Fantasy Football 2018: Week 11 Running Back Targets
By Bill Pivetz
Fantasy football owners looking for replacement running backs with six teams on bye in Week 11.
The fantasy football regular season is quickly coming to a close. There are six teams on bye in Week 11, fantasy owners are going to be looking for whatever viable replacements they can. It’s also a good idea to look ahead to the fantasy playoffs, if you’re projected to make it, and find players with favorable schedules.
The Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers are the teams on bye. While those teams may not have the best running backs, some owners may be forced to start them based on league size or injuries.
With those teams off, LeSean McCoy, Nick Chubb, Kenyan Drake, Sony Michel, Isaiah Crowell and Matt Breida are the highly-owned players that will ride the bench this week. If you own any of these running backs, here are three replacement options for you.
Theo Riddick, DET
Kerryon Johnson is the lead back in Detroit. However, with the loss of Golden Tate, there are some targets available in the passing game. The Lions don’t have a reliable pass-catching tight end, so Riddick gets a boost in value.
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Over the last two games, Riddick has 13 catches for 96 yards. He is to no use in non-PPR leagues as he hasn’t had a carry in four straight weeks. But as a deep flex or RB3, Riddick can get you some points this week.
Rashaad Penny, SEA
With Chris Carson out, Penny was able to shine. He rushed 12 times for 108 yards and a touchdown. This is what is early-season fans were hoping for. Unfortunately, it might have been too late for them.
Carson was limited in Monday’s practice. The Seattle Seahawks play Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers and Pete Carroll said Carson will be ready to play in this game. Penny’s value is tied to carries.
I think he’s worth an add based on his skills but wait until later this week to see who will get the start.
Doug Martin/Jalen Richard, OAK
The combination of Martin and Richard racked up 68 yards on 18 carries last week, the majority coming from Martin. He has 39 carries in his last three games while Richard has seven.
Martin is already owned in over 50 percent of ESPN leagues. Richard is at 49.8 percent. With the way the Oakland Raiders offense is playing, they may be playing from behind in a lot of their games.
If that is the case, Richard is the go-to option of the two. He has 17 catches for 147 yards in his last three games. PPR league players should target him.
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It’s not the best group of running backs, but at this point in the season, you don’t have many options. These four players shouldn’t be your top running back but can be serviceable in deeper leagues as an RB2 or flex. I’d rank them Riddick, Martin, Richard, Penny this week.