The fastest way a running back can land on my DFS don’ts list is to be part of a committee. That word might be one of the worst things a fantasy player can hear. Why? Because it means no one player is guaranteed a substantial workload. That’s why players like Le’Veon Bell and Jay Ajayi are so valuble. Let’s find out which players landed on the running back edition of my week three DFS don’ts.
LeSean McCoy is not on this list because of his workload. McCoy has proven to be the featured back with the Bills. The problem is that the offense isn’t good. The Bills could only generate 125 passing yards on 25 attempts in week 2. No receiver could accumulate more than 30 yards, except for LeSean McCoy. His volume is there without question, but there won’t be production from that volume.
We saw what Denver did to Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys. They dominated their offensive line and locked down the perimeter players. Buffalo does not have any pass catcher of Dez Bryant’s caliber. Charles Clay on his best day isn’t Jason Witten. As good as LeSean McCoy is, he can’t do it on his own.
The only hope McCoy has is if Tyrod Taylor can hurt Denver early with his arm. Then, they establish a run game using the option. This will force Denver to play a more vanilla defense against Buffalo, allowing Taylor and McCoy to have a chance of succeeding. There will be other spots to play McCoy, but not this week.
Will Christian McCaffrey ever live up to his pre-draft hype and produce on the field? (Courtesy of; Headline Sports News)
Unlike McCoy, Christian McCaffrey does fall on my week three DFS don’ts list because he’s part of a committee. McCaffrey is dominating his counter-part Johnathan Stewart in snaps played with 47 and 43 compared to Stewart’s 29 and 25. Sadly, Stewart has more total rushes, 33, compared to McCaffrey’s 21 total rushes.
The rushing disparity is concerning. I don’t care how talented McCaffrey is, running backs have to be rush-first threats. Clearly, that isn’t the case. McCaffrey’s production is dependent on Cam Newton being an efficient, accurate passer, which is something Newton has never been.
Even in a great matchup this week against New Orleans, I can’t touch McCaffrey. Until they start increasing his rushing workload, and prove that Newton can deliver the ball to him, I’m off McCaffrey. His lack of production and unpredictable usage has him squarely on my week three DFS don’ts list.
Another member of a running back by committee is Ameer Abdullah. We saw on Monday night that even in the most ideal gameflow, Abdullah is relatively useless from a fantasy perspective. Abdullah is known as a between the 20’s running back. He’s great at getting you to the red zone, but gets replaced once there. In this case, that would be Dwayne Washington.
How about when the Lions are down and need to roar back? Well, the Lions trot out Theo Riddick to aid in the passing attack. So, Adbullah doesn’t get catches out of the backfield. He doesn’t get the goal line carries. And he only scores if it’s from a distance outside of 20 yards.
It’s obvious, yes. And it’s highly unlikely you ever imagined playing Abdullah in DFS in the first place. But, it’s worth spelling out exactly how bleak the situation is for him in Detroit. Now you know not to use Abdullah for the rest of the year, unless there’s an injury to one of those backs. Running backs by committee are easy placements on my week three DFS don’ts.
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