Fantasy Football 2016: Grizzled Vet or Unproven Youth at Running Back?

Late round running backs come down to grizzled veterans or unproven young players. Which is the best bet for your roster? Fantasy Football 2016.

Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

TODD:

It is fantasy football drafting season! The NFL season begins in less than a month, which means these weeks are the time to draft in fantasy football leagues. Though there is quite a debate at the top of draft boards this year, there are also a ton of intriguing options throughout the middle rounds as well.

A number of these decisions will come down to roster alignment and how you choose to build your team. However, the most pressing questions come down to options between players at the same position with similar skill sets, who may even find themselves on the same NFL team. It is hard to split hairs, which brings us to a game of “who’d you rather?”

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I have two prototypes to choose from in the middle rounds at the running back position. Which direction do you go? The first type is the young back with a clear starting job who we aren’t sure is actually good enough at football to succeed in the NFL.

This first type is represented by two players, San Diego’s Melvin Gordon and Detroit’s Ameer Abdullah. Both players are highly regarded and were thought to be highly talented. Each struggled mightily in his first year in the NFL, yet neither has any clear usurper to his carries this season. Gordon will give way to Danny Woodhead on passing downs, but he is the bell cow. The same goes for Abdullah, with Theo Riddick in the Woodhead role.

Consensus fantasy rankings tabulated by Fantasy Pros have each player going around the seventh round, in the late 20’s at the running back position. They are option one (whichever you specifically prefer). Prototype option number two is almost the companion player. It’s the grizzled veteran who may not be good anymore. It too has a clear chance at number-one-level carries but may not be deserving of them.

This is a Frank Gore or Rashad Jennings, or even Chris Ivory (depending on your feelings of the carries split pending in Jacksonville). For the first two players, they are their team’s clear number-one guy yet no one is quite sure they are up to the task. Gore is going right around the same time in drafts as Gordon and Abdullah. Jennings is going a couple of rounds later.

Do you have a preference between these two archetypes? My lean is toward the young guys just because their ceilings will be higher if they do succeed. But the floor is also lower, and with middle-round picks sometimes you just want reliability and startability.

I would take Gordon but then have zero confidence he would even be on my team three weeks later. With Jennings, at least I’m relatively confident I could reluctantly start him week after week.

Aug 13, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon (28) carries the ball away from Tennessee Titans inside linebacker Avery Williamson (54) during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports /

DAN:

Unproven youngster or veteran with uncertain playing time, that is the question. If you are stuck answering this for anything more than your third or fourth running back on your fantasy roster, then start trading immediately or consider yourself screwed. There is too much risk involved with this decision to put one of these players in a RB1 or RB2 spot on your team.

My head is conflicted on this fantasy decision. By tossing Chris Ivory into the discussion I immediately lean towards the veterans, because I believe Ivory has a lot left in the tank. Then I remember Frank Gore was a terrible fantasy player last year. He was not someone you wanted to reluctantly start, because only one in five games would he produce. He was a desperate play. He is not someone to be drafting this season.