It was a huge week for RotoViz squads in fantasy tournaments, which makes the semifinals even more fun for our community. In today’s edition of the Zero RB Universe, I’ll again be using the tools like the Weekly Stat Explorer, NFL Player Explorer, Strength of Schedule Streamer, and Advanced Stats Explorer to give a combined picture of usage and matchup. How do the evolving workload pictures fit with the strengths and weaknesses of Week 16 opponents? That’s what we’ll be looking at today.
The speed backs were absolutely on fire in Week 15. Monday’s article was an ode to Jahmyr Gibbs and James Cook, and the evasion numbers are enough to blow you away. Gibbs was credited with seven broken tackles and one forced missed tackle on 11 attempts. Cook generated four broken tackles and five forced missed tackles on his 25 attempts.
To put that in a little bit of context, Kareem Hunt and Ezekiel Elliott have combined for six broken tackles this season on 263 attempts. A.J. Dillon, Tyler Allgeier, and Gus Edwards have combined for seven forced missed tackles this season on 493 attempts.
It’s perhaps especially striking when placed in contrast with declining players of the same general archetype. Alvin Kamara (12 tackles evaded) and Austin Ekeler (13) still offer elite hybrid profiles, and still score well when their offenses function, but usually fail to offer the previous level of electricity.
If we can get the Lions and Bills to lean into the skill sets of their star backs, this is just the beginning.
