Welcome to the Ultimate Zero RB Watch List. Blair Andrews explores the changing backfield situations in the AFC ahead of Week 15, including the emergence of multiple top rookies and a familiar strategy the Steelers are using as they try to hold on to a playoff bye.
You don’t have to draft a Zero RB team to win at fantasy football, but it helps. Whether you did go Zero RB or not, all teams can benefit from finding some waiver wire RB stars. This weekly column will help you unearth waiver wire gems before they start to shine. Along the way we’ll also look at changing depth chart situations to help you find trade targets and make informed start/sit decisions.
Be sure to check out Shawn Siegele’s companion piece on the NFC.
Baltimore Ravens
J.K. Dobbins led all Ravens RBs in snaps and carries, though he was not targeted. A rushing touchdown gave him a usable fantasy outing — he finished as the RB18 on the week — but without passing game work his usefulness is completely tied to his ability to score touchdowns. The good news is his upcoming schedule may present some of those opportunities.
Cincinnati Bengals
While Samaje Perine led Cincinnati’s backfield in snaps by a slim margin, it was 2019 RotoViz darling Trayveon Williams who handled most of the opportunities. Giovani Bernard fumbled on the opening drive and was summarily benched. It was only the seventh active game of Williams’ career, and by far his most productive.
He underperformed his opportunity by 1.1 points, so although his 49 yards on 12 carries and three catches for 14 yards are probably enough that he won’t go immediately back to the bench, dynasty owners – there are dozens of us! – would like to see more.
Houston Texans
With David Johnson on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, Duke Johnson was the backfield leader in snaps. But he ceded both carries and targets to Gregory Howell. He turned one of his targets into a 48-yard gain, and ended as the team’s top-scoring RB. But Houston misses Will Fuller even more than anyone would have guessed.
With the Texans scoring only seven points in Week 14, there wasn’t much for the RBs to do.[1]
Indianapolis Colts
Footnotes
| ↑1 | The TD, incidentally, came two plays after Duke’s big gain. |
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