Fantasy Football: Can Marshawn Lynch Be Relevant?

After over a month of anticipation, Marshawn Lynch is officially back in the NFL and with the Raiders. Should fantasy football owners want to invest in him?

It’s been 15 months since the last time Marshawn Lynch stepped on a NFL field for an actual game. By the time Week 1 rolls around in September, it’ll be 20 months. Should fantasy football owners really expect big things from Beast Mode?

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In short: Yes, yes they should! Why exactly is this? Let’s break down Lynch, the situation he was in and the situation he’s in now.

Lynch is 31 years old, and that age should set off alarm bells, whistles and sirens for fantasy owners. As we know, any time a running back hits that 30-year-old milestone, it’s only a matter of time before the decline happens. Yet, I’m willing to make an exception for Lynch in 2017.

When Beast Mode retired in February 2016, he was only 29-years old. As mentioned before, when Week 1 comes around, it’ll be 20 months since the last time he played football. His body and mind should be well rested. They way his touches were adding up, he desperately needed it.

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Between 2010-14 with the Seahawks, Lynch averaged a ridiculous 298 touches per season. Keep in mind in 2010 he played four games with the Buffalo Bills before he was traded to Seattle. So between 2010-14 with the Seahawks and Bills, Lynch averaged 306 touches per season.

In 93 career games with the Seahawks between 2010-2015 (including playoffs), Lynch averaged 19.6 touches per game.

Maybe a year off from football wasn’t such a bad thing for Lynch. With that type of usage and punishment, it was only a matter of time before he was going to slow down. it just so happens 2015 was that year.

The Last Time He Played

Back in 2015, fantasy football owners were more than disappointed with Lynch and his season. I should know, because I was one of them.

Lynch’s season never got off the ground because he was dealing with a plethora of injuries. He had a sports hernia and nagging issues with his calf and hamstring. He only played in 7-of-16 regular season games, and missed one of the Seahawks’ two playoff games. To top it all off, Pro Football Focus graded the Seahawks offensive line as the third-worst in the NFL that season.

So in 2015, we had a banged-up Beast Mode and a horrible offensive line. Yeah, he never really stood much of chance.

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His Situation Now

If Lynch was headed back to Seattle I would skeptical of his fantasy football value. The Seahawks offensive line has been a joke over the last few years. Last season two of their five starters were former undrafted free agents. One played only one season at tackle in college (Garry Gilliam) while the other played only one season of football in college (George Fant). Pro Football Focus graded Seattle’s offensive line as the worst offensive line in the NFL in 2016.

Thankfully Lynch is not going to Seattle but instead he is going to Oakland. Last year Pro Football Focus graded their offensive line out as the fourth-best in the NFL. Latavius Murray rushed for 12 touchdowns in 14 games behind that offensive line in 2016. If you have watched Murray throughout his career, it’s obvious he has some talent. However, the guy is not in the same stratosphere as Marshawn Lynch.

Conclusion

Is Lynch going to see 300+ touches like he did in Seattle? No, but in Oakland he doesn’t need to. Last season Latavius Murray averaged 14 carries and 56 rushing yards a game and was still a top-13 fantasy running back (According to NFL.com). The main reason for that is because he scored 12 rushing touchdowns.

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If you’re Oakland and you go into Week 1 with Marshawn Lynch, DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard as your top three running backs, who are you going to give the ball to near the end zone?

You already know. I would be 100 percent comfortable taking Lynch in the third round and would view him as a RB2 with upside. Be ’bout that action.