We need to address the elephant in the room...

By Martin Richardson

After 4 weeks of NFL football, fantasy football players could be in a variety of situations, ranging from extasy after a winning start and sitting pretty atop their league or division, or total dismay at an 0-4 start and just wanting the season to end now. And if you are part of the latter set of emotions, there is probably a chance that you have been stung by one of the greatest annoyances and unknowns in fantasy football:

The Committee of Running Backs

Yes that’s right. Some of you would have been weighing up which player to draft. Now in in the case of the Lions, picking either Gibbs or Montgomery will have worked out well for you; but not all teams have managed to get it just as fluid and successful as the Lions. Injury seems to have made De’Von Achane RB1 at the Dolphins, but some of you will be sat with Raheem Mostert on your bench. People were worrying about how the committee would work down in LA, but JK Dobbins has laid that to rest very quickly, leaving some people looking at a wasted Gus Edwards pick.

There are, however, some teams that at the moment, are persisting with the dreaded committee system. What I’m going to look at is how the impact of these systems is having on fantasy football and how I think some of the players in these committees have gone under the radar.

RACHAAD WHITE AND BUCKY IRVING:

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NOTE: You’ll be reading this after the Buccaneers have played the Falcons so any stats will include that game, but the passion and irritation will be from the past four weeks.

Ah man I am so not happy that I am leading with this. I had such high hopes for Rachaad White to kick on be the RB1 that I thought he could be. But, when the Bucs brought in a new OC, and then drafted the nippy and exciting and stat laden rookie in Bucky Irving, I tried to remain positive, but a seed of doubt was planted to fester and grow.

Now I have a full forest of doubt on whether White is actually the guy to lead the Bucs this season as the true RB1 of the franchise. I made no secret of being a huge White advocate, so may have had rose tinted glasses on for some of last season, but I need to take them off as we go deeper into the season. Looking at the numbers, White had his best game carrying the ball against the Falcons, with a long run of 56 yards on one play. But that boosts his numbers when you see his total number of yards was 72 off 10 carries. In the passing game he usually fairs better, but the Falcons had him on minus yardage, taking his season average to 7.5 yards per carry when catching the ball. What worries me is that White has no touchdowns at all this season after five games. What worries me even more is that Baker has rushed for two touchdowns in the redzone, rather than handing off to White to get him on the board.

After the Falcons game, Bucky Irving doesn’t seem to have a solid part in the Bucs offense just yet. Now he is a rookie, so he gets some leeway here, but after five games, he isn’t getting going as much as perhaps he could be. Averaging just under 10 carries a game, Irving has over 250 yards, which is 80 more than White does, and on top of that, Irving has a touchdown to his name. what is clear is that Irving doesn’t have the threat in the air that White does, with his longest catch being less than 10 yards.

After seeing the numbers after the Falcons game, it is clear the Bucs have an issue that needs to be solved soon, not just because of us fantasy players, but because they just cannot keep trying this committee back system. Neither player is excelling in either form of the game and it could cost them in a bog spot if they cannot rely on ether back.

Fantasy Verdict: you can only go off last season for so long. As much as this pains me, neither one of these players are reliable enough as RB options or even FLEX players right now.

ZAMIR WHITE AND ALEXANDER MATTISON:

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This was always going to be a concern with the Raiders. They put a lot of faith in White at the start of the season, but always had Mattison in the background. So far this season, White has had 49 carries for 152 yards, a meagre average of 3.1 yards per carry and no touchdowns, which is not a great start to the fantasy season for a person labelled as a sleeper in the preseason, but now ranks 55th on ESPN. Mattison hasn’t exactly set the world alight either if I am honest: 17 carries for 87 yards, a slightly better average of 5.1 yards per carry, but more importantly- 2 touchdowns rushing. What is also worth noting here is that Mattison is being used in the passing in a much more effective way: 10 targets for 80 yards and a touchdown as well, which ranks him 28th on ESPN.

