3 RBs Poised to Hit Paydirt in 2018
The best feeling on game day during the fantasy football season is when one of your players scores a touchdown. Over the course of the year, a few players consistently failed to score touchdowns when they were needed most. That being said, here are 3 running backs from last year who should see a spike in the number of touchdowns they score this year.
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Jerick McKinnon (RB, San Francisco 49ers)
With the Vikings last year, Jerick McKinnon had a solid year, finishing as the 24th best RB in standard scoring leagues and scoring 5 total touchdowns. He managed to do this while only getting 150 carries, as Latavius Murray was the primary rusher.
Now McKinnon is on the San Francisco 49ers with the opportunity to be a 3-down back for a completely revamped offense to be led by Jimmy Garoppolo. The main weakness of this new 49ers offense is the depth of the RB position which is only good news for McKinnon. The fact that the 49ers decided to pass on drafting a running back is further proof that the organization is all in on McKinnon, and that means fantasy owners should be to.
McKinnon could see almost 100 carries more in the 2018 season than he did last year, which means a lot more opportunities for McKinnon to get into the end zone. Over his first 4 years in the league, McKinnon has 12 total touchdowns, but don’t be surprised if he gets close to that number in the upcoming season.
C.J. Anderson (RB, Carolina Panthers)
Nine RBs last year ran for over 1,000 yards, a group that featured some established top tier players like Le’Veon Bell, Lesean McCoy, and Melvin Gordon, but included in that group was also C.J. Anderson. Normally, a 1,000 yard rusher from the previous year would be a highly coveted asset in fantasy, but due to getting cut at an awkward time in the offseason, he sat as a free agent for weeks like some washed up player.
Despite breaking 1,000 yards, Anderson only finished as the #17 RB because he only had 4 total touchdowns last year. This could be attributed to the Broncos inconsistent pass attack throughout the season. Now that Anderson is in Carolina, he will be part of a much better offense that gets into the red zone more consistently.
While Anderson will certainly split carries with Cam Newton and Christian McCaffery, it should be Anderson that will end the season with the most carries. This talent in the backfield will make it unlikely that Anderson rushes for 1,000 yards again, but he will certainly score more touchdowns with more opportunities in the red zone.
Isaiah Crowell (RB, New York Jets)
The Jets certainly haven’t been a team in recent years that most people associate with fantasy success, but don’t be surprised if Isaiah Crowell has a nice year in his first season in New York. Despite setting a career high in carries, Crowell had a career low in touchdowns, only scoring 2 the entire season. Considering that the previous low for touchdowns he’s had in a given season is 5, it seems like Crowell’s touchdown deficiency last season is an outlier.
Crowell was also signed to a 3 year contract by the Jets to be the starting running back after failing to get consistent production from their backfield last season. This change of scenery is most definitely an offensive upgrade from the 0-16 Browns last year, who often abandoned the run game due to being behind in games. Crowell should see a lot more time in the red zone this year compared to last year, especially considering he is the most capable short-yardage RB on the team. Expect Crowell’s touchdown total to triple or even quadruple from 2017.