Who Do We Want In Washington Backfield?

What are we doing with the Washington Football Team running back situation? Oft-injured, and recently accused of domestic violence, Derrius Guice, was cut-loose by the team about a week ago. The team didn’t waste any time doing so, once Guice turned himself in amid the accusations. While not having Guice in the backfield room certainly helps with identifying the fantasy relevant running backs from the Washington Football Team, it blew up twitter in the fantasy community regarding the handling of this situation.

Adrian Peterson:

NFL.com

Peterson is going to be the “starter” on this team. He is going to be the one that will get the first crack at the early-down work. That doesn’t mean that he is the one that I want on my fantasy team. Currently ranked as RB46 on our rankings, which is pretty much aligned with the ECR (Expert Consensus Ranking). When you start getting into this range of players in your draft (12th round ADP), I’m looking for upside. I want guys that can win you weeks, and perhaps even a league, when you aren’t expecting or relying on them to do so. Peterson isn’t that. Not at 35 years old. Like the rest of this backfield, his ADP will most likely rise as we get closer to opening day, but chances are you’ll be able to find another player at this spot with greater upside.

Antonio Gibson:

NBC Sports

This is my guy. Gibson has been my guy in this backfield long before the Guice news came out. It seems that most in the industry are feeling the same, since his ADP has risen almost five rounds over the past week. We were one the highest rankers of Gibson since the draft, and our rankings still reflect that. Ranked as RB32, sixteen spots higher than his ECR, and 30 spots above his ADP (9.01), he is the one you want on your fantasy teams. I have had numerous arguments / discussions with people on social media that were downplaying Gibson’s involvement over the past few days.

“ He’s only had 33 carries in college”

Well, he had only 33 carries while at Memphis. He did play other college ball. Let’s not make it seem like he just started playing football last season. The same people that are downplaying Gibson’s college carries, are the same people that have Tyler Higbee ranked inside their top 5 of tight ends, despite only having 5 relevant fantasy games and being a fourth round pick coming out with only 68 college receptions.

“ Gibson won’t be the lead back”

Probably not. At least not right away. I’m not expecting him to be lead back, especially in an off season in which we are forced with this season. However, this is fantasy football, and we want the players that are going to score the most points..Obviously. Gibson doesn’t need to be the “lead” back to be the leading fantasy producer among this group of running backs. If you haven’t already done so, go look up his highlights. His highlights was his season! Scoring on almost 18% of the total times he touched the ball. Good things happen when the ball is in his hands, and the ball can find his hands through means of rushing and receiving. If we know this, Ron Rivera knows this too. Right? Gibson will NOT lead this team in carries and perhaps even rushing production, but he will lead the team in fantasy production. For the same reason I don’t want Peterson, is the same reason I do want Gibson. Upside.

Peyton Barber:

He can be had for free on the waiver wire after your draft if that is the direction you want to go. Not me, I’ll pass. I would rather be wrong on him than using a pick.

Bryce Love:

I’m a Bryce Love supporter, and if I miss out on Gibson, he is the one I’ll take a chance on. Love is definitely worth a pick in the back-end of your drafts based on talent alone. If it wasn’t for a torn ACL in his last game of his senior season at Stanford, Love was headed towards a first round selection in the NFL draft. However, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, and you could argue that he is the most talented back on the team. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Love take the early down work from Peterson at some point, forming an exciting committee with Gibson. Keep an eye on camp reports from the Washington beat writers, because if healthy, Love can be a league winning type of selection at the end of your drafts.

Devonta Freeman? : Why not right? He is still available and if the Washington Football Team decides to bring him in, it changes things mentioned above. A move to Washington would happen if the team feels that Gibson isn’t anywhere near ready to contribute, Love isn’t fully back from his injury and Peterson has run out of gas. If this happens, Freeman is the first one I would be targeting, followed by Gibson. He’s worth a draft pick anyway, as he is just too good to be sitting around unemployed for long. Just something to keep an eye on.

Breakdown:

1. Antonio Gibson- (ADP 9.01): Upside, playmaker, pass catcher- worth a pick at his ADP
2. Bryce Love- (ADP 14.05): Upside, talent, league-winning potential.
3. Adrian Peterson (ADP 12.11)- Safe pick, no upside, won’t see your lineup
4. Peyton Barber (ADP 19.03)- Not worth a pick.