No position in fantasy sports is more confusing than "New England Patriots running back." In Week 13, the Patriots turned most heavily to second-year back James White, who had huge yardage in the Patriots' 35-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Fantasy football waiver wire advice: James White has big yardage in loss
The New England running back was easily the team’s leading receiver Sunday. We break down the fantasy implications.
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White had only four rushing yards on two carries Sunday, but was a major part of the team’s passing game with 10 receptions on 13 targets for 115 yards and a touchdown. After 191 yards from scrimmage in his two-year career entering Sunday, White had 119 yards in that game alone, far and away the biggest yardage of his career.
Fantasy impact: It's tempting to look at this game and say that White is making the next jump to become a big, primary running back. That is, until you notice that it was only last week that Brandon Bolden had 95 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. And the week before, it was White again, with 46 yards and two touchdowns. All this while LeGarrette Blount chugs along in the background, averaging about 50 yards a game over this stretch.
It's the Patriots, and it's the Patriots' running backs. Trying to guess who will do what out of that backfield -- especially since Dion Lewis was lost to an injury -- is a really good way to be wrong a lot. White is owned in about 26 percent of Yahoo! fantasy leagues. There's every chance he outperforms that sort of ownership the rest of the way. The problem is, there's also every chance that Bolden becomes the next one to get heavy usage, or that the two continue to alternate, and you just never guess right on which one to use in a given week. On top of that, the Patriots aren't likely to fall behind and need to pass, as they did in Sunday's game, meaning Blount will get more use. I'm letting White sit.
