Why it's more important than ever to stash backup RBs
Liz Loza and Matt Harmon make the case for adding backs such as Sony Michel, Marlon Mack, and Samaje Perine to your rosters as soon as possible.
Hear the full conversation on the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
LIZ LOZA: Well, it was a little bit scary. Early, I believe, in the first half of the game, Joe Mixon got a little--
MATT HARMON: Banged up.
LIZ LOZA: He had to leave for a minute, a little banged up for a second. And I thought-- I was like, oh, this is the curse of the 30 touches per game. It's happening. We know he's not super durable. And I had scooped Samaje Perine-- which, by the way, I would suggest people do if for no other reason than to screw the Mixon owner who is probably ahead of you in your standings.
MATT HARMON: 1,000%. I mean, I wrote about this-- I was so-- I'm losing my words here, but Sony Michel was 54% rostered this morning. What are you people doing? These guys-- and we were talking about the situation where, oh, we don't really know who's going to step up if Austin Ekeler ever went down with the Chargers.
It's going to be Samaje Perine if Mixon misses time, just like if Darrell Henderson is not in the game plan or whatever, we know it's going to be Sony Michel. It's Sony Michel who runs the ball 20-plus times for 100 yards and a touchdown. You goofballs-- whoever your wide receiver five is on your team, just cut him. Your second tight end-- you're never starting that player. Drop these fools and grab somebody that actually could win you a week.
I mean, I don't-- it's like, I'll say it on every podcast, every article, everything I do, because I think it's the most important thing in fantasy. I mean, Chuba Hubbard is going to be rostered, whatever. But yeah, all these guys that are direct backups-- you know, there are other-- like, the Alexander Mattison, obviously, he was like 90-plus percent. But Sony Michel being 54% was, like-- and I'm talking about this morning, not Tuesday. It's nuts. Perine, I'm sure, is not even close to where he should be in terms of roster percentage.
LIZ LOZA: But if you know that a player is also durable and they're playing the most volatile position, the brutal offensive position in the game, then you want to-- and I think what happens is that there's all of this pre-draft theories about whether or not you should get a backup or something like that-- the Alexander Mattison, the Tony Pollard, and if it's wise to waste a pick on that. Fine. Don't do that. Fine. I don't care. Don't do that. Great.
MATT HARMON: Yeah, agree.
LIZ LOZA: If you think it looks weak to insure your-- fine. But come, like, double digits, come week 10, week 11, then you start plucking those guys. And maybe you can't do that for Mattison, and maybe you can't do that for Pollard. But you can see how the first half of the season, more than that, has panned out. And you can probably winnow down a solid backup who might be not 100%, but, like, 75% of who they are going to be replacing.
MATT HARMON: How about guys like Marlon Mack? Imagine-- I don't even care if you have Johnathan Taylor on your team.
LIZ LOZA: That's right. That's the point.
MATT HARMON: Go grab Marlon Mack. Because imagine-- imagine the team that's probably number one in your stupid fantasy league right now has Jonathan Taylor. And knock on all the wood. Cross your fingers and your toes and all that stuff. Jonathan Taylor gets hurt next week or something, that guy or gal goes to the waiver wire like, oh, well, I guess I got to pick up Marlon Mack right now. And he's on your roster. Boom! That's how you win a fantasy title.
Like, freaking Khalil Herbert-- don't drop Khalil Herbert, all the stuff I just said about him. I mean, it's a totally different situation there, obviously, different rushing ecosystem. But imagine if David Montgomery gets hurt next week. Khalil Herbert will be-- look at the running back landscape right now. These guys have to be on rosters.
