There’s a sea of change cresting in New England. And Sony Michel is helping lead it.
Many might be surprised by it, but that excludes this not-so-humble-scribe. I boldly predicted back in May that the New England Patriots would be a better running team than passing one. That has already happened. New England is currently the NFL’s 21st ranked passing offense but is currently the 13th ranked rushing offense. James White has a lot to do it with it, but so does Sony Michel.
Of course White has put up better fantasy numbers so far. But this is not White’s first year in New England. It is Sony’s. And this change is happening now. Don’t be surprised if someday soon Tom Terrific is replaced by Super Sony as New England’s pride.
Sony Michel has led New England in carries every week this season. He now has back-t0-back weeks of over 100 yards from scrimmage. With New England likely to turn to him to run the clock out while winning, expect things for Michel to be continue to be “bright and Sony”. Bad puns aside, Sony Michel is the rookie running back you want to own right now. And with KC’s 31st ranked run defense up next, I do mean now.
Of course there are some other rookies that have my attention this week besides Sony Michel. We start with Michel’s former teammate.
Rookies I Like This Week Besides Sony Michel
Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
Let’s not forget that Sony Michel shared a backfield with Nick Chubb, yet both were productive leading Georgia to one of the most dominant rushing attacks in college football last year. I didn’t like Chubb’s matchup against the Ravens last week, but like Michel, Chubb was also coming off an impressive week. Oakland is obviously a weaker defense than Baltimore, but two rushing touchdowns and 105 yards definitely has my attention.
Make that TWO touchdowns for Nick Chubb!#CLEvsOAK pic.twitter.com/P5Gczhs7wV
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 30, 2018
And he has Coach Hue Jackson’s attention as well who said, “He has to get some. Hyde is playing well, but this guy is scoring touchdowns from long ways away. I was impressed. I watched those two touchdowns on tape (Monday), and they were even better than they were on the field.” With last week’s dud against Baltimore, now is a good time to buy Chubb. Expect Chubb to continue to contribute.
Keke Coutee, WR, Houston Texans
I would expect Coutee to continue to contribute as well. Coutee was sidelined to start the year, but had his coming out party a couple weeks ago after catching 11 passes for 109 yards. And yes, Coutee scored again last week. Yes, he’s still only the WR3 in Houston, but Will Fuller ain’t the healthiest calf playing for the Moo-Cows. While I wrote those previous sentences earlier in the month, surprise, once again Will Fuller has been “limited” in practice. Coutee definitely is making my cut this week against the 2-3 Bills.
Ito Smith, RB Atlanta Falcons
Embed from Getty Images
I featured Marquez Valdes-Scantling in last week’s unpublished article and he came through in spades. However, as the Packer receiving corps begins to heal, I am not willing to pump him up this week. However, there is another rookie who continues to see playing time in the absence of injured starters, Ito Smith.
Smith has now scored in back-to-back weeks. With Tampa Bay giving up an average of over 30 fantasy points to opposing running backs, Ito makes for a great bet to score again this week.
Taysom Hill, QB, New Orleans Saints
So I actually wrote this paragraph in an unpublished article last week:
This is for those in deep leagues, the kind where the best free agent qb is Brock Osweiler. Hill is a very risky pick, but if you’re in a jam in your 2-QB league with the bye weeks coming up, you could do much worse.
The above was abashedly a temporary moment of solipsism, but it turned out to be spot on. I won my 2-QB league tilt thanks to Hill’s touchdown last week. While I am tempted to add Hill to the Samkon Gado Hall of Fantasy Football Fame, I think this is just the start to a productive career for Hill. And just like Sony Michel, the legend begins….
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