Ultimate Zero RB Watch List: NFC Week 16 – Tony Pollard and the Power of Time-Insensitive Predictions
Image Credit: Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire. Pictured: Tony Pollard.

Blair Andrews explores the changing backfield situations in the NFC ahead of Week 16 in the Ultimate Zero RB Watch List. Tony Pollard reminds us not to give up on our theses so soon.

You don’t have to draft a Zero RB team to win at fantasy football, but it helps. Whether you did go Zero RB or not, all teams can benefit from finding some waiver wire RB stars. This weekly column will help you unearth waiver wire gems before they start to shine. Along the way we’ll also look at changing depth chart situations to help you find trade targets and make informed start/sit decisions.

We’ll focus on opportunity (snaps, carries, and targets), expected points (EP), and fantasy points over expectation (FPOE), using RotoViz apps like the RotoViz Screener, the Weekly Stat Explorer, and the NFL Stat Explorer to find key trends and insights.

Be sure to check out Shawn Siegele’s companion piece on the AFC.

Arizona Cardinals

Kenyan Drake fell behind Chase Edmonds in both rushing and receiving in Week 15, and was also less effective. Edmonds has now had at least 7.0 reEP in five consecutive games.

However, this is the first time he’s had more ruEP than Drake in a game in which they’ve both been active. If this is a changing of the guard, I’m here for it. But I’d be even more here for Eno Benjamin getting some run for the final two weeks of the season, especially considering the matchup currently on tap.

Atlanta Falcons

Nothing to see here.[1]

Ito Smith has been officially named the starter. Unfortunately, it turns out Ito Smith is Alfred Blue.

Carolina Panthers

Rodney Smith might sound like a familiar name. However, you’re probably confusing him with Rodney Anderson, the Oklahoma RB drafted by the Bengals. Or maybe Rod Smith, the former Cowboys fullback. Or maybe Rodney Smith, the former Vikings wide receiver who now plays in the CFL.

But this Rodney Smith, a rookie RB who signed with the Panthers as a UDFA, is a distinct entity. This Rodney Smith had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons at Minnesota, including one with 23 catches. This Rodney Smith supposedly runs a 4.41 forty at 210 pounds.

With Christian McCaffrey looking doubtful for Week 16, and the Panthers apparently no longer trusting Mike Davis to carry the load — at least in the receiving game — look for Smith to build on this mini breakout.

Dallas Cowboys

Ezekