RADIO
This past week of NFL action featured a relentless onslaught of injuries including a host of crushing blows to star running backs. With Le'Veon Bell done for the year and Matt Forte out an undisclosed amount of time, the position as a whole continues to be an absolute mess. Hopefully you've been able to dodge the bullet that is the injury bug thus far and have amassed enough depth on your bench to stay competitive into the fantasy playoffs.
Similar to last week's Warning Signals piece, this edition will also feature some names that are further down the line as far as relevance is concerned. Like I said, the position is brutal and with so many banged up studs, it's hard to find some guys we haven't discussed just yet. Nevertheless, there are still a few backs that we thought would be more serviceable by now but aren't really panning out the way we expected them too.
You'll also notice a slightly meatier update from last week considering the amount of players that were on bye the last time we discussed RB's. The bye week blues are in full force now so you should expect that to be a common theme over the next week or two.
Running Backs Sending Out Warning Signals
Giovani Bernard – RB, CIN
It would appear that the Bengals have finally made good on their promise to refocus their rushing attack on Jeremy Hill. The team had publicly addressed a desire to utilize Hill as their primary workhorse with Giovani Bernard coming in as a change of pace back, specifically whenever the team got down big. In Sunday's victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hill not only had 15 carries to Bernard's one but he also out-snapped him in the passing game.
Perhaps the more telling aspect of the Hill/Bernard split is the fact that this came right after a bye week. To me that says that the Bengals made a concentrated effort to hit the reset button regarding their running back situation. What does that mean for Giovani Bernard? It means that he's been relegated back down to flex territory for now with Jeremy Hill back up to being a usable RB2. That being said, this is still a clear timeshare so it's not like Hill has the same amount of upside he possessed at the end of August. I should also point out that you shouldn't think of Bernard as a handcuff either. We've seen too many teams utilize multiple backs simultaneously so he should still maintain his own fantasy relevance. In a weird sort of way, the "warning signals" themselves are related to Bernard but the reality is they say a lot more about his counterpart in Jeremy Hill than anything else.
C.J. Spiller – RB, NO
This is a simple case of a player who had considerable fantasy upside failing to produce. The mindset regarding C.J. Spiller's fantasy potential was the Saints would utilize him in a similar fashion to the way they used Darren Sproles, giving Spiller a massive boost in PPR formats. The thing is, the team just isn't getting him enough touches to warrant believing in that upside anymore.
Spiller remains an extremely talented and explosive player but when he's limited to six-to-eight touches, there's legitimate cause for concern. Throw in the fact that the Saints have clearly made an effort to spread ball around in the passing game and you're looking at a running back that doesn't even need to be rostered anymore. Between Willie Snead, Brandin Cooks, Marques Colston, and Benjamin Watson, Spiller's targets seem to be few and far between. Much like with the other playmakers in this offense,
I'm sure there's going to be one or two more games this season where Spiller is able to breakout a big play for a score but those type of performances are impossible to predict. He's gone from a guy who had solid PPR potential to being big-play dependent. I highly doubt you were starting C.J. Spiller on a week-to-week basis so if he's just been riding on your bench without ever even sniffing your lineup, feel free to drop him for the likes of DeAngelo Williams, Jeremy Langford, or Stevie Johnson this week.
Any Running Back Left Standing in San Francisco – RBs, DET
Reggie Bush has been placed on injured reserve after slipping on exposed concrete against the Rams and tearing his ACL. First of all, the fact that the St. Louis Rams have such a ridiculously slippery surface so close to a football field is mind-boggling. Second, this is a San Francisco team that has struggled immensely to establish any sort of consistent fantasy relevance. Between a completely abysmal passing game and inconsistent ground game, this whole offense has been a train wreck.
With Bush out and Carlos Hyde still banged up, you can officially avoid this team entirely for fantasy purposes. I don't even mean just the ground game; I mean the whole offense. I'm putting that in this particular section because the biggest question regarding the 49ers right now is who steps into the starting role until Hyde is able to return and honestly, I don't think it matters. Hyde, the most talented rusher on the San Francisco roster this year, has been fairly inconsistent on his own so it's not like whoever takes his place is suddenly going to reignite the offense. I understand the mindset that a starting running back in the NFL has fantasy value but unless you're in a crazy deep league or have been completely decimated by injuries, I can't imagine a scenario where Shaun Draughn or Pierre Thomas is your best option. Even when Carlos Hyde comes back, I'd likely be terrified at the prospect of starting him. We'll revisit that scenario when the time comes.
Updates From Last Week
Justin Forsett – RB, BAL
As I said last week, Justin Forsett is an odd player to analyze considering his misleading production. He's still locked in as an RB2 for the season but you're going to have to deal with a ton of inconsistency. You're almost certainly stuck with what you have in Forsett at this point so you're going to have to keep trotting him out there and hoping for the best. Just keep in mind that he's not exactly going to come charging down the stretch of the season and be the sole guy that wins you a championship.
Chris Ivory – RB, NYJ
Chris Ivory had a rough outing against the Oakland Raiders last week but honestly, so did the entire Jets roster outside of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. With Ryan Fitzpatrick (left thumb) hurt and Geno Smith (left shoulder) ailing, there's likely to be some adjustments made to the offensive plan to emphasize the run. Either way, I think Ivory should be fine long-term so I'm willing to just ride this one out barring a complete collapse.
Andre Ellington – RB, NYJ
Head coach Bruce Arians played some mind tricks with the media when he emphasized an increase in touches for Andre Ellington in Week 8. Aside from the fact that Ellington scored precisely zero fantasy points, Chris Johnson has simply been too productive to warrant owning Ellington, let alone using him. If you haven't dropped him already, feel free to do so this week.
Eddie Lacy – RB, GB
I wouldn't exactly call Eddie Lacy's Week 8 outing a return to form for him but similar to Chris Ivory this week, that wasn't entirely his fault. The Green Bay Packers were simply smothered by the Denver defense so you should actually be thankful that Lacy managed to find the endzone in that game. I think this is a wait-and-see scenario between Lacy and James Starks, especially considering Starks' recent injury troubles. I would still rank Lacy ahead of Starks in any given week but just be wary that this has the potential to become closer to a timeshare than anyone should feel comfortable with.
