Tag: Melvin Gordon fantasy football

Tests confirm catastrophic knee injury for Broncos RB Javonte Williams

Three major torn ligaments have ended Williams’ season and put the start to 2023 in jeopardy.

Tests revealed Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams (knee) tore his anterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament and posterolateral corner in Sunday’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Needless to say, his 2022 season is over.

Catastrophic indeed. Two of four torn knee ligaments is a devastating blow to any player’s future, especially at running back. The most relevant recent comparison with similar ligament tears is New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. He returned to get drafted and star as a Pro Bowler in the NFL, and though one can argue the physicality of playing running back differs from that of cornerback, this isn’t entirely a fantasy death sentence for the second-year rusher. Both positions require tremendous lateral movements skills, and it’s entirely possible Williams never will be the same back again.

Williams’ start to 2023 is in jeopardy at this point, but the immediate focus is on where to turn for help in fantasy football for the remainder of 2022. The obvious place to turn is Williams’ backfield mates, Melvin Gordon and Mike Boone. The former should handle most of the work, including the early-down chores, whereas the latter is a better target in PPR. Boone isn’t likely to have as much value, though, and his utilization figures should pale in comparison to Gordon.

The former Charger is owned in most leagues, yet it remains worthy of your time to take a quick peek. Boone, however, should be universally available and becomes a depth addition of moderate priority.

Given the nature of how important the position is in fantasy, finding valid replacements on the wire will be next to impossible in most competitive formats. With bye weeks a Sunday away, there will be plenty of games in which managers will be forced to plug their nose and field just about any back with a pulse. Be sure to check out our latest Free-Agent Forecast release that covers waiver targets.

Update: Running back Latavius Murray was signed away from the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad. The 32-year-old looked spry in Week 4 action but doesn’t offer much that can’t be found in Gordon, aside from improved ball security. Murray is not a quality receiver, and he’s not a breakaway threat. Add him as a fringe backup, especially if you had handcuffed Gordon to Williams.

Fantasy football: 5 running back duos worth drafting in 2022

These 10 running backs are part of backfield committees, but they still offer standalone value in fantasy football.

Typically in fantasy football, drafting a workhorse is the best strategy at running back. But fewer and fewer teams are relying on one running back going into the 2022 NFL season.

Beyond the top options of backs, like Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry and Najee Harris, most RBs are part of some kind of backfield rotation. Fortunately, there are many backfield duos with each RB offering some standalone value in fantasy, even if both players stay healthy.

Here’s a look at five running back committees that feature a pair of RBs who are both worth drafting in your fantasy football league.

Fantasy football spotlight: RB Melvin Gordon, Broncos

Just what kind of role and fantasy value can we expect from the veteran?

Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon is betting on himself again, and this time he’s hoping it turns out better than it did when he was the lead back for the Los Angeles Chargers.

The eight-year veteran famously held out the first four games of the 2019 season with the Chargers, demanding a contract extension. Instead, Austin Ekeler emerged as a legitimate rushing threat and Gordon ended up coming back humbled that his demands weren’t even considered. He left the Chargers at the end of the season to join division-rival Denver in 2020.

In his two seasons with the Broncos, Gordon rushed for 1,904 yards, caught 60 passes and scored 20 touchdowns – solid numbers for a player who has been in a timeshare – first with Phillip Lindsay and last year with rookie Javonte Williams. In 2021, both Gordon and Williams had 203 carries in the split backfield, but Gordon ran for 15 more yards (918) and scored three more touchdowns (10).

He was set to hit free agency in the offseason but agreed to an incentive-laden, one-year deal to return to an offense that is expected to be much more potent with new quarterback Russell Wilson coming to the team after two seasons with Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater at the helm of Denver’s offense.

While Wilson will add a winning pedigree missing in Denver’s pass game since Peyton Manning retired, the running game will still be a key to the Broncos offense. Even though the team is satisfied with the job Gordon has done, all signs point to Williams being the primary back in the offense and Gordon expected to take on a lesser role than the even split the two players had last season.

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Gordon has proved to be a solid player, but has never broken through to become an elite running back. Despite coming close several times, he has rushed for 1,000 yards only once in his career. However, he has averaged 4.6 yards a carry in two seasons with the Broncos and hasn’t shown signs of slowing down.

If both are healthy, Williams and Gordon will likely share the workload with the hot hand getting more playing time. Seeing as the Broncos are more invested in Williams for the future, Gordon may need Williams to be sidelined to be viewed as an every-week fantasy play.

Fantasy football outlook

Despite Gordon’s inability to reach the level of elite backs, you have to hand it to him for his ability to score touchdowns in close. In his last six seasons, he has tallied 67 touchdowns with season totals of 12-12-14-9-10-10, respectively. Even with his timeshare last season, he scored 10 touchdowns on just 231 touches.

