Great Scott!

Since the Rona entered my life, I’ve had to entertain some thought-provoking questions: If I click one more dollar on a random eBay item, will I get stuck with it? More importantly, what’s the over/under on the anger level of my wife if I get stuck with said random eBay item? Yes, I like to live on the edge. But when I saw the DeLorean up for bid, fear was no mas, as it was eradicated by the trance-like mental state I entered. Ooohhhmmmm. Ooohhhhmmmmmm. Then I was falling, falling, falling from the sky. Remember that dream while asleep in class? And the subsequent stomping of the feet before the hysterical laughs from classmates? Yeah. So I heard the Vrooom Vrooom outside and saw my future self delivering my precious DeLorean. What a glorious day indeed. The first order of business was to thank future Son. Or was it past Son? Maybe it was both? Regardless, thanks Son. Second thing on the itinerary was to punch in DEC 29 2019 and watch Boston Scott score 3 touchdowns against the New York Giants. Why? Because after doing due diligence on him, Great Scott! was the only expression that could be heard echoing through the hallways of Son Manor. Well, only after the “You <bleeping> idiot!”

Scott is 25 years old, 5′ 6″, 206 pounds, and played his college ball at Louisiana Tech. He was initially drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL draft, but was eventually waived, signed to the practice squad, then scooped up by the Philadelphia Eagles. According to PlayerProfiler.com, Scott runs a 4.45 40-yard dash and has excellent burst and agility scores, with the latter being in the 97th percentile. 

He appeared in two games during the 2018 season, but only in a special teams capacity, logging 14 total snaps and returning four kicks. Entering the 2019 season, Scott was buried on the depth chart but then injuries decimated the Eagles backfield. First, Corey Clement injured a shoulder and was eventually shelved to the IR in October. Then Darren Sproles injured a quad before geing shut down in November. Finally, Jordan Howard injured a shoulder and missed most of November and December. Jay Ajayi made a brief return to the team before being cut due to suckitude. That left Miles Sanders as the lead dog with Scott the backup.

Week 14 was when Scott truly became a part of the offensive game plan. Below are the stats:

There are four things that stand out from the above. 

• When asked to be the man, Scott was more than capable of handling that role. In Week 17, Sanders went down with an ankle injury. Scott proceeded to score three touchdowns en route to leading the Eagles to a critical win. What if Sanders gets injured this upcoming season? Not out of the realm of possibilities. Sanders showed that he can handle the load and garnered the trust from the coaching staff. So, there’s tremendous upside from a fantasy persepective. 
• The consistent targets in the passing game. Even if Scott is relegated to a supplementary role, he can still contribute for fantasy, as he will be involved in the passing game. He averaged 5.6 targets per game when entrenched in his role last season. Both Alvin Kamara and Nyheim Hines averaged 5.5 targets per game last season. There’s some stand alone value even if Sanders is the lead dog. 
• The impressive catch rate. That instills more confidence from both Carson Wentz and the coaching staff to utilize him in a receiving capacity. For perspective, James Conner led the league last season with an 89.5% catch rate on 38 targets. 
• The offensive snap percentage. The number vacillated in the high-20s to low-40 range last year and Sanders is the lead dog this season, so a 60/40 split is probably unlikely, but it’s not out of the range of possibilites, especially considering the above mentioned points. For perspective, much hyped (for good reasons) running back Chase Edmonds had eight games with an offensive snap percentage under 25% last year, with three of those game at 0. 

Now for the thing that had me screaming GREAT SCOTT!

Scott received 61 carries last season. 12 of those were in the red zone. Five were within the five-yard line!!! And he scored four of those carries!!! GREAT SCOTT!!!!!!

Scott is not just a scat back. He gets goal-line carries, contributes in the passing game, and can carry the load when the situation dictates it. Zach Berman of the Athletic wrote that Scott will be “competing for more of an offensive role” In NFFC drafts from 6/1 to 7/19, he’s being drafted as the 50th running back and 113.8th overall player on average. He’s one of my favorite late-round running backs this season.