Fantasy football week 7 sleepers: 5 running back sleepers

Matt Jones-Washington Redskins

Remember in week 3 when Matt Jones was ready to take over the fantasy football world after a monster game against the Rams? He was one of the top claims on waiver wires in week three, but things haven’ gone so well for the former-Gator since then.  In week 2, Jones racked up 123 yards and two touchdowns on his 19 carries and added 23 more yards on three catches.  Since then, in three games he has totaled 69 yards and no touchdowns on 29 carries and added just one catch for 17 yards.

His recent struggles have caused his DraftKings price to drop all the way to 3,200 and his FanDuel price to fall to 5,600.  He’s been dropped in many ESPN season-long leagues as well leaving his ownership percentage at just 44%.

Despite his recent struggles, there are some signs of hope for Jones and his owners for this week.  First, Jones took last week off to heal a toe injury that had slowed him down since week 5.  He was inactive last week, but he was back in full practices this week and reportedly “looked good.” While he is still in a timeshare with Alfred Morris, Jones should get more work than normal this week since Chris Thompson is doubtful for the week.  Thompson had been the team’s primary passing-down back, but Jones is expected to pick up those responsibilities for at least this week.

It’s a good matchup for Jones against a Tampa defense that has allowed 120 rushing yards a game, and I think he’s actually a sneaky-strong play this week.  On DraftKings or FanDuel, you could partner him with Michael and afford top options for the rest of your roster.  There is still the risk of him losing carries to Morris, but I think Jones will be back on the fantasy football radar after this weekend.

Next: A backup on a bad team with good numbers