Chris Carson: Top-12 running back in 2020 fantasy?
By John Buhler
Chris Carson had a great fantasy football season for the Seattle Seahawks before he got hurt. Is he still a top-12 fantasy running back heading into 2020?
Running back Chris Carson had another great season for the Seattle Seahawks in his third year in the league. He ran for 1,230 yards on 278 carries for seven touchdowns, as well as catching 37 balls for 266 yards and two touchdowns out of the backfield. However, he did fumble the ball seven times and missed the playoffs due to a hip fracture. Is he still a top back in fantasy football?
The Fantasy Footballers assess Carson’s status as an RB1 candidate for your team. He finished the 2019 season as RB11 league-wide, meaning he’s good enough to be the RB1 on any fantasy team of note. A lot of what we’ll expect out of him has to do with his health, as well as who is in the running back room with him in 2020.
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Andy Holloway sees a major drop-off in Carson’s fantasy production, as he has him all the way down at RB17 at this point of the offseason. He questions if he’s going to get 300 or so carries in this Seattle offense, especially coming off his injury. If Marshawn Lynch signs a one-year deal, he might end up vulturing some of Carson’s goal-line carries and potential rushing touchdowns.
Jason Moore and Mike Wright are more optimistic on Carson’s fantasy viability than Holloway. Though the Seahawks used a day-three pick on former Miami Hurricanes running back DeeJay Dallas, they still view Carson as the No. 1 running back option in Seattle. This has to do with Rashaad Penny having what appears to be a pretty bad torn ACL in head coach Pete Carroll’s eyes.
Because the Seahawks love to pound the rock in Brian Schottenheimer‘s offense, Carson should still be an RB1-level player this year, as long as there are no major changes to the Seattle running back room. Signing Lynch may not change the dynamic too much, but a more healthier than expected Penny, an emphasis on using Dallas or signing a Carlos Hyde might do the trick.
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For a former seventh-round pick out of Oklahoma State, the Seahawks have already gotten tremendous value out of Carson. He’s rushed for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Though they might move on from him after this upcoming season, there is no reason to believe he’ll be anything less than a top-12 running back in fantasy football this fall.