Fantasy Football 2017: 3 Backfields to avoid on draft day

1. New York Giants

When the Giants released their 2016 starting running back Rashad Jennings in February, I got excited for Paul Perkins. He was a good bet months ago to lead the backfield in touches and right now, he still is. Yet, I assumed back in February the Giants were going to attempt to fix their putrid offensive line. Silly me for assuming.

In January, Pro Football Focus ranked the Giants offensive line 20th in the NFL after the conclusion of the 2016 regular season. Behind their offensive line the Giants only averaged 88.2 rushing yards per game which ranked 29th in the NFL. In June after the NFL Draft and free agency, PFF ranked their offensive line 28th in the NFL. So far this preseason, they’ve lived up to their ranking as the team’s 3.1 yards per carry (YPC) ranks 24th and Paul Perkins has averaged a brutal 2.7 YPC on 17 attempts.

Aside from running behind a suspect offensive line, Perkins is projected to lose passing-down snaps to pass-catching running back Shane Vereen and some snaps/carries to Orleans Darkwa. One can make the case Vereen is prone to injury and Darkwa isn’t anything special which may be true. The fact is, the Giants offensive line isn’t magically going to get stable and Perkins will struggle to find holes in 2017.

Next: Fantasy Football 2017: Advice and tips for Draft Day

If I had to draft one player for immediate success it would be…
Paul Perkins

As mentioned before, Perkins is a good bet to lead the Giants backfield in touches in 2017. The problem is, it’s more than likely going to be three yards at a time.

If I had to draft one player for long-term success it would be…
Paul Perkins

Still going with Perkins here but he can’t be trusted on a week-to-week basis. Even when bye weeks kick in, he’ll still only be a FLEX option at best.