RB Matt Breida - New Dolphins RB3?

[mcintyre1 3,294]

It's the time of year where those of us in giant roster leagues are scouring for anything of value, and a blurb on ProFootballTalk lead me to Breida, a player I previously had never heard of. 

On the small side at a listed 5'11" 190lbs (reportedly checked in at 5'9" and 195lbs at his pro day), he had great Soph and Jr seasons before falling off a cliff as a Senior under a new (and unsuccessful) head coach. 

• Soph: 171 carries, 1485 yards, 17 TDs
• Jr: 203 carries, 1609 yards, 17 TDs
• Sr: 168 carries, 646 yards, 3 TDs

While that (and his small school status) dropped him off of everyone's draft boards, an amazing Pro Day made him a priority FA target for 17 teams.

Pro Day:

• 40: 4.38
• BP: 23 reps
• Vert: 42"
• Broad: 142"

Feature story on draft day w/ Matt Breida

How the 49er's wooed Matt Breida

Quote

Midway through the sixth round, San Francisco called again. Over 13 minutes — the longest call of the day — the 49ers made their pitch.

They told Breida about the two-back system the coaching staff previously used in Atlanta with Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Even though they drafted Utah's Joe Williams in the fourth round, he's a bigger back. They needed a speedy one. They needed Breida. If another team offered a better signing bonus, they'd match it.

"I'm right there with you," Breida said. "I just want to go play."

49er's Reporter Kevin Jones:

Quote

One 49ers assistant told me the best rookie on the field during minicamp was actually RB Matt Breida. Not ready to crown Joe Williams yet

He wasn't even in the MFL database until this morning.

Edited September 17, 2020 by mcintyre1
Trade

[steelers1080 1,076]

He's a practice squad guy imo. They're using him as leverage to get Williams, Bibbs and Hyde to work their asses off.  There's 3-4 guys like this every year "Oh man, he's killing the rookie camp!" "He's a training camp monster." "Watch how he destroys that team in preseason." but they usually don't even make team, or are RB3 or 4.  I'll believe it on Breida after preseason week 3, but my league isn't that deep that he'll be rostered before then.

If you're in a 16 team league or more, then I'd look into grabbing him, but he won't affect the average team.

[mcintyre1 3,294]

10 minutes ago, steelers1080 said:

He's a practice squad guy imo. They're using him as leverage to get Williams, Bibbs and Hyde to work their asses off.  There's 3-4 guys like this every year "Oh man, he's killing the rookie camp!" "He's a training camp monster." "Watch how he destroys that team in preseason." but they usually don't even make team, or are RB3 or 4.  I'll believe it on Breida after preseason week 3, but my league isn't that deep that he'll be rostered before then.

If you're in a 16 team league or more, then I'd look into grabbing him, but he won't affect the average team.

Yeah, this is more for places like Zealots, where we have 53 man rosters and you can take shots on guys that have a very low chance of hitting. 95% chance he's not on my roster in 6 months, but I was surprised that I'd never even heard of him before, given how much time I spend on this stuff. His highlights definitely showcase the speed, if nothing else.

Edited May 19, 2017 by mcintyre1

[Biabreakable 5,146]

I wrote play by play observations of Breida here and here

To summarize I don't like Breidas footwork. He goes down too easily to shoe string tackles. He needs to pick his feet up more. Some of the tackles he is going down to should be pretty easily avoided. Beyond footwork I think he shows a lack of spatial awareness of defenders that should trigger for him to change direction a little bit and/or just pick his feet up to avoid these tackle attempts.

He is a lot better going north and south than he is stretching plays laterally. He does not see cut back lanes very well.

There are a couple plays from the W Michigan game that were very good. Both of these plays Breida is going straight up the middle.or plays clearly designed to get him to edge so he can turn upfield in space. He needs blocking. Not very good at creating on his own.

I haven't seen him used as a receiver much at all and barely any pass protection assignments either. So I am not sure about his abilities in these two areas.

[Faust 5,304]

According to the Sacramento Bee, undrafted rookie RB Matt Breida "had more highlights" than fourth-round pick Joe Williams at spring practices.

Williams' 4.41 long speed has been evident in practices, but Breida's speed is also "apparent," and Breida "was especially adept at catching short passes and turning up field quickly." Pass catching was not a part of Williams' game at Utah. Breida is a name to keep in mind this preseason. Among all running backs eligible for the 2017 draft -- drafted or not -- Breida posted the highest SPARQ score with 4.39 wheels and an otherworldly 42-inch vertical at 5-foot-9, 195.