Which doesn’t really help with who to trust and utilize in world off fantasy football. White has had double figures in terms of carries in 3 of 4 games, but just is not producing when given the chance to do so. Yet, when you look at how Mattison is so effective in the air, he has only had targets in 2 of the 4 games. The split of carries for both of them is just infuriating when you look at it from a fantasy standpoint; combine them and you have a solid RB2 in your lineup every week, when you consider the touchdowns Mattison has got, but the Raiders continue to split the load for some reason.

I think what is clear is that the Raiders do not know who they are on offense this season. They wanted a QB in the draft, didn’t get one and settled on the perennial bridge QB, Gardner Minshew, who has also struggled this season. You would think that a lack of Davonte Adams at WR, pre potential trade, would mean that the Raiders would be leaning on the run game to limit both turnovers and risky plays. But at this point, one thing is clear, this running back committee is not working and probably won’t do all season.

Fantasy Verdict: Avoid starting either of them, you just can’t trust the Raiders to get it right.

BIJAN ROBINSON AND TYLER ALLGEIER:

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Considering that Bijan was supposed to be the next best pick at RB if you couldn’t get Christian McCaffrey, but it just hasn’t worked out that way yet. With one touchdown, Robinson needs to get more involved in the redzone game, with his only one coming against the Chiefs. Now don’t get me wrong, with nearly 300 yards rushing and 200 receiving, Robinson is moving the chains on the field, but isn’t being a difference maker in fantasy matchups without those end zone opportunities. His 8.4 yards per reception makes for exciting reading, but he just isn’t just getting the consistent use in that part of the game to make an impact overall. This is compounded by the fact that he only gets a maximum of 5 targets per game in the air.

What compounds all matters Bijan is the use of Tyler Allgeier sporadically in games, stopping the flow of Robinson as well as the chances of those big plays and potentially touchdowns. Mainly used in the ground game, Allgeier has chalked up some alright gains of 15 yards, but he isn’t getting more than 9 or 10 carries per game. This intermittent usage is just so frustrating to watch if you’re hoping for a Bijan breakout game.

Fantasy Verdict: Just give it to Bijan and stop trying to be clever and give Allgeier the ball too much. I think this will happen, but keep an eye on the amount of time Allgeier is getting on the ground.

ZACK MOSS AND CHASE BROWN:

If you make the decision to not pay Joe Mixon and let him go to Super Bowl contenders in Texas, then you have to have a better plan B ready and waiting. That plan became Zack Moss, after a solid season in Indianapolis, and Chase Brown, who showed promise at the end of last season. Starting with Moss, fantasy players would have hoped for performances like last season when he is now perhaps in a better situation. But, that is yet to happen. Ranked 20th on ESPN, Moss looks like he could be the guy that the Bengals need, but he continues to have small gains each time he gets the ball, with longest runs of less than 15 yards. But, in the passing game, he is just the same, prior to the Panthers game his longest reception was 13 yards. I don’t take much stock in his 21 yard reception against a bereft Panthers team. Yes, he has three touchdowns this season, but what he doesn’t have is the explosive play power that he showed in Indianapolis.

Which is why when you look at the usage of Chase Brown makes you wonder what is happening here in Cincinnati. Every week Brown has been used more, and been more and more exciting: before the Panthers he had 7 carries for 62 yards against the Commanders, showing his ability to get the ball moving. Post Panthers game, Brown has 29 carries for 184 yards and two touchdowns, so Brown is getting more of the ball and perhaps more of the trust of the Bengals offensive team. Both of his touchdowns did come against the Panthers, so lets just see what he does this week against a team like the Ravens before we consider Brown a true breakout star.

Fantasy Verdict: At the moment, Moss seems the more consistent option, but Brown is getting more and exciting as the season moves on, watch on with interest if you managed to snag Chase Brown on waivers.

MARTIN RICHARDSON

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31

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