Tag: Kenyan Drake fantasy football

Here’s how to handle the Indianapolis Colts’ tenuous running back situation

One of the safest backfields has quickly devolved into chaos.

Entering last season, the Indianapolis Colts had one of the most stable, fantasy-friendly running back situations in the NFL with a true lead back in Jonathan Taylor, who’d tallied 564 of the team’s 834 carries by running backs over the prior two seasons. Things changed a bit in 2022 with the historically durable Taylor breaking down and missing six games, opening the door for inseason acquisition running back Zack Moss to flash his talent.

Even with that development, the Colts still boasted a clear hierarchy of Taylor as RB1 and Moss as a capable backup who could help keep the Wisconsin alum healthy. All that changed last week, however, following a meeting between Colts owner Jim Irsay and Taylor, who emerged from that encounter with a public trade demand. Further muddying the waters, Moss sustained a broken arm during practice on July 31 and is expected to miss around six weeks following surgery.

With this once-stable situation devolving, it’s a good time to examine what Indy has in their backfield and what fantasy owners can anticipate for 2023.

Revisiting the Baltimore Ravens’ backfield in fantasy football

A reshaped Ravens’ RB stable requires a fresh look.

While we looked at the Baltimore Ravens’ backfield earlier in the offseason, enough changes have happened to warrant another peek. With that in mind, let’s dive back in and update the Ravens’ backfield situation as we head into the start of the 2022 campaign.

Fantasy football players on the rebound for 2022

Which fantasy football weapons are poised to rebound in 2022?

Every season, several proven players regress and even fall off of the fantasy football map due to injury, demotion, a poor system fit, or another unforeseen calamity. Players of the fake game understandably tend to be of the, “What has he done for me lately?” mindset and may underrate some proven options coming off a bad year.

Heading into the 2022 season, we’ll explore which players are most likely to bounce back from a down year in 2021. The players are ordered from least to most important in relation to their potential fantasy returns.

Be sure to sign up for The Huddle to gain the needed edge on your competition. In this space last year, we correctly called bounce-back performances from the likes of Dak Prescott, Austin Ekeler, Deebo Samuel, and Matthew Stafford to help create winning rosters.

Fantasy football players on the rebound for 2022

Fantasy football injury outlook: RB Kenyan Drake, Raiders

Will Drake rebound from injury and a poor 2021 showing?

Little more than a curiosity during much of his three-plus seasons with the Miami Dolphins, running back Kenyan Drake truly emerged as a fantasy force after being acquired by the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 when he racked up 814 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games with the club. He followed that up with 1,092 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2020 — while not exactly disappointing, there was a significant per-game drop from 101.8 yards per outing to 72.8.

That dip in efficiency didn’t dissuade the Las Vegas Raiders from signing Drake to a two-year, $14.5 million contract before last season with $11 million guaranteed. Theoretically, the plan was to use Drake in conjunction with Josh Jacobs, but after totaling 34 touches over the season’s first three weeks, the former Cardinal would see double-digit opportunities just twice in his remaining nine games.

Drake’s season ended abruptly on Dec. 5 when he suffered a fractured right ankle. The injury required surgery, but there have been no reported complications, and the veteran is believed to be healing fine with the expectation he’ll be ready for camp. While there was some speculation about job security, the Raiders restructured Drake’s contract in March, so it’d be surprising not to see his name behind Jacobs on the depth chart.

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The question is whether the new coaching staff, led by head coach Josh McDaniels, who was hired after a 10-year run as offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots, will find more opportunities for Drake to contribute. If you take McDaniels’ approach with the Pats as a guide, the answer appears to be yes, as that offense utilized backs in specialized roles for many years. In fact, in those 10 seasons on the job, McDaniels presided over just two 1,000-yard backs, the most recent coming in 2016.

With the Raiders declining Jacobs’ fifth-year option, it’s clear they don’t necessarily view him as part of their future, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them use Jacobs more sparingly after watching his production decline each of his first three NFL seasons. The most logical stand in for Drake is probably James White, who was an effective passing-down back during McDaniels’ time in New England. While it has been a forgotten element of Drake’s game, remember that he caught 85 passes with the Dolphins in 2017-18 combined.

Fantasy football outlook

Based purely on his first season in Las Vegas, Drake shouldn’t be drafted. So many things have changed since then, however, you can’t read much into it. We know McDaniels likes to use multiple backs, and barring something unforeseen the top two will be Jacobs and Drake. There could even be a small role for rookie Zamir White, but it would come at the expense of Jacobs. While the shine of his days in Arizona is gone, Drake could be worth a late-round flier.

