Shawn Siegele breaks down all of his favorite deep stashes and look-ahead waiver options. Plus, a deep dive into an NFC backfield with league-winning potential.
The 2022 season hasn’t been much fun for young RBs as Javonte Williams and Breece Hall go down. D’Andre Swift has been further marginalized as a potential workhorse after suffering shoulder and ankle injuries that have a chronic feel. Those are three of the NFL’s biggest potential stars at RB – the hoped-for next wave. J.K. Dobbins looked to be close but suffered a (hopefully) minor re-injury.
With Najee Harris busting as a talent, and Cam Akers’ combination of injury and personality conflict endangering his NFL career, we’re down to Jonathan Taylor as a big star from the last three classes. Fortunately, Travis Etienne has emerged intact from the Lisfranc injury that wiped out his rookie season. Blair Andrews discussed his fantasy profile in this week’s 1 Big Thing.
This vacuum has created even more relative upside for potential Week 8 smash plays like Eno Benjamin and Tony Pollard. The former had his NFL breakout in a dazzling 23-point eruption against the Saints, while the latter continues to make his case as the true star in Dallas. Pollard is averaging at least 3.0 yards after contact per attempt for the third straight year and is poised to take advantage of a great matchup to finish among the fantasy elite.
CHECKING IN ON LAST WEEK
The Zero RB Playbook discusses ways to play meaningful developments at the position and looks ahead to moves that might spark trade ideas or look-ahead waiver pickups.
In last week’s article, we talked about . . .
- The elite athleticism possessed by Carolina backs D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard, as well as the serious opportunity ahead of them. They responded by rushing 24 times for 181 yards and helping lead the Panthers to an upset victory.
- Two schedule-based, high-profile trade options in Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. Each player carried at least 24 times, caught at least three passes, and went for 125 or more yards from scrimmage.
- The outlook for Christian McCaffrey, the other RB pieces, and even the receiving options in San Francisco. McCaffrey was afforded 10 opportunities in his first appearance, but didn’t factor into the catch-up effort as Kansas City pulled away. He will be much more involved this week.
Before we jump in, make sure to check out some of our other RB analysis:
- Blair Andrews covers the usage and workload trends for each backfield in the Zero RB Watch.
- Corbin Young takes you behind the scenes of elite RB performances in Advanced RB Stats.
- Angad Uppal helps you take advantage of the schedule in the Buy Low Report.