Source: Sacramento Bee

Jun 15 - 2:39 PM

 

[Lash 24]

On 5/19/2017 at 2:06 PM, steelers1080 said:

He's a practice squad guy imo. They're using him as leverage to get Williams, Bibbs and Hyde to work their asses off.  There's 3-4 guys like this every year "Oh man, he's killing the rookie camp!" "He's a training camp monster." "Watch how he destroys that team in preseason." but they usually don't even make team, or are RB3 or 4.  I'll believe it on Breida after preseason week 3, but my league isn't that deep that he'll be rostered before then.

If you're in a 16 team league or more, then I'd look into grabbing him, but he won't affect the average team.

It's a ploy to mot ivate Tatu m Bel l

Edited June 22, 2017 by Lash

[Bronco Billy 2,667]

1 hour ago, Lash said:

It's a ploy to mot ivate Tatu m Bel l

 

Go od o ne !

[Lash 24]

1 hour ago, Bronco Billy said:

 

Go od o ne !

lol, I had to put the spaces because the forums convert "It's a ploy to mot ivate Tatu m Bel l" without the spaces to :

 

the most overused saying on these boards for years, but I laugh every time I see someone talk about how praise from a coach isn't real they are just trying to motivate the other players at that position

 

like people thought the other day that Phil Jackson wasn't really trying to trade Porzingis, he was just mad at him for missing the exit meeting and was putting him in his place ... ummm until we hear about all the teams the Knicks are talking to and even the deals today

Edited June 23, 2017 by Lash

[Biabreakable 5,146]

48 minutes ago, Lash said:

lol, I had to put the spaces because the forums convert "It's a ploy to mot ivate Tatu m Bel l" without the spaces to :

That's pretty funny. 

[Bojang0301 2,246]

https://www.ninersnation.com/2017/8/6/16104626/49ers-training-camp-matt-breida-highlights

[Fireinside 53]

Quote

(RotoWire) Breida logged 11 rushes for 40 yards and secured both of his targets for 14 yards in Friday's 27-17 preseason win over the Chiefs. Analysis: The undrafted Georgia Southern product put together a prolific three-season college career in which he racked up 3,740 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns, so he brings some big-play upside in his bid for a roster spot. While he faces an uphill climb to stick on a crowded running back depth chart, Breida's speed and overall production Friday certainly got his quest off on the right foot. He'll look to build on his strong debut against the Broncos in the 49ers' second preseason game.

 

[Fireinside 53]

I have this guy in all of my leagues and I think he will have a role even this year. Shanahan wants a back that can catch and this guy is it.

[TripItUp 4,111]

Is not in Joe Williams' class.

[Fireinside 53]

1 minute ago, TripItUp said:

Is not in Joe Williams' class.

He does not have to be, they are completely two different kind of backs and Shanny wants a back that can catch the ball.

[JFS171 838]

Funny enough, Breida played ahead of Williams last night, and then most of Breida's work came between the tackles. 

Something like 9/11 of Williams' runs were outside the tackles. 

Breida may be more the Freeman-type while Williams plays the Coleman role. 

[Biabreakable 5,146]

2 hours ago, Fireinside said:

I have this guy in all of my leagues and I think he will have a role even this year. Shanahan wants a back that can catch and this guy is it.

He did have two receptions in preseason action. Did you see these catches? How did he look?

He has barely any receptions in college, so this is not an area I was able to even attempt to evaluate about him.

He did have 22 total receptions in 37 college games. Joe Williams had 20 receptions in 19 games.

Neither player is known as much of a receiver in college.

[JFS171 838]

1 hour ago, Biabreakable said:

He did have two receptions in preseason action. Did you see these catches? How did he look?

He has barely any receptions in college, so this is not an area I was able to even attempt to evaluate about him.

He did have 22 total receptions in 37 college games. Joe Williams had 20 receptions in 19 games.

Neither player is known as much of a receiver in college.

Motioned out wide right on one third down play. Came set on the line, ran what looked like a 10-yard out and caught the ball fluidly. 

Honestly it looked like he's been catching passes his whole life with aplomb. Looked very comfortable. 

[JohnW1970 52]

I never saw any injury news but he had no stats tonight. Only one carry for Williams as well. 

[Alex P Keaton 4,109]

9 hours ago, JohnW1970 said:

I never saw any injury news but he had no stats tonight. Only one carry for Williams as well. 

No need to play either one.  Better to keep them healthy and let Hyde face injury risk in a meaningless game.

[efactor 792]

10 hours ago, JohnW1970 said:

I never saw any injury news but he had no stats tonight. Only one carry for Williams as well. 

Williams and Breida are locks to make team. Wanted to work Hyde with the 1s and then see which of the bubble guys looked the best. Hightower, Bibbs and Mostert are fighting for the last RB spot. Mostert didn't get any carries either, so maybe he has a spot locked up because he can play special teams.

