The only thing I can think about right now is fantasy football. I’ve started looking over just about every depth chart. There has been no stone unturned. One of the weirdest things I found were the Washington Redskins group of running backs they have. That group consists of Adrian Peterson, Derrius Guice, Peyton Barber, Antonio Gibson, Bryce Love, Josh Ferguson, and JD McKissic. What should we make of the Redskins backfield in 2020?
One thing is certain… the Redskins will be better than they were in 2019. Ron Rivera is a real head coach. Washington’s defense is also better than you may expect. They just added Chase Young in the draft as well as Kendall Fuller, Thomas Davis, and Ronald Darby in free agency. The front was already pretty good with Jonathan Allen, Da’Ron Payne, Montez Sweat, and Ryan Kerrigan.
The Redskins will be more competitive creating more rushing opportunities. I think they are going to manage Dwayne Haskins better anyway. Washington recorded the 2nd fewest yards in the NFL in 2019. That should come up. The point is a fantasy relevant running back should appear. The question is who?
The worse case scenario is the Redskins actually use a 4 man committee. Then it’s not worth anything. I would guess that Josh Ferguson and JD McKissic get cut. Antonio Gibson I think is a worse version of Tony Pollard. Who cares what he does for this team? It won’t be impactful either way.
That leaves you with Adrian Peterson, Peyton Barber, Derrius Guice, and Bryce Love. Last year the Redskins seemed pretty adamant that Guice would be the man. The only problem is he has been hurt constantly. Guice was a 2nd round pick in 2018. He’s played in just 5 games total. It’s a shame because he’s talented.
Bryce Love almost falls into a similar category. Love wasn’t drafted as highly but had a higher peak in college. Love would have been a first round pick in 2018. He went back to school and got hurt. Love was basically put on a redshirt year. He’s still too talented to give up on totally. Especially when you haven’t seen anything.
The Redskins actually gave Peyton Barber a decent amount of money. I should clarify by it was only a 2-year deal worth $3 million. Still, why sign him if Barber isn’t in the plans? Barber could very well be a factor. The problem he isn’t that good. Barber averaged just 3.1 yards per carry in 2019 with Tampa.
Somehow Adrian Peterson is still ticking. He was the Skins most productive back in 2019. Peterson, 35, rushed for 898 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was actually usable in fantasy on a few weeks. A 4.3 YPC average is more than serviceable too. It’s hard to imagine Peterson has anything left but the numbers suggest otherwise.
So, now what? How the hell do you sort through this mess that is the Redskins backfield? People say the preseason doesn’t matter. In this instance, it sure as hell does. The way the Redskins cut down this roster may be the ultimate indicator. Maybe it’s a backfield you just avoid at the end of the day. Nevertheless, it’s one of the weirdest scenarios in fantasy this year.
