After two weeks Latavius Murray is a top-15
fantasy running back with double-digit receptions.
Grab a Helmet
Matt
Jones @ NYG (Thursday):My
Week 1 endorsement of Jones seemed both brazen and misguided,
especially after his six-carry, 28-yard dud of a professional
debut. Turns out that endorsement was only slightly premature.
The stud rookie from Florida went nuts in the Week 2 win over
St. Louis, rushing for 123 yards on 19 carries and two scores.
He even found time to catch three passes (for 23 more yards),
something his cohort Alfred Morris has accomplished only thrice
in three seasons and change. Jones will continue to share touches
with his backfield mate and this definitely limits his overall
value. However, he’s much bigger, more athletic, slightly faster,
and definitely more versatile than the sixth round pick-turned-meal
ticket, Morris. Oh, and he’s probably the primary goal-line back.
NFL coaches don’t get paid to leave their best players on the
sidelines. Expect steadily increasing doses of Jones moving forward.
Latavius
Murray @ CLE: Murray’s someone I’ve really never given
much thought to. I’ve never owned him because that would entail
watching the Raiders. I’ve never watched him because…well, same
reason. Most importantly, I’ve never been beaten by him, so he
hasn’t made the lasting impression only a fantasy foe could make.
All of that is subject to change this year (except for that whole
“watching the Raiders” part) as Murray grows into his role as
Oakland’s primary ball-carrier. He’s big, young, fast, a capable
receiver, and has virtually no competition for touches. The only
thing that puts a lid on his potential is that he could see precious
few touches when his squad is on the business end of a blowout
(as they were in Week 1). They won’t get blown out Sunday by a
Browns team that, conveniently, happens to sport the league’s
worst run defense. Start him.
Le’Veon
Bell @ STL: Supposing you could bet on things like
“Who will lead all running backs in fantasy points through Week
2,” what kind of odds would DeAngelo Williams have fetched? 100
to 1? 1,000 to 1? 10,000 to 1? If there’s a poster child for the
crazy and expectation-shattering start to the 2015 campaign, it’s
definitely the pink-haired substitute for the suspended Bell.
And it’s not really close. Williams has been nothing short of
a revelation as Pittsburgh’s primary rock toter (41 carries, 203
yards, and three scores) and probably has some fantasy GMs questioning
where Bell fits in come Week 3. Here’s how Mike Tomlin cleared
that up on Tuesday: “I’m going to play Le’Veon Bell.” Well, OK
then. Tomlin was short on specifics but here’s my guess: Bell
gets 90-95% of the work and Williams becomes basically unusable
for fantasy GMs. Thanks for the memories, DeAngelo.
Grab a Gatorade
LeGarrette
Blount v. JAX: Tomlin welcomes back his suspended meal
ticket with open arms. Bill Belichick welcomes back his with the
NFL equivalent of shrugged shoulders (two clock-sapping carries).
LeGarrette who? I guess that’ll teach us to trust the diabolically
untrustworthy Belichick, huh? Dion Lewis plays Lou Gehrig to Blount’s
Wally Pipp for now, but if we know one thing about the Hoodie,
it’s this: He values winning about a million percent more than
he values anything else on earth and when Blount gives him the
best chance to win, he’ll absolutely play more. When will that
happen? Hey, I’m a fantasy columnist, not a fortune teller. Bottom
line: I still like Blount’s chances of ending up a valuable commodity
at some point this year (it’s a long season), but guessing when
that will happen is a fool’s errand. Keep him reserved for now
and wait for something to change.
Justin
Forsett v. CIN: I wasn’t crazy about Forsett’s prospects
before the season started, reasoning he might be overvalued after
a breakout 2014. Through two weeks, that hesitation appears to
be justified. He hasn’t been terrible in the Ravens’ two losses,
but Baltimore seems to have him on a pitch count (14 carries in
Week 1 and 15 in Week 2) and that’s a natural barrier to big-time
production. It basically means he needs to score lots of touchdowns
or augment his bottom line with lots of passing game touches.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the build to command a lot of red-zone
looks (Lorenzo Taliaferro already stole one) and has only grabbed
eight passes for a paltry 25 yards in two games. Forsett will
have some good days this year, sure, but he’s simply not an RB1
and is barely an RB2 when the matchup stinks. It does this weekend.
Ameer
Abdullah v. DEN: Abdullah’s first professional carry,
a 24-yard TD scamper, had to feel like sweet validation for those,
unlike myself, who believed him to be a breakout candidate heading
into the season. Since then, he’s only touched it 17 other
times to the tune of 88 total yards and hasn’t added another
score. That’s not a bad yards-per-touch ratio, granted,
but if you take out that initial jaunt, he’s the fantasy
equivalent of Ryan Mathews, Darren McFadden, or Charles Sims.
Plus, 18 touches in two contests doesn’t really scream “breakout
candidate,” does it? Abdullah’s going to get plenty
more chances to prove me wrong the next several months, and it’s
quite possible he’ll do exactly that. Against a stifling
and well-rested Broncos defense this Sunday, though? I’d
say he’s most likely to continue being who I think he is
for now. Sit the rook down.