Next week they will see plenty of action. 

Edited August 20, 2017 by efactor

[Faust 5,304]

Quote

The Sacramento Bee's Matt Barrows believes Matt Breida "has been better" than Joe Williams since the spring.

The 49ers appear to agree considering they used Breida as their No. 2 behind Carlos Hyde in the third preseason game. Unlikely to have an early-season role, Williams should be removed from redraft boards, but Breida is an interesting deep-league option.

Source: Matt Barrows on Twitter 

Aug 28 - 11:20 AM

 

[Biabreakable 5,146]

I was watching the replay of Vikings 49ers preseason game three earlier today and I got to see a couple of runs by Breida that showed good vision and change of direction ability that I did not see much of in the cuts ups I watched of him and described earlier on in the thread. One play in particular was a good example of him reading the flow of the defense (that was over pursuing) and to make a quick change of direction to run to a lane on the backside of the play.

Its only one play and this wasn't to the outside, he makes the cut and then gets north south following the backside lane that opened up.

I think lanes like this develop often from the ZBS and the way he adjusted and attacked the over pursuit was good. This requires good vision, instructs and understanding of the play and where these cut back lanes may develop.

It is always good for me to see examples that dismiss a flaw or criticism I have about a player in college at the pro level. It tells me either I was wrong, the player has changed/taken to coaching or I just didn't see the right plays in college to show me the player can do what I hadn't seen them do before.

Edited August 29, 2017 by Biabreakable

[Ditka Butkus 1,817]

Reminds me of Walter when he cuts and high steps.

[ChuckLiddell 623]

Looks like he didnt play last night.  Assuming it was not due to injury, I would think thats a very good sign that he has locked up the RB2 spot.  Williams fumbled again.

[Sarlakticacid 625]

Opportunity wise How would you compare his situation to that of Jamaal Williams in GB?

[Alex P Keaton 4,109]

Just now, Sarlakticacid said:

Opportunity wise How would you compare his situation to that of Jamaal Williams in GB?

McCarthy is uber-loyal and has publicly expressed his man-love for Ty Montgomery.

Shanahan is Shanahan.  He doesn't have loyalty to anyone except his own ego, and all the side chatter suggests he doesn't see Hyde as a perfect fit for his system.

[Dr. Octopus 16,403]

4 minutes ago, Alex P Keaton said:

McCarthy is uber-loyal and has publicly expressed his man-love for Ty Montgomery.

Shanahan is Shanahan.  He doesn't have loyalty to anyone except his own ego, and all the side chatter suggests he doesn't see Hyde as a perfect fit for his system.

On the flip side though, Hyde is better than Montgomery.

[Hawkeye21 4,165]

I took Breida with the last pick in my dynasty.  Hoping I get lucky.

[Alex P Keaton 4,109]

8 minutes ago, Dr. Octopus said:

On the flip side though, Hyde is better than Montgomery.

Very true

[ChuckLiddell 623]

Joe Williams to IR in a stash move, Hightower and Bibbs cut...Breida is one injury to an injury prone RB away from potentially becoming a weekly RB2.  Pretty much a must-add at this point, and probably worth a future 2nd in trade.

[mcintyre1 3,294]

Well ####, blind bidding doesn't open until next Wednesday and I was still hoping to grab him for cheap in a league where I'm RB desperate. Good for Breida though.

[socrates 665]

Breida's value is about the same as B.Oliver, I would say. He could carry the load if the starter in front of him misses time, and he will see some turns in the offense in the meantime, but not enough to be fantasy viable.  I wouldn't necessarily dump a bunch of fantasy bucks in free agency chasing him, but I wouldn't mind rostering him if I have a bench spot to burn. 

[jon_mx 8,985]

He went from a guy owned in 1% of the leagues, to a guy who should be rostered in most leagues.  

[SameSongNDance 7,014]

1 minute ago, socrates said:

Breida's value is about the same as B.Oliver, I would say. He could carry the load if the starter in front of him misses time, and he will see some turns in the offense in the meantime, but not enough to be fantasy viable. I wouldn't necessarily dump a bunch of fantasy bucks in free agency chasing him, but I wouldn't mind rostering him if I have a bench spot to burn.

Yes, although I do see Hyde as more of an injury risk than Gordon. 

[jon_mx 8,985]

2 minutes ago, SameSongNDance said:

Yes, although I do see Hyde as more of an injury risk than Gordon. 

Also, if Hyde goes down, Breida is the man.  If Gordon goes down, it will be more of a committee effort.  

[JoeSteeler 3,497]

Him vs Jamaal Williams in redraft PPR - who do you got?

[Snorkelson 4,211]

8 minutes ago, JoeSteeler said:

Him vs Jamaal Williams in redraft PPR - who do you got?

