The Chargers backfield is possibly *the* most important mystery solve in all of fantasy football in 2024
I did my best Sherlock Holmes to investigate what we know about Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman’s running back plans:
First, why do we care so much about this backfield?
As Austin Ekeler just said “They wanted a guy they can hand the ball off to 300 times a year”
Jim Harbaugh teams place an extreme premium on running the ball, as you can see from his 49ers rankings
In addition, Greg Roman has been an offensive coordinator since 2011 and *never* ranked outside the top 9 teams in the whole league in rush attempts OR yards.
Truly one of the most insane stats I’ve ever read in football.
Who are the candidates to benefit from all this rushing?
Gus Edwards has a lower body injury and “might” be back for camp 😬
JK Dobbins signed with former OC Greg Roman…to a contract that pays him $50,000 guaranteed. It is essentially a camp tryout contract.
Isaiah Spiller has been on the team since 2022 and recorded 64 touches for…. 2.9 yards per touch
6th round rookie Kimani Vidal is close to a top-150 pick on @UnderdogFantasy …but all I can find out about him is that he is splitting work with Jaret Patterson
The aforementioned Dotson played 16 snaps for the Chargers last season before being waived.
All of this leads me to ask… WTF is the plan?
My guess is: Edwards is supposed to lead the team in carries and Roman very much wants Dobbins to be healthy enough to make the 53-man roster.
The probability of that parlay hitting, to me, seems lower than the Chargers estimate of likelihood.
Actionable thought: Shaky as it is, Edwards (RB35) and Vidal (RB52) look like the targets in fantasy football right now.
The upside of Vidal capturing the projected “Dobbins” style role in Greg Roman’s offense is too large to ignore.
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Every Monday morning, I take a deep look at every game and every team who played in the NFL on Sunday
Let’s find what what mattered in fantasy football in Week Five:
Travis ETN has become a full workhorse RB.
73/88 snaps, 5/33 tgts, 31/47 routes.
Tank Bigsby played 13 snaps and stunk. ETN’s high value touches will grow imo.
Calvin Ridley finally dominated a game with 10 touches. There was meat on the bone for 7/33 Kirk targets and Zay Jones scored but seemed to injure his knee again.
10 tgts for Kirk with Zay out, 2 for Ridkey. Ridley WR1 season may have been exaggerated. Kirk is a fine fantasy WR2ish. 8/28 tgts for Engram.
Even in a blowout loss, 20 touches + 140 yards for Bijan.
Pitts ran 30/36 routes w/only 4 targets. Jonnu Smith’s 95 yards are the most of any TE in a single game this season. I am as frustrated with Pitts as you are.
Every week, I take a look at every team and every game to recap what matters in fantasy football.
Let's find out what was actionable in Week Three:
Jerome Ford only *sort of* led the way for the Browns backfield. At one point, five players received a rush before Ford.
Ford saved his day with 2 TDs against a tough Titans DST, played 44/71 snaps, but lost 3 targets to Hunt and garbage time carries to Pierre Strong. Fragile.
Elijah Moore looks like the most dynamic Browns player even with a good fantasy day for Amari Cooper.
Moore ran 34/37 routes and earned 9 targets with 3 carries. Arrow up for him in fantasy without Chubb in the lineup.
Every Monday morning, I take a look at every game and every team to determine what is actionable in fantasy football moving forward
Let’s find out what mattered in Week Two:
The Bills are 100% serious about their 11.5 personnel. Dalton Kincaid ran 22/39 routes and got 5/35 targets. Knox played even more.
Both Bills TEs are startable in fantasy football.
James Cook is losing work to Damien Harris and Latavius Murray. His snaps (46/78) & routes (21/39) are fine and he posted 100+ rushing but he is losing GL work to both of them. If he owns inside the 10 yard line with his routes, 🚀