Breakdowns

11/17/21

6 min read

Buy Into the Elijah Mitchell Hype

Buy Into the Elijah Mitchell Hype

We have gotten through 10 full weeks of the NFL season and if you are anything like me, you are truly stumped. There are no constants this season. A player could be great one week and then get zero fantasy points the next. In my opinion, this has been the hardest year to play fantasy football. Pretty much every 1st round pick has missed time and there has been a lack of midseason breakout stars. However, when faced with a season like this, the best thing you can do is embrace it and roll with the punches. There are still plenty of things you can do to improve your fantasy team and make a late playoff run.

Last Week Recap:

Look, I’m not going to lie to you, this was a tough week. Before I recap last week, remember that when I tell you to buy into a player's hype, I am saying they will have a good rest of the season in fantasy. So when I review how they did the week after I wrote about them, that is not always a great indicator of how the balance of their season will go. For example, after Week 5 I wrote an article about buying into the Michael Pittman Jr. hype. Pittman only had 4 points in Week 6, but went on to become the 7th best receiver in fantasy. Keep that in mind for the recap.

Last week, I recommended buying into the Donovan Peoples-Jones and Russell Gage hype. Unfortunately, both of these players were on the wrong end of blowouts. Peoples-Jones finished his game with 1 reception for 16 yards, while Gage could not manage a single catch. I wouldn’t say they both had a bad week, I would say the Browns and the Falcons had a bad week. While both of them had very ugly-looking fantasy performances, their numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt. If they put up these kinds of statistics in games where the offense was able to move the ball, I would be much more concerned. I am willing to give Peoples-Jones and Gage another week before I change my mind about them.

I also recommended not buying into the Antonio Gibson hype. I was surprised to see Gibson’s volume increase to 24 carries. This is probably because this is one of the only games this season Washington has played with the lead for most of the game. Gibson’s efficiency was subpar, only rushing for 64 yards. However, he was able to find the end zone twice which really saved his game. I don’t see Gibson getting this many scoring opportunities in the future, but his volume was very promising. I would say Gibson is a low-end RB2 right now which could be extremely valuable considering the numerous injuries in the league right now.

Buy Into The Hype: Elijah Mitchell

Going into the season I had the 49ers running back script all planned out in my head. I thought Raheem Mostert was going to begin the season as the starter and split some carries with Trey Sermon. After a few weeks, Sermon would play very well and eventually take the role of starter for the Niners. Then a man named Elijah Mitchell entered the picture and completely ruined my narrative.

At first, I was skeptical of Mitchell because it seemed like the Niners were still going to have a running back by committee. However, in the past four weeks, Mitchell has emerged as the clear RB1 in San Francisco, averaging 17.75 carries and 92.75 yards per game. Mitchell is seeing plenty of volume and the Niners do not have a very difficult schedule ahead of them. Don’t be surprised if you see him as one of the leading scorers in the next few weeks.

Don’t Buy Into The Hype: Miles Sanders

Miles Sanders is set to return from the IR in the next 1-2 weeks. When he returns, I expect him to be a part of an enormous committee in Philadelphia. Right now the Eagles have Boston Scott, Kenneth Gainwell, and Jordan Howard as running back options and they have been utilizing all of them. Since Sanders has gotten injured, it seems like the Eagles have really figured out how to use their run game effectively. It would be idiotic of them to move away from what has been working once Sanders returns.

I expect the Eagles to integrate Sanders into the committee that they have. He would be lucky to see anywhere near ½ of the touches in Philadelphia. On top of that, Sanders was extremely underwhelming in the games he did play this season. The Eagles do not have a fantasy-friendly running back situation, and I am staying as far away from that situation as I can.

Buy Into The Hype: AJ Dillon

Since last year I have been saying that AJ Dillon is the best backup running back in the NFL and I am thrilled that he finally has the opportunity to prove me right. Dillon will most likely start the next 2-3 weeks for the Packers in place of Aaron Jones who was, fortunately, able to avoid a season-ending injury last Sunday. Dillon is not only a great rusher, but he also is able to catch the ball too, making him a huge PPR threat. He has put up very respectable numbers especially as a backup. I am very excited to see what he can do with the backfield to himself. Dillon is nothing less than a high-end RB1 as long as Jones is out. Expect huge performances from him in the coming weeks.

We are over halfway through this crazy season and we still have no idea what to expect. This year has been plagued by injuries, upsets, and inconsistencies that make it nearly impossible to run a dominant fantasy team. If your team has gotten bitten by the injury bug, make sure you head to waivers and make some moves. Both the NFL and the fantasy football season have never been more up for grabs. Good Luck!

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