Fantasy News

The Lions are going to use a running back by committee this season.

Tim Twentyman of the Lions’ official website matter-of-factly wrote: “The Lions are still going to use a running-back-by-committee approach (this season).” Twentyman did also add that Johnson “is expected to be the lead back and get the most opportunities when healthy… he should get every opportunity to make plays in Darrell Bevell’s running back-friendly offense.” The second-year running back has workhorse potential, but it doesn’t look like he’ll get that opportunity this season. Still, he’s a very talented player that might play so well that Detroit has no choice but to leave him on the field as much as possible without wearing him out. C.J. Anderson’s presence is a slight concern for Johnson, but there’s no question that Johnson will be the team’s starting running back in 2019, and a run-heavy offense—paired with his talent—could afford him enough opportunities for a strong RB1 season.

Via: DetroitLions.com 7/2/19 - 09:21 AM ET

Kareem Hunt was involved in an incident at a Cleveland bar on Saturday night.

TMZ Sports has video of an animated Hunt talking to police officers outside. A witness told TMZ that there was a physical altercation between Hunt and another man, but that they weren’t sure if it was an actual fight or just two buddies messing around. And the bar owner told WKYC3 that he thinks it was just “a small argument with one of his friends.” This sounds like nothing, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Hunt is probably on his last chance in the NFL.

Via: TMZ Sports 7/1/19 - 04:56 PM ET

James Conner says he’ll have a similar role to last season.

In an interview that will air on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access tonight, Conner said of his workload this season: “I’ll have a similar role. I’m healthy, first and foremost, I’m 100 percent healthy now. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But we got talent in that room. We got Jaylen Samuels who’s a tremendous receiver, a talented runner. We got (rookie) Benny Snell. We know the work that he did at Kentucky.  He’s a hard-bodied runner, so all those guys will get touches. It’ll be fun this year just seeing those other guys being successful.” Conner also added that the game plan is different every week and that he and the team haven’t talked deeply about his role overall this season, but that he knows he’ll “be a big part of it and have a big role.” Some concerns popped up when Conner said last month that he thought the running back touches for the Steelers would be “spread out pretty evenly” this year, but that was probably Conner just being a good teammate more than anything. Expect the third-year running back to be a near-workhorse for a team that traditionally likes one running back getting most of the playing time. Conner should be selected in the first two rounds of all fantasy drafts this summer.

Via: NFL.com 7/1/19 - 12:22 PM ET

Ezekiel Elliott will meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.

Elliott was involved in a scuffle in Las Vegas in May, and he ended up detained (handcuffed) but not arrested by police for the incident. The NFL can suspend players under the personal conduct policy even if no arrest was made, and Elliott was previously arrested six games in 2017 for violating the personal conduct policy, which makes the situation a slight concern. Just keep in mind that it’s possible Elliott faces discipline, but we’d be pretty surprised if he’s suspended after the Cowboys voiced clear displeasure with how the NFL handled their star running back’s six-game suspension a couple of seasons ago. If there is any NFL discipline from this Vegas incident, a fine might be the most likely outcome for Elliott.

Via: ESPN 7/1/19 - 09:21 AM ET

Jim Wyatt of the Titans’ official site isn’t sure Derrick Henry will get 20 carries per game this season.

In Wyatt’s weekend mailbag, a fan asked if he thinks Henry could get the ball on the ground over 20 times per game this season, and Wyatt wrote: “Derrick is definitely going to get his chances, but I can’t commit to 20 carries a game. His number of carries will be determined by how the games are going (Winning? Losing? Close? Blowout?), and how he performs.” Wyatt added that Henry had 20+ carries in just two games last season, so he’s skeptical he’ll average that with more weapons added on Tennessee’s offense in the offseason. Those two games Henry did get 20+ carries, he had lines of 33/170/2 and 21/84/1 on the ground, and the week before those consecutive games in Weeks 15 and 16, it’s when he broke out for a monster 17/238/4 game against the Jaguars. 20 carries per game for 16 games would be 320 carries in a season (Ezekiel Elliott led the league with 304 carries last season), so not hitting that mark isn’t a huge deal. But it’s probably wise to feed Henry the ball, as he clearly has the ability to carry an offense. It’ll be disappointing if Henry doesn’t average 15 carries per game at the very least in 2019, which would come out to 240+ carries (which would have been eighth in the NFL last year).

Via: TitansOnline.com 6/29/19 - 09:33 AM ET

The Redskins hope to have a split backfield this season.

Redskins running backs coach Randy Jordan says the team will ideally have a 50/50 or 60/40 split in touches for Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice, but he added that all their running backs can play all three downs. Peterson obviously wants the ball as much as possible and still has a goal of hitting 2,000 rushing yards again, but he says he knows Guice is a good player and is “open arms for whatever they decide to do.” The future Hall of Famer is fully expected to lead Washington’s backfield this season, but it might be difficult for him to have a workhorse role if Guice is healthy. Also, Chris Thompson is likely to get most of the work on passing downs, and fourth-round pick Bryce Love could be in the mix if he gets healthy enough to play this season coming off a torn ACL. The good news is the Redskins are expected to be a run-heavy team, so a few guys could all deliver solid fantasy value in 2019.

Via: Redskins.com 6/28/19 - 08:52 AM ET

Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn plans to limit Melvin Gordon’s touches.

According to Eric D. Williams of ESPN, Lynn said he wants to limit his star running back’s touches “in the preseason and during the regular season with the hope that Gordon is more fresh at the end of the year.” The preseason part obviously isn’t surprising, as Gordon doesn’t need a ton of reps to get comfortable leading up to Week 1, but we could see a couple less touches per game from the Wisconsin product in 2019. However, you should note that last season, Gordon averaged 18.5 touches per game before he left Week 11 with a knee injury (which is not a ton), so it’s difficult to see big enough of a decrease in touches to have a major affect on Gordon’s fantasy value. It won’t be surprising if he’s up around 18 touches again this season, as he’s an excellent player that makes the Chargers a better team when he’s on the field and getting the ball. The biggest takeaway might be Austin Ekeler could get more opportunities, which could lead to him being a more reliable FLEX option in fantasy lineups in 2019.

Via: ESPN 6/27/19 - 11:48 AM ET