Handcuff Report, Week 11: Who the Ekeler Are These Guys?

The Eagles were on their bye week, so I took Sunday off from football this week. And by took Sunday off I mean I got up early to set my lineups and monitor the actives and inactives for FantasyPros, went to the movies with my wife around noon, and was back home by 3pm for the afternoon and evening games. That counts as taking the week off from football, right?

Two of the top four scoring running backs this week play for the Saints because it is that kind of year. Another one of them was Dion Lewis, one of the 14 running backs on the Patriots (depending on your scoring settings), who rushed for a touchdown and returned a kick for a touchdown. DeMarco Murray was the fourth guy on the list. Since I mentioned the other three, figured I might as well tell you who the other guy was.

Two other running backs making appearances in the upper tier of scorers in Week 10? Austin Ekeler and Corey Grant? Wut. Yup. Ekeler, who is the running back on the Chargers not named Melvin Gordon, rushed 10 times for 42 yards and added five catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Congrats to Ekeler’s mom, who finally cashed in on that FanDuel lineup that featured Austin Ekeler for like $1,800.

According to Google, Corey Grant is 25 years old, has the same birthday as my dog Young Money (different year), played college football at Auburn, and currently plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also did this on Sunday:

Jaguars get a TD on a successful fake punt as Corey Grant weaves his way for 56 yards 😳pic.twitter.com/iQvScit1pn

— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) November 12, 2017

Not impressive enough for you? How about this stat:

JAX's Corey Grant has 2 runs of 50+ yards on fourth down this season, which is as many as all other active players have combined in their careers.

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) November 13, 2017

Depending on your scoring format, Grant scored between 11 and 22 points on Sunday. Considering he rushed exactly one time for 56 yards and a touchdown, I will accept a maximum of 11.6 points. I have, however, seen some formats where he scored as many as 22 points because of bonuses for a 20+ and a 50+ run and a special teams touchdown. For one play. 22 points for one play. If your league has bonus points set up like that, you are ruining fantasy sports and I dislike you.

If you are in an incredibly deep league and gambled on Grant because there was literally no one else available, congrats to the one guy or gal who did that. I wouldn’t think there would be anyone out there who fits that description, but I happen to be in a league where someone picked up Grant and started him this week. I lost to that team this week.

And now, to the charts!

Mike Maher’s Week Eleven NFL Handcuff Report

NOTE: In the tables below, I’ve removed running backs who have been placed on Injured Reserve. If the running back is injured but is not on IR, then he has a + next to his name.

NOTES

• Kenyan Drake had more success than Damien Williams on Monday night, so I guess we can consider him the starter for now. However, neither got a ton of work, and neither particularly impressed (which you could say for pretty much everyone on the Dolphins on Monday). Drake had 82 yards and a touchdown, but 66 of those yards came on one carry. The Drake’s a flashier back at the moment, but I wouldn’t go racing out the door to grab either one of them right now.
• Elijah McGuire led the Jets in touches with Matt Forte out, but this was an ugly game all around. Nothing to see here.
• Joe Mixon got in the end zone again but otherwise dropped a dud on us. With Jeremy Hill out on injured reserve, Mixon doesn’t have much competition left for the starting role (not that he had much before), but he is becoming scarily touchdown-dependent (kind of like Hill was). He only received 10 touches and rushed for 37 yards this past week. Oof.

NOTES

• Devonta Freeman left Sunday’s game with a concussion and is currently doubtful for next week’s game against the Seahawks. That could change in the coming days, but for now, plan to be without him. If you handcuffed him with Tevin Coleman, you’re in luck because he went bonkers on the Cowboys last week.
• Brace yourselves, but I think Ezekiel Elliott might actually be suspended, at least for now. On the downside for the vultures who scooped up Alfred Morris at some point this season and played him this week, he dropped a dud on you. The Cowboys were a mess out there without Elliott and left tackle Tyron Smith, but you have to assume that will be better than they were this week going forward.
• With Aaron Jones likely for a few weeks with a knee injury, Ty Montgomery (who was also banged up but has a shot to play) could be in line to grab his starting role back, at least for the short term. Of course, he might not play either, which would make the Green Bay backfield especially messy. If Montgomery goes, he is a solid play. If he doesn’t, Jamaal Williams will get the start, but I would be much less excited about him.
• Blount is still listed as the starter in Philly for now, but that is going to be Ajayi’s job. The only questions will be workload and short yardage carries, as Blount is still going to be rotated in.

If you want to talk fantasy football or have players you want Mike to feature, hit him up on Twitter at @mikeMaher or post a comment below!