term value at the running back position. I want players

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Using 2018 Combine Stats to Predict RB Success

With rookie drafts upon us, fantasy and dynasty owners are looking for any edge they can get come draft time. Redraft players are trying to find those mid to late round gems that will put their team over the top and win them a championship. Dynasty owners are trying to decide which players to take

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