Many will view him as a handcuff for Williams, who is sound RB2. The even timeshare should change somewhat this year but likely not enough to drop Gordon below an RB3 ranking. One can’t deny his ability to score touchdowns, and if he comes close to 10 TDs again, Gordon will have more value than just about anybody in the RB3 category.

7 handcuff running backs to target in fantasy football drafts

Seven of the top running back tandems to handcuff in fantasy football drafts.

It’s common for fantasy football players to “double down” on running backs in whom they’ve made a significant investment by adding the backup late in drafts or auctions. The term for this practice is called “handcuffing” – having two running backs from the same team on your roster.

The key to executing a proper handcuff is in direct relation to the investment made in the first of the two running backs. The player almost certainly needs to be an RB1. There are exceptions to the rule – the first back can be an RB2 in the event there is a belief that two backs will share playing time.

The rationale is pretty simple – if the top guy gets injured, the “handcuff guy” can step in and closely replicate the production.

These are the top seven handcuff players you should consider.

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 11

Fantasy football risers and fallers entering Week 11.

In fantasy circles, running backs are a premium because so few consistently carry 15 times or more in games. That’s what made Derrick Henry such a joy to watch (and have on your roster. In the eight games before injury, Henry had 219 carries for 937 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. After having 17 carries in Week 1, he had 20 or more in all of the subsequent seven games, including 28 or more carries in six of those.

So, with him gone, who picks up the mantle for the workhorse running backs? Hint: There aren’t many. By my count, there are currently just four.

Dalvin Cook has 15 or more carries six of seven games played. In the two games he has missed, backup Alexander Mattison has rushed 51 times for 225 yards. Jonathan Taylor has come into his own, with 15-plus carries in eight of 10 games. Najee Harris has hit that number in seven of nine games, including five straight games with 22 or more carries (the Steelers are 4-0-1 in those games). Alvin Kamara has 15 or more carries in six of eight games played.

A case can be made that the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears backfields fit in that category, but injuries of kept them down. If you ever wonder why elite running backs remain the most expensive fantasy investments, that should answer your question. So few are dominant that it makes them more precious, and King Henry was the gold standard.

Here is the Week 11 Fantasy Market Report:

Fantasy Football Risers

QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

It’s rare when you have the opportunity to acquire a quarterback off the waiver wire who has the potential to have the kind of games Newton is capable of having. He isn’t the star he was when the Panthers went to the Super Bowl, but when you have Christian McCaffrey as an ultimate weapon and a strong pair of veteran receivers, Newton has the ability to be a fantasy starter with the right matchups. He’s not an every-week starter, but he can bolster a roster and be a pick-and-choose type that can be plugged in as needed.

RB A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers

When the Packers drafted Dillon, they did so because they understand the conditions in which Green Bay plays – often a combination of cold, wind and snow. Dillon is a hammer whose value goes up as it comes to be later in the year. That is even more pronounced now that the regular season stretches into mid-January. Aaron Jones made the Fallers list due earlier this month due to not having more than 15 carries in any game since Week 3, and much of that was due to Dillon’s presence and his ability to be a banger between the tackles when they need it. Since Week 3, Green Bay has had two games with a runner with more than 15 carries – Dillon at Arizona Oct. 28 and Dillon Sunday against Seattle. He will likely be a 1b option when Jones returns after spraining a knee ligament, but he has two weeks to make his case to be in a time share, if not the lead dog as weather in the Great White North deteriorates.

WR DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

Consistency has been an issue with the Eagles offense all season, and it’s always an issue when dealing with rookie wide receivers. However, Smith has topped 60 yards in five of the last seven games. In the last two, he has been the big-play threat in the Philly offense, catching nine passes for 182 yards (more than 20 a catch) and has scored three touchdowns. For much of the season, he was showing promise, but it wasn’t translating into consistent big plays or touchdowns. Now it is starting to show, and his value is gaining steam.

RB Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints

Ingram was the leading rusher in Houston, but nobody felt confident that he could produce the kind of numbers needed to be in a fantasy lineup. When he was in New Orleans to start his career, once Alvin Kamara arrived, his role changed, but his ability to have big weeks continued. Running backs are the most difficult commodities to obtain in fantasy leagues. Ingram is the No. 2 guy, but Sean Payton is still the head coach and still calls the plays. He knows better than anyone what Ingram can do in his offense. He’s not a handcuff for Kamara, who happens to be out with a knee sprain of his own. He can post numbers as a rusher and receiver on his own. Playing alongside Kamara limits some of those opportunities, but look back at his first run in New Orleans. He will have his share of fantasy moments.