Fantasy football team previews: AFC West

Huge changes with Denver and Vegas look to turn the division on its head.

The 2022 fantasy football draft season is starting to heat up now that we’ve gone through the height of free agency and all of the chosen rookies have been assigned to their professional home cities.

The landscape has changed a great deal for many franchises after a whirlwind offseason, and our divisional preview series will help you stay on top of all of the changes to date.

AFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

NFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

Fantasy Football Market Report: Week 13

Fantasy football risers and fallers as we enter the penultimate playoff push.

Injuries are always a part of any NFL season, but when you look at the running backs who were ranked highest heading into auctions and drafts prior to the start of the season, it just goes to show why RBs maintain their fantasy value – they’re an endangered species.

The list is impressive and growing with those who will be out in coming weeks. It’s staggering.

Derrick Henry has missed four games and counting. Christian McCaffrey has missed five games and left Sunday’s game, only to be placed on season-ending IR. Dalvin Cook has missed two games and left Sunday’s game. He’s out at least two more. Alvin Kamara has missed three games. Saquon Barkley has missed four games. Nick Chubb has missed three games. Josh Jacobs has missed two games. Clyde Edwards-Helaire has missed five games. Aaron Jones has missed one game and parts of three. Chris Carson has missed six games. J.K. Dobbins has missed the entire season. Miles Sanders has missed three games. David Montgomery has missed four games. James Robinson has missed one game and parts of two others. Raheem Mostert has missed 10 games. Darrell Henderson has missed one game. Kareem Hunt has missed five games.

Considering fantasy owners get heartburn when their star players are on their bye weeks, missing time at this rate for a critical position has likely broken a lot of teams – both fantasy owners and NFL franchises.

Here is the Week 13 Fantasy Market Report:

Fantasy Football Risers

WR Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots

While his numbers don’t jump off the page as a receiver, when you split them out between home and road production, the contrast is stark. He has scored five touchdowns – all at home. He has five games with 60 or more receiving yards – all at home. While he has just one game with more than five receptions, he has showed that he can be a valuable fantasy contributor when playing at Gillette Stadium, and his numbers all year have borne that out.

TE Rob Gronkowski, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Many fantasy owners will forget that two weeks into the 2021 season, Gronk stood alone as the leading scorer in the NFL with four touchdown catches. That was good Gronk. Then came bad Gronk. Late in the Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Rams, he went down with an injury and didn’t have a reception in the next six games. In his two games since returning, he has reestablished himself as Tom Brady’s go-to target. He has been targeted 18 times, catching 13 passes for 194 yards and putting himself back into the discussion of the top fantasy tight ends in the game – just in time for a postseason run in defense of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl championship.

RB Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings

For those who didn’t have Mattison as a handcuff for Dalvin Cook, these could be heady days. Cook has a history of injury because of his punishing running style. In the last three games Cook has missed due to injury, Mattison has rushed 72 times for 320 yards, has caught 16 passes for 149 yards and scored three touchdowns. With Cook sidelined with a shoulder injury and free-falling Detroit and Pittsburgh next up on Minnesota’s schedule, Mattison could be one of the most valued running backs in the fantasy game.

TE Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

At a time when game-changing tight ends are in short supply, fantasy owners scramble in hopes of tight ends that are used considerably in the red zone. Everyone is looking for the 2021 version of what Green Bay’s Robert Tonyan accomplished last year. That is becoming Freiermuth this season. While he only has one game with more than 45 receiving yards, in his last five games, he has caught five touchdown passes and has four or more receptions in each game. While not earth-shattering numbers, at a time when the tight end pool is relatively dry, these are numbers sent from heaven.

RB Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals

Typically, we don’t put weekly fantasy starters on the risers list, but for most of his career, Mixon was a premium pick in fantasy drafts that was most likely to be benched for a better matchup due to long stretches without consistent production. In his first four seasons, he missed time due to injury in three of them and scored just 20 rushing touchdowns in 40 games. This season, he has scored 13 touchdowns (11 rushing, two receiving) and has scored two TDs in each of his last four games. With the Bengals staring down a trip to the playoffs, over his last two games against wild-card contenders (the Raiders and Steelers), he has rushed 58 times for 288 yards and four touchdowns. He’s lining up with Jonathan Taylor for fantasy MVP consideration.

