At varying times this season, Washington has looked to lean on Alfred Morris and Matt Jones as its primary running back. Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, it was Chris Thompson’s turn, as the second-year back led the team’s running backs in snaps Sunday in the team’s 25-19 overtime loss.
Chris Thompson gets more snaps than Matt Jones and Alfred Morris, fantasy value muddled
The entire Washington backfield is a mess to sort through, with Thompson getting the most work right now. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Thompson was on the field for 26 snaps on Sunday, compared to 21 for Jones and 14 for Morris, according to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke. That wasn't totally reflected in the players' usage: Thompson had three carries for 15 yards and six catches for 33 yards, Jones had 11 carries for 20 yards and a score and a catch for 17 more yards and Morris had eight carries for 15 yards.
Fantasy impact: The fact that Thompson led in snaps but got only three carries really reflects his importance in the team’s passing game, in the role popularized by the Darren Sproles and Shane Vereen types. Morris has never been a pass-catcher, and Jones isn’t much of one, either.
In standard leagues, it’s nearly impossible to trust any of these backs on a weekly basis. Morris has led the group in fantasy scoring once, and Jones and Thompson have done so twice each. With so much depending on the hot hand and game flow, it’s hard to know who to opt for in a given week.
In deeper PPR leagues, Thompson becomes more interesting. No matter what, he looks like he’ll be the team’s passing-down back, and that will have value every week. Still, your best bet in fantasy is to avoid the group altogether.