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RB Melvin Gordon, Denver Broncos

The funny thing about Gordon is that those who have him on their roster get frustrated because he’s clearly in a time share in Denver’s backfield. In his last seven games, he has rushed more than 10 times just once. But, his bottom line is that he has scored a touchdown in five of his last six games. I wouldn’t want to have my fantasy season hinging on Gordon having a huge game, but, if you need someone who has consistently been putting up consistent weekly numbers as a runner, receiver and scorer, Gordon checks a lot of boxes in that regard.

Fantasy Football Fallers

WR Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks

In the first two games of the season, Lockett was on fire, catching 12 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. In the seven games since? 31 catches for 324 yards and no touchdowns. That works out to four catches for 46 yards a game. You can’t blame his lack of production on Russell Wilson missing time. In that same seven-game span, DK Metcalf has caught 32 passes for 493 yards and seven touchdowns. Lockett is still a talent who fantasy owners will have a hard time miring on their benches, but it seems like it is time to make Lockett a matchup-only type of play.

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

The best thing that happened to Roethlisberger owners is that he didn’t play last week due to COVID protocol against the Detroit Lions, because there may have been the temptation. At a time when quarterbacks routinely throw for 300 yards, Big Ben has done it just once – and that was in Week 3. More troubling is that he has 10 touchdowns in eight games – two games with two TD passes and six with one TD. Given that he is a glacier in the backfield and hasn’t earned a single point for rushing if you go on the point-for-10-yards standard. He has six yards rushing all season. I would rather take a chance with a QB left on the waiver wire gut pile than go with Roethlisberger with the expectations of having a big fantasy day.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight ends

In the first two games of the season, Rob Gronkowski scored four touchdowns. In his first three games, he caught 16 passes. He hasn’t caught a pass in the last six games due to injury, yet he leads Tampa Bay tight ends in receptions. Cameron Brate has played in all nine games for the Bucs and has caught 14 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. O.J. Howard has played in all nine games and has caught 13 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. Given how the Tampa Bay offense (and the Tom Brady offense) has routinely included a heavy dose of tight ends, it’s shocking that neither Brate nor Howard has filled in the void left by Gronk’s injury. They’re posting the kind of numbers glorified offensive linemen put up and have reached the point of not being able to live up to their talent or their past histories.

WR Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns

With all the upside the Browns came into season with, Landry may be the next disgruntled receiver looking to work his way out of town. He has missed four of the Browns’ 10 games due to injury and, in the six he has played, he has caught just 23 passes for 219 yards no touchdowns. That works out to an average of four catches for 37 yards and no scores. Futility like that is difficult to maintain over a long stretch, but he has managed.

RB Antonio Gibson, Washington Football Team

Coming off a season in which he emerged as a fantasy threat with 11 rushing touchdowns, Gibson was taken in fantasy leagues to be a starter most if not all weeks. In his last seven games, he hasn’t rushed for 65 yards in any of them and, aside from a 73-yard screen-turned-touchdown as a receiver, he has caught 18 passes for just 85 yards in the other eight games. Instead of being a weekly must-start, Gibson is player who is in lineups more by force than choice. Granted, he has scored six touchdowns, but fantasy football is played on a weekly basis and, many more weeks than not, he has come up empty.

Fantasy Football Market Report: Week 7

Fantasy football risers and fallers entering Week 7.

Every year when a team invests in a quarterback in the first round, there is one of two scenarios that tend to play out.

One is that they throw the guy in the first on Day 1 and take their chances. 2) Under ideal circumstances, the organization claims that it’s going to take time with the young quarterback and get him up to speed slowly.

That rarely happens. There were five quarterbacks taken in the first round this year and only two of them were slated to be starters right out of the gate – first overall pick Trevor Lawrence and second overall pick Zach Wilson. The other three were projected to be groomed.

That ended in New England with the surprise release of Cam Newton, ascending Mac Jones to the starting job for Week 1.

Then there were two.

The Andy Dalton Era in Chicago ended in Week 2 when he was injured and the job was given to rookie Justin Fields.

Then there was one.

The 49ers claimed that they intended to sit Trey Lance. He made is starting debut in Week 5 but is still nursing a calf injury coming out of the bye week, hindering his chance to stake a legitimate claim on the starting job from Jimmy Garoppolo.

If a quarterback (other than Jordan Love) is drafted in the first round, regardless of what a coach says, he becomes the starter sooner than projected and gets his chance to make his stand as a franchise guy – for better or worse.

If anything, that timeline is getting shorter all the time, but will it translate into seeing any of them enter upcoming editions of the Fantasy Football Market Report?

Fantasy Football Risers

RB Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears

Being the primary running back in the Bears offense has been a pretty good gig this season. In the four games David Montgomery played before getting injured, he had a pair of 100-yard rushing games and scored three touchdowns. In the two games since he went down, Herbert has rushed 37 times for 172 yards and a touchdown. With injuries sidelining his in-house competition, Herbert could join the elite fantasy back by sheer production – 18 carries for 75 yards in Week 5 and 19 carries for 97 yards and a score last Sunday.

