Is Myles Gaskin A Super Underrated Fantasy Running Back?
At first glance, Myles Gaskin isn’t on the top of my to-do list entering a fantasy draft. However, maybe I should properly reevaluate. I draft prior to the NFL Draft so I had just assumed Miami would pick a running back at some point. That, of course, did not happen. In the months that follow, it might be time to give Gaskin a harder look given the circumstances.
I truly don’t love Gaskin the talent, but that’s not the end all be all in fantasy. The former 7th round pick out of Washington is averaging a pedestrian 4.0 yards per carry in his career. You can find a running back off the street that can do that. Sometimes being on the right team matters. With Gaskin, he lucked his way into the starting role and hasn’t looked back since.
More importantly, there are some interesting underlying metrics with Gaskin that are important to note. Most of which are volume statistics, but that’s half the battle in fantasy. In 2020, Gaskin compiled the 9th most yards from scrimmage out of any running back. Goes to show Miami is willing to trust him in the pass game. He also gets a shit ton of work in the red area. Gaskin’s 3.9 red zone touches per game ranked third in the NFL only behind Dalvin Cook and Josh Jacobs.
Gaskin also had six games last year with 15 or more touches. In those games, he averaged 18.7 fantasy points per game (according to ESPN). Overall, Gaskin had 18.3 touches per game which ranked 7th among all running backs.
Tua Tagovailoa will take a step forward in year two. Miami also adds Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle that takes way less pressure off the run game. It’s also a super young offensive line that should take a step forward. Add it all up… and Myles Gaskin might be a DUDE in fantasy.
There is maybe one red flag that needs to be factored in. Somehow, someway, Malcolm Brown still makes me nervous. Call me crazy but I think there is a reason why he got touches all those years with the Rams. The sneaky fantasy play, in reality, might be Brown but that’s more of an outside chance.
Take a closer look at Myles Gaskin. This isn’t a big name but the circumstances are set up perfectly for him to have a big fantasy season. Will it happen? The only thing that’s holding him back is talent, which puts us back to square one. At minimum, Gaskin is a risk worth taking in 2021 fantasy football leagues.
