The biggest fantasy football question surrounding the Buccaneers this week is which of the two running backs will be a more impactful fantasy football player. In Doug Martin’s absence, rookie Mike James made himself a very respectable fantasy player and began finding his way into many starting lineups before going down on Monday Night.
Despite losing Martin, the Bucs are still the 15th ranked team in the NFL in rushing yards with 111.1 per game, which shows that there is strength in the offensive line, and that even without the first-round fantasy pick Martin, the team is able to get things done on the ground.
Even after James left the game on Monday, fantasy points continued to come in through the rushing game, although it’s doubtful many players had Leonard or Rainey in their lineups last week. Brian Leonard finished the game with eight PPR fantasy points with 20 carries for 57 yards, and two receptions for 16. Bobby Rainey, in his first action as a Buccaneer, added a spark with 12 fantasy points, coming from eight carries for 45 yards and a touchdown.
The fact that the running game didn’t slow down after James left the game isn’t the only positive aspect for the new Bucs rushing duo. The Atlanta Falcons find themselves ranked 21st in fantasy points allowed to RBs, surrendering 26 or more points in each of their last three games. In Week Eight, the Cardinals ran for 192 yards and a score, in Week Nine Carolina had 109 on the ground, one running back TD and eight RB receptions. Finally, last week, Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks had 191 yards and a score.
Of the two, Leonard has found his way onto more fantasy teams. He received the bulk of the carries on Monday night, and through the last three games has actually been a solid fantasy contributor in PPR leagues. In his time on the field against the Seahawks and Panthers, Leonard had 10 receptions out of the backfield for 80 yards. Now that he will likely get at least half of the touches to add to his pass-catching prowess, he becomes a very solid Flex play in Standard and PPR formats.
Bobby Rainey showed last week that he looks like more of a home run-hitter than Leonard, breaking one run for 31 yards and also finding the end zone from a yard out. However, he had just eight carries to Leonard’s 20. Assuming that they split the workload evenly, Rainey could have some opportunities to gash this defense with a big play, but he does seem the riskier option of the two.
