Shuffle Up: Running back and tight end values, rest of season
The Shuffle Up series is all about value to come. What's happened to this point is merely an audition. How would you rank the players if you were starting from fresh today? (These are not Week 12 ranks; you can find those over here.)
The dollar values are merely comparison tools; they're not assembled in any scientific way (and not used comparatively with different positions). Players at the same position and price are considered even. We're aiming to illustrate tiers, show where the pockets of value are.
[Join FanDuel.com's $2.5M Week 12 fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 21,840 teams paid]
You'll disagree with some things (perhaps many things) because that's why we have a game in the first place. Share your respectful disagreement in the comments.
And remember the golden rule, a player doesn't gain (or lose) 15-20 percent of bonus value simply because you roster him. Also keep in mind how contextual fantasy values tend to be.
Running backs and tight ends this week, quarterbacks and wideouts the following week.
$32 DeMarco Murray
$32 Jamaal Charles
$31 Matt Forte
$30 LeVeon Bell
$28 Eddie Lacy
$28 Marshawn Lynch
$25 Arian Foster
$25 Mark Ingram
$21 Justin Forsett
$21 LeSean McCoy
$20 Rashad Jennings
$19 Andre Ellington
$18 Denard Robinson
$17 Lamar Miller
$17 Alfred Morris
$17 C.J. Anderson
$16 Frank Gore
$16 Jeremy Hill
$16 Trent Richardson
$15 Tre Mason
$14 Giovani Bernard
It's been a strange year for Ellington, who's lost 2.1 yards off his per-carry rushing average, but nonetheless is the No. 8 overall back in Yahoo scoring to this point (and it jumps to sixth in PPR). Despite his nagging foot issues, he's being saved by volume and touchdowns . . . I'm assuming the Bengals have finally figured out Hill is their best back, and will push Bernard back to a satellite role . . . Ingram's carry count since he returned five games ago: 10-24-30-27-23. Ingram also gave us seven catches last week, and while that was game-flow driven, at least he's not a zero in the passing game. NFL carries, last four weeks: Ingram 104, Ellington 81, Lynch 80, McCoy 79, Bell 78, Hill 73.
$13 Ryan Mathews
$13 Chris Ivory
$12 Shane Vereen
$12 Isaiah Crowell
$12 Jonas Gray
$11 Joique Bell
$11 Bishop Sankey
$11 Darren Sproles
$10 Fred Jackson
$10 Reggie Bush
$9 Jerick McKinnon
$9 Steven Jackson
$8 Charles Sims
$8 Terrance West
$8 Latavius Murray
$6 Bobby Rainey
$6 Alfred Blue
Most carries without a touchdown on the season: Blue 104, McKinnon 98, Spiller 69, Dixon 68, Don Brown 64, DeAngelo 56. Blue's averaging just 3.8 yards a carry for the year (Foster is at 5.1), but obviously volume is a wonderful thing . . . Murray's $8 was set before the Thursday game kicked off; a double-digit price makes sense going forward, assuming there aren't lingering affects from his concussion. For more thoughts (and some delicious video) on Murray, head over here . . . I want to love Sankey, too, and I'm no Ken Whisenhunt fan. Nonetheless, Sankey's YPC last six weeks: 3.4, 3.4, 3.5, 3.9, 3.4, 3.5.
$5 Knile Davis
$5 Carlos Hyde
$4 Chris Johnson
$4 Devonta Freeman
$3 Ronnie Hillman
$3 Branden Oliver
$3 Roy Helu
$3 Bernard Pierce
$3 James Starks
$3 Dan Herron
$3 Lorenzo Taliaferro
$2 Jonathan Stewart
$2 Matt Asiata
$2 Benny Cunningham
$2 Bryce Brown
$2 Joseph Randle
$2 Darren McFadden
$2 Anthony Dixon
[Week 12 rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | Tight End | Kicker | DST]
$2 DeAnthony Thomas
$2 Khiry Robinson
$2 Travaris Cadet
$2 Robert Turbin
$2 Toby Gerhart
$2 Daniel Thomas
$2 KaDeem Carey
$1 Maurice Jones-Drew
$1 DeAngelo Williams
$1 Pierre Thomas
$1 Chris Polk
$1 Lance Dunbar
$1 Andre Williams
$1 LeGarrette Blount
$1 Dexter McCluster
$1 Damien Williams
$0 Adrian Peterson
$0 Montee Ball
$0 Shonn Greene
$31 Rob Gronkowski
$30 Jimmy Graham
$24 Julius Thomas
$23 Greg Olsen
$18 Antonio Gates
$14 Martellus Bennett
$14 Coby Fleener
$14 Larry Donnell
$13 Jason Witten
$11 Travis Kelce
$9 Delanie Walker
$9 Mychal Rivera
$8 Kyle Rudolph
$7 Owen Daniels
$7 Heath Miller
$6 Dwayne Allen
$5 Austin Seferian-Jenkins
$5 Niles Paul
Nine tight ends have more red-zone targets than Rob Gronowski, which just seems comically wrong. Imagine if New England went out of its way to feed Gronkowski the ball in that area. Nonetheless, the Pats do feature Gronkowski when he's on a route. He's been tatgeted on 29.8 percent of his routes (hat tip, Rich Hribar), tops in the NFL . . . Allen was the best blocking tight end in 2012 (per Pro Footbal Focus), and he's near top this year. Major loss, for as long as he's out. But at least Fleener and Luck showed some chemistry in Week 11 . . . Among qualifiers at tight end, Paul is first in yards per target and Kelce is second. It's criminal those guys aren't used more. Ladarius Green is just behind them, then Allen . . . Ertz is 18th in tight end market share (12.5 percent of Philly's targets go to him), which is a damn shame. He's the NFC's version of the Kelce story.
$4 Charles Clay
$4 Zach Ertz
$4 Tim Wright
$4 Jacob Tamme
$3 Jermaine Gresham
$3 Jordan Cameron
$3 Vernon Davis
$3 Jared Cook
$3 Jace Amaro
$3 Marcedes Lewis
$2 Jordan Reed
$2 Garrett Graham
$1 Andrew Quarless
$1 Eric Ebron
$1 Luke Willson
$1 Lance Kendricks
$1 Anthony Fasano
$1 Brent Celek
$1 Richard Rodgers
$1 Clay Harbor
$0 John Carlson
$0 Scott Chandler