If you think Hyde is fragile, Breida. If you think injuries can't be predicted, Williams. Only injury I've ever predicted was picking up dak because how can you play football after your 3rd back surgery? 

[Bojang0301 2,246]

Matt Jones, Jeremy McNichols and Ryan Matthews available. Possibility of bringing back Hightower on a non guaranteed post week 1 deal too. I like Breida a lot but this still couldn be jumping the gun to say he must be rostered, especially in redraft.

[mcintyre1 3,294]

The coaching staff clearly showing big confidence in him has me re-evaluating this part of that story on his recruitment to SF:

Quote

They told Breida about the two-back system the coaching staff previously used in Atlanta with Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Even though they drafted Utah's Joe Williams in the fourth round, he's a bigger back. They needed a speedy one. They needed Breida. If another team offered a better signing bonus, they'd match it.

Obviously that's coach speak to convince someone to buy into their system, but that makes me think there's a much higher (if not likely reachable) upside involved here. 

[SameSongNDance 7,014]

21 minutes ago, JoeSteeler said:

Him vs Jamaal Williams in redraft PPR - who do you got?

Breida. I think Jones has outplayed Williams thus far and I'm not convinced that it wouldn't be a split if Ty were to go down.

[SameSongNDance 7,014]

On 9/2/2017 at 4:02 PM, Bojang0301 said:

Matt Jones, Jeremy McNichols and Ryan Matthews available. Possibility of bringing back Hightower on a non guaranteed post week 1 deal too. I like Breida a lot but this still couldn be jumping the gun to say he must be rostered, especially in redraft.

In retrospect SF telegraphed that Breida was their RB2 since the beginning of the preseason, it just took everyone a while to catch on. Aside from being the obvious handcuff now, as mentioned above, there's a very real possibility that Shanny utilizes Breida similarly to how he did Coleman. The only person I'm actually concerned with as a wildcard in this situation is Jusczyzk who was quietly siphoning off 50-60 targets a year from RBs in BAL.

I think Breida is rosterable in redraft as a RB5/RB6/lottery ticket. 

[Andrew74 977]

On 9/1/2017 at 9:28 AM, Hawkeye21 said:

I took Breida with the last pick in my dynasty.  Hoping I get lucky.

Same here.  I could use an early Christmas present. 

[Weebs210 2,418]

I've been on the Bierda train. He will be waiver of the year or grab him now 

Edited September 3, 2017 by Weebs210

[kittenmittens 1,288]

I'm grabbing him.  He's worth an end of the roster spot for now since he is potentially one Carlos Hyde Injury away from a feature role. 

[Sarlakticacid 625]

Great Now i have to decide who gets the last spot on my roster out of:

Breida
Jamaal Williams
or 
Rex Burkhead


i may just pick Breida coz we share the spelling pain of having 'ei' in our names

[Bojang0301 2,246]

14 hours ago, SameSongNDance said:

In retrospect SF telegraphed that Breida was their RB2 since the beginning of the preseason, it just took everyone a while to catch on. Aside from being the obvious handcuff now, as mentioned above, there's a very real possibility that Shanny utilizes Breida similarly to how he did Coleman. The only person I'm actually concerned with as a wildcard in this situation is Jusczyzk who was quietly siphoning off 50-60 targets a year from RBs in BAL.

I think Breida is rosterable in redraft as a RB5/RB6/lottery ticket. 

McNichols on the practice squad

[jon_mx 8,985]

On 9/2/2017 at 4:02 PM, Bojang0301 said:

Matt Jones, Jeremy McNichols and Ryan Matthews available. Possibility of bringing back Hightower on a non guaranteed post week 1 deal too. I like Breida a lot but this still couldn be jumping the gun to say he must be rostered, especially in redraft.

If you have Hyde, Breida is in all likelihood the most important handcuff to own. It all depends on league and roster size, but if I own Hyde I am finding space for Breida.  

[Hawkeye21 4,165]

Considering picking him up since Hyde is my RB1 but need to drop a guy. Probably would be Jeremy Hill. 

[kittenmittens 1,288]

There is the danger that the 49ers bring in a veteran.  I don't think McNichols is any threat, but if Hightower or Matthews get signed he probably would not have a feature role should Hyde go down... Matt Jones is no danger either IMO. 

[Weebs210 2,418]

5 minutes ago, kittenmittens said:

There is the danger that the 49ers bring in a veteran.  I don't think McNichols is any threat, but if Hightower or Matthews get signed he probably would not have a feature role should Hyde go down... Matt Jones is no danger either IMO. 

Maybe. I think he would get his shot before it became a rbbc. Not many great veterans left. They cut Hightower already...

Edited September 4, 2017 by Weebs210