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Fantasy Football Fallers

WRs Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos

The Broncos have been snake-bitten when it has come to pairing up Jeudy and Sutton. Last year, it was Sutton, who played just one game before going down for the season. This year it was Jeudy, who was injured in Week 1 and missed the next seven games. The two have been playing together for the last month, and, in those four games, Jeudy has caught 18 passes for 181 yards and no touchdowns. In that same span, Sutton has caught seven passes for 95 yards and no TDs. Both players have a high ceiling to their talent, but neither is worth putting in a lineup as things currently stand, much less when the stakes are higher in December.

RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

Similar to McCaffrey, Barkley has been battling injuries the last two seasons and the results have been numbingly bad. Prior going down in Week 5, Barkley never had more than 57 rush yards in a 2021 game. While he managed to score three TDs in that span, he wasn’t putting together the type of huge numbers that were expected. He’s back and has taken over the lead back role, but he has just 19 carries for 65 yards, 10 receptions for just 44 yards and no touchdowns in those two games. At this point, it’s difficult for those who made a big investment in him to bench him out of fear he will be the Barkley of past vintage. In the end, most owners who invested in Barkley will have to sink or swim with him and, at the moment, they’re drowning.

WR T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts

I’ve never been a huge Hilton guy but had to respect the numbers he put up with Andrew Luck at the wheel. However, this season has been a disaster. He missed the first five games and has been inactive in two more. At least under those circumstances, he doesn’t hurt fantasy players. In the last four games he has played, he has caught just nine passes for 75 yards and one touchdowns. At a time where Michael Pittman has established himself as the No. 1 guy and four others have more receptions than Hilton in the games in which he has played, it seems about time to stick a fork in Hilton as fantasy commodity and move on.

RB Kenyan Drake, Las Vegas Raiders

It was curious on two fronts when Drake hit free agency last year – one that the Arizona Cardinals made no effort to re-sign him and second that the Raiders did. In 23 games with the Cards, Drake was close to dominant from the fantasy perspective, rushing for almost 1,600 yards and scoring 18 rushing touchdowns. His role with the Raiders has never been defined. He has played in every game and has more than eight carries just once and averaging less than six. He has more than 34 rush yards in just one game and when Josh Jacobs was down with an injury, Peyton Barber was the primary back. He has talent, but it isn’t being utilized in Las Vegas.

Kenyan Drake joins Josh Jacobs in Las Vegas backfield

Drake signs a two-year contract for $11M to split the Raiders’ backfield

The Las Vegas Raiders signed free-agent Kenyan Drake to a two-year, $11 million contract that boosts their backfield though at the expense – potentially – of Josh Jacobs. The deal could be worth as much as $14 million with incentives.

Drake spent his first three seasons with the Dolphins after being a third-round selection in 2016.  He was never used heavily there, topping out with 644 yards on 133 carries in 2017 but adding a receiving role the next year that netted him a career-high 53 catches for 477 yards and five touchdowns. Amid the Fins offensive implosion in 2019, he was sent the Cardinals for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2020 before the Week 8 trade deadline.

He added a great spark for the rest of the year, rushing for 643 yards and eight touchdowns over the final eight weeks in Arizona. His 2020 campaign was less productive, with 955 yards on 239 carries and just 25 catches for 137 yards while missing a few games.

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He lands on a Raiders squad already featuring Josh Jacobs. The release of No. 2 back Devontae Booker cleared the way for a replacement and Drake provides an upgrade, having spent most of his time in the NFL as a primary back who is still only 27.

Fantasy football outlook

The Raiders drafted Jacobs in 2019 and received two-straight 1,000-yard seasons from their first-round pick. He caught a career-high 33 passes for 238 yards last season while only missing one game. Devontae Booker filled with around four to six touches per game.

Jacobs turned in six games with more than 20 carries in 2020 and that’s likely to decline with the addition of Drake. Instead of a split backfield with two dissimilar backs sporting different skills, the Raiders now essentially have the same back twice. There is no doubt that Jacobs remains the primary, but after he ran 273 times for 1,065 yards (3.9 YPC) last year, he’s playing with Drake who handled 239 carries for 955 yards (4.0 YPC).

At first glance, the addition of Drake means less work for both backs in Las Vegas.  Devontae Booker was merely a change-of-pace back with no challenge for more work last year. Drake owns a 4.5-yard career rushing average and carried over 15 times in over half of his games with the Cardinals.

Worse yet, Jacob’s propensity to get banged up only adds to what could be an uneven share of the workload each week.