Derrius Guice Lost for Season: Fantasy Context
Prized Washington rookie running back Derrius Guice has been lost for the season due to a torn ACL suffered in week one preseason action according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com.
This is a huge blow for a Washington offense that looked to be trending in the right direction as the drafting of Guice finally solidified a backfield that had been desperate for a playmaking runner since Alfred Morris and RGIII thrilled Washington’s faithful.
Washington will now have to rely on their pass game once again if they plan to make any noise in 2018, unfortunately opposing defenses know that too.
Samaje Perine seems to now be the favorite to assume early down duties with Chris Thompson operating as the team’s passing down back.
Fantasy Context:
Samaje Perine – Perine is now the favorite for early down duties in Washington and he shot up over 35 spots in our running back rankings once news of Guice’s season ending injury hit the wire. Perine proved to be nothing special last year but he should still be able to carve out deep league flex value based on volume potential alone. While we will not rule out Washington adding another back in the coming weeks as of now Perine is a solid late round pick in deeper leagues including best ball formats. Perine should be an upside bye week filler/depth option with the potential to put up RB3 numbers given the requisite touches.
Chris Thompson – Chris Thompson sees only a slight uptick in value with this news as even though Guice has every down workhorse chops and Perine does not Thompson was still going to be heavily involved in the passing game when healthy. Thompson has RB2 upside in PPR leagues.
Alex Smith – Alex Smith loses a bit of his upside as opposing defenses will now be able to key in on stopping the pass game with little in the way of threats in the form of runners out of backfield in Washington’s offense. Smith’s rank does not change with this news.
Robert Kelly – Kelly should get a chance to make a case for himself with Guice on the shelf for the season but the talent disparity between himself and Perine will likely prove too much to overcome leaving Kelly as more of a direct backup or handcuff to Perine. Kelly has a chance to put up flex running back value if Perine were to also miss time.
