Looking for this week’s Chase Edmonds? How about a guy in
eerily similar circumstances, an undersized virtual unknown filling
in for a dinged-up starter and facing the same defense Edmonds
embarrassed to the tune of 150 total yards on 29 touches and three
20+ yard scores in Week 7? I didn’t know much about Johnson
(who watches Maryland football?) so I researched his pre-draft
scouting reports and pretty quickly landed upon a common theme:
he’s really, really fast. Johnson wasn’t invited to
the NFL Combine in Indy this year, but reportedly clocked a 4.26
40 at the Terps’ pro day in late March. The best 40 time
at the Combine was 4.29 (Ole Miss safety Zedrick Woods). Speed
isn’t everything, of course, but opportunity is and it knocks
this weekend for Detroit’s other Johnson. If you landed
him off waivers, give him some run..
Of course, there’s no need to look for this week’s
Chase Edmonds if you already have last week’s Chase Edmonds.
Arizona’s super sub became arguably the most famous Fordham
footballer since Vince Lombardi, tormenting a hapless Giants D
all day long and, most likely, many fantasy GMs duped into thinking
David Johnson was actually active. The competition won’t
be as forgiving this coming Sunday and Johnson is presumably a
week healthier, but the Cards also signed Alfred Morris on Wednesday,
That’s a clear signal Johnson may not be ready to resume
his role as Arizona’s primary meal ticket. Even if he is,
Edmonds probably secured a sizeable role in Kliff Kingsbury’s
offense, either as a complement to DJ or as a pass-catching option
(over 25% of his career touches are receptions). I don’t
know how I could sit him down after last week’s explosion
and I won’t.
Patty Mahomes’ ill-fated sneak may have
altered the AFC power structure and certainly causes mass consternation
in fantasy circles, but there might be a silver lining for some.
An offense once powered by Mahomes’ golden right arm might
now lean more heavily on McCoy’s golden oldie legs. Shady
hasn’t been must-start material since being reunited with
Andy Reid (RB31 on a FPts/G basis) and reportedly couldn’t
be trusted in pass protection, but still leads the Chiefs’
RB corps in touches and has easily been the most productive back,
besting ostensible starter Damien Williams on a per-carry basis
by almost four yards. That’s tough to type for someone who
bought all that Williams hype in the pre-season, but we’re
almost halfway through the campaign. It’s time to forget
about pre-season projections and focus on the here and now. McCoy’s
the Chiefs back to be starting now.
The last time Peterson played a game in Minnesota, where he starred
for a decade as Purple Jesus earlier this century, he wasn’t
wearing purple and could be seen openly chirping at New Orleans
coach Sean Payton on the sidelines. Presumably, the future HOF’er
felt disrespected in his Saints debut and appears to have spent
the two-plus years since trying to prove he’s still a viable
NFL running back. Amazingly, and despite what I thought that evening,
he very much is. That doesn’t mean I think this second Minneapolis
reunion is going to go much better than the first one did. AD
will get more carries this time probably, but Washington is in
complete disarray and running into a Vikings buzzsaw that’s
scored almost 100 points the last three games. Oh, and they’ve
only allowed a single TD to opposing backs this season. Reserve
Peterson Thursday.
Only RedZone junkies and those in attendance at Nissan Stadium
likely witnessed the Bolts’ epic goal-line meltdown last
Sunday, but here’s a quick recap: Instead of giving it to
fantasy’s third most productive back or trusting one of
the most reliable QBs in the game, LA instead gave Gordon two
chances to score from a yard away and he failed. Miserably so,
in fact, as he also managed to fumble away the second opportunity
and, with it, the Chargers’ chances of notching a much-needed
road W. To be fair, Gordon is bigger and (theoretically) better
than Austin Ekeler, but he’s done nothing since ending his
holdout to suggest he deserves the kind of payday he’s seeking.
He’s averaging an embarrassing 2.3 YPC and now faces a Chicago
defense yielding only 3.6 YPC (tied for fourth overall). Don’t
press your luck with LA’s disappointing meal ticket.
I talked about the Bucs’ surprisingly stout run defense
prior to Week 6 and they did not disappoint in the Tottenham tussle,
holding Christian McCaffrey to an astonishing 31 yards on 22 carries.
Everything ELSE about the Bucs disappointed that day, yes, but
almost halfway through the 2019 campaign, it’s safe to say
Tampa’s front seven is a force to be reckoned with. They’re
now surrendering fewer than three yards-per-carry (best overall)
and have only allowed two opposing backs to score, CMC and Todd Gurley, heading into Week 8. Henry isn’t on par with those
two guys and he isn’t the multi-dimensional threat they
are, either. Though his floor tends to be higher thanks to consistent
volume and lots of goal-line work, he’s only averaging 3.7
YPC (a career low). Moreover, he isn’t typically on the
field in third-and-longer situations. Consider using a capable
backup.