WR Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Everyone keeps referring to Brown as the third wide receiver with the Bucs behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but that is in name only. Despite playing one fewer game that those two, Brown has 29 receptions (two behind Evans and five behind Godwin) and his 418 yards is second on the team (just two yards behind Evans). What makes Brown the more attractive option is that over the last three games is he leads the teams in targets (32), receptions (23), receiving yards (280) and touchdowns (3). He will still have stiff competition for receptions but has quickly become Tom Brady’s most used target.

QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Hurts wasn’t a player anyone outside of Philly would have considered to be a regular fantasy starter, but he’s been about as consistent as any QB in the league in terms of not having the kind of game that loses a week for a fantasy owner. Through six games, he has accounted for two or more touchdowns in five of them. He has a pair of 300-yard passing games and is the Eagles’ leading rusher with 300 yards. At his current pace, he will rush for 850 yards and 14 touchdowns to go along with 23 touchdown passes. Most fantasy owners could live with those numbers, especially with the easiest part of his schedule coming up.

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RB Darrel Williams, Kansas City Chiefs

The injury to Clyde Edwards-Helaire could be a boom for Williams. While he didn’t post huge rushing numbers in his debut as the starter post-CEH, he rushed 21 times for 62 yards and scored two touchdowns. He accounted for 21 of the 24 rushing attempts for running backs for the Chiefs, and Andy Reid seems content to let him continue to be the primary (if not exclusive) running back in the system as long as Edwards-Helaire is out.

WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

Lamb has always been considered to be the No. 2 guy in the Cowboys’ pass offense behind Amari Cooper, but he has been putting together some very impressive weekly numbers. He leads the team in targets (49), receptions (33), receiving yards (497), average per reception (15.1), and is tied for the lead in touchdowns (4). He has four games with more than 80 receiving yards and, in his last two games, has blown up for 13 catches for 233 yards and three scores. Cooper may still be viewed as the top dog among Dallas receivers, but Lamb is making a case for himself that is pretty persuasive.

Fantasy Football Fallers

QB Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts

Wentz was drafted to either be a starter or in a platoon for someone who didn’t make a huge investment to land one of the top quarterbacks. However, he is starting to look much more like a game manager than a bona fide fantasy quarterback. He has thrown for more than 251 yards just once in six games and hasn’t accounted for more than two touchdowns in any game. At a time when QBs that can get you points with their legs and their arms, Wentz is a one-trick pony who doesn’t have a great trick. Over the last four games, he has rushed just nine times for 14 yards and hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown this season. If 240 passing yards, no rushing yards and two touchdowns are what you want from a quarterback, he’s your guy.

RB D’Andre Swift, Detroit Lions

Big things were expected of Swift this season and, while he hasn’t been awful, he hasn’t shown any explosiveness. He leads the team with 34 receptions and has 295 receiving yards and one touchdown, so he brings value there. What is troubling is that he in a time share with Jamaal Williams at running back and appears to be losing that battle. Williams is averaging a full yard more per carry (4.3) than Swift (3.3). Over 65 carries, Swift has had a single carry of more than 16 yards. His four touchdowns in six games has been his saving grace, but when 51 yards is your high-water mark for any rushing in a game, that’s a problem that will be worse if the touchdowns start to dry up.

QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Rodgers isn’t having a bad season, but he was taken in drafts and auctions much higher this year than he was last year, because he was consistently dominant in 2020 on his way to the MVP. Last season, he threw for 280 or more yards 10 times and had three or more TD passes 12 times. Through six games, he has topped 280 yards just once and has three or more TD passes in just one game. Again, he is posting solid numbers (12 TD passes and two TD runs in six games). But, he just isn’t living up to the kind of expectations fantasy owners had coming off his brilliant 2020 season.

RB Melvin Gordon, Denver Broncos

Gordon was brought onto rosters to start more weeks than not, and it just hasn’t worked out with him. He is averaging fewer than 12 carries a game, has more than 60 rushing yards just once (in Week 1), and a long run of just 14 yards in the last five games. Over the last three weeks, Javonte Williams has had a carry of 30 yards or more in each game – the kind of production that gets you more opportunities. Those will come at the expense of Gordon, who has done little as a receiver with just 13 catches for 119 yards and no TDs in six games.

QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns

Mayfield has been nothing short of a bust most of the season. He has thrown just six passing touchdowns in six games, has four games with 246 or fewer passing yards, and has 11 or fewer rushing yards in five of six games. Granted, his top two receivers (Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry) have both missed time with injuries, but Mayfield’s production has fallen off hard after a strong finish to the 2020 season. He doesn’t look like a guy you want in your lineup every week with the expectation of winning, especially now that he’s nursing a shoulder injury.