This is a helpful list in the original post, but realistically since the majority of owners are re draft, obtaining a bunch of these on their team at this point in the seaso just isn't possible. (before anyone chimes in and says its more dynasty/ppr/this,that whatever)
The point is, regardless of however you see it, and whatever your league preference and/or breakdown may be, in most cases a typical owner (think redraft with 5-7 bench spots) will only be able to truly "take a shot" on one or two of these guys. We all have to cover the rest our positions right?
It may well be better for us to choose the best few or the top 4-5 for example.
The ones with the best combination of availability , upside and possibility of a big workload. That combination would likely give the average owner the best chance at hitting the "lottery ticket RB" that most owners seem to want.
Dynasty is an entirely different animal, as most readers here know already....for that reason I am steering clear of that.
Many of SSND's list is already getting a fair amount of a workload, or are a part of a RBBC. (of course he wrote it a month ago and we were basically starting from scratch so to speak)
Please realize I am now thinking which one might be the season saver/changer in the event that lottery ticket "hits". Thats what we are pretty much after right? Someone we can acquire cheap midseason , then plug in and get RB2 numbers or hopefully much better down the stretch. Many of us have already been hit with many injuries, some to IR and landing one of these lottery ticket types may well help us down the stretch. I'm at a point in 1-2 leagues, where I am not panicking but I have a corps of 3-4 RBs, and I am down to taking a lottery ticket or two on those teams, combining them with handcuff types and mixing and matching my way towards the future weeks already. It sucks to be this early in the season doing that, but it is what it is and many owners are in the same boat.
If I had to narrow this to 5 or so, this is sort of what my list would look like now.
Jordan Howard - I wrote about this in 1-2 other places. This is likely the last day or two you can get him cheap! Snag him before the games start tomorrow and waivers close. Drop some bench trash, your 5th WR (you will never start), a secondary QB or TE, a second defense (my personal favorite LOL) whatever it is that you aren't going to use and nab Howard or someone like this. So what if he misses, you can pick up your second TE, QB or whatever the Hell type bench trash you think you need you can pick them up once waivers reopen later in the week.
Here is exactly what I wrote on Howard in another thread -
Langford's sloppy fumble didn't go unnoticed. I saw how bad it was live, and I am sure Fox (who was already grumbling the prior week) took note as well. I know everyone always talks about his non-faith and trust in rookies, but he was already voicing displeasure last week prior to that ugly fumble. The beat writers are expecting "more work" for Howard , and he has looked good in limited carries thus far. One more slip up from Langford, (combined with some good production from Howard) and I think he will be seeing Langford sit the bench soon. Lets face it, much of the reason we saw Langford last year is because he was essentially the "last man standing". He was never great by any stretch, merely sufficient. His playoff schedule is week 13 SF, week 14 DET , week 15 GB , week 16 WAS . I notice good schedules around that time of year, do you?
Devontae Booker - may well be the ultimate shark "hold". CJ Anderson has gotten 20 touches each week thus far, and 3 or 4 catches each week as well. This is a big workload, and lets face it, the guy has had problems staying healthy. Its as if everyone is forgetting his nicked up times last season. The Broncs schedule isn't the greatest, but that heavy workload would be nice down the stretch. "Solid RB 2" numbers are pure gold late season when the injuries are piling up. In this case, the workload alone may bring you that. Weeks 8-9-10 look especially juicy.
Kenneth Dixon - Has been dropped in many redraft leagues or was simply never drafted. He is owned in only 12% of Yahoo leagues, and 14% of ESPN leagues, so he is available somewhere. I hate the situation there with the carousel of Raven RBs, but the ones currently running the ball look awful. This may take a bit of faith and playing the waiting game, but in 4-5 weeks it could be solid.
Kenneth Farrow - I know many will not agree on this one. Often people say he is just not as "talented" as some of the others. The tape I have seen make him out to be more of a solid (but not flashy), all around back. But he can catch passes, he is a slightly bigger back, and in the event of Gordon going down, he should get all the work near the stripe too, where they need a bigger guy. Dexter McCluster is not that type of back. I'm not taking anything away from him, but I just don't see him as big enough to take a pounding. Farrow has over 40 pounds on McCluster. Remember, in a week we can outright cut this Farrow guy. I happen to have Melvin Gordon in a few spots, and in most of those I have now obtained Farrow, fully prepared to drop him this week early if he doesn't look the part, or if he won't get any work.
I know thats only 4, but there are cases to be made for a number of backs honestly. I think its important to remember that this should also mesh well with your team structure, something a few owners tend to ignore. Suppose you start Rivers and Gates.... I would be far less inclined to sit on Farrow, and I would look elsewhere.
One that is flying under everyone's radar currently is Shaun Draughn . He got 7 carries one week, and 9 another. So not only will he get most of the work if Hyde goes down (would that shock you if Hyde got hurt??) Draughn is already getting a little bit of work as it stands. Draughn is 3% owned on Yahoo . Thats ridiculous. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I believe he was serviceable at times when needed last year.
This is actually a really good topic, and one that we should try and bump and modify every week as the season goes. I know it kind of steps on the "waiver wire" threads, but having a specific thread where we can try and forecast the next few RB tickets as the weeks goes on could prove helpful to some of us. Its certainly an ever-evolving topic.
TZM
