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Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Gurley or Bell At #1? – I’ll Take Neither

By Rob Wilson

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys takes the field prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys takes the field prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Fantasy Football Draft
SANTA CLARA, CA – OCTOBER 22: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys takes the field prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Fantasy Football Draft /

The Great Fantasy Football Draft Debate: Gurley or Bell?

Here’s Why You Should Pivot on Both of Them 

Quick! Off the top of your head, how many times in the last ten years has the overall RB1 duplicated that finish the next season? Correct, the answer is zero. Todd Gurley absolutely dominated fantasy football in a way we haven’t witnessed seen since LT and MJD, and it was a thing of beauty. He’s the top pick in nearly every Fantasy Football Draft, and I would be foolish to say that’s a bad idea.

But I will say it’s not the best idea. There’s another back that should be the apple of your eye. Le’Veon Bell? Nah. David Johnson? Nope. How about none of the above? 

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Zeke Elliott should be the first guy off the board in your fantasy league. He’s going in the top five of most drafts so it’s not out of the box, but it will raise some eyebrows. Zeke is barely in the conversation when he should be leading it. He averaged 20.3 PPR points per game in 2017, and finished as an RB1 seven times. Did I mention he only played for ten weeks?

From a consistency standpoint he’s as good as it gets, only finishing outside the RB2 range once last year. He’s failed to log 12 PPR points just twice since he came into the league. The most confusing suspension in history was finally served, and he’s coming into this year with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.

Dallas has struggled offensively in the past few seasons, but this year presents a bit of a wild card. The departure of Dez Bryant and Jason Witten will open up targets everywhere, which could lead to an increase in work for Zeke in the passing game. Pittsburgh and LA have plenty of healthy new weapons which indicates regression for the consensus two backs. Not to mention one of them is threatening retirement and skipping camp. They should still produce at an elite level, but they’ll likely remain on earth. What we saw from the Rams last season wasn’t just a breakout, it was a statistical anomaly. It’s historically unlikely that they will repeat it.

Feel free to snag Gurley or Bell since they’re safe, but mark my words… a healthy Zeke will finish on top in 2018.

Next: Ten Commandments Of Fantasy Champs

Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all the latest fantasy football draft news and analysis as he inch closer to the start of the NFL season!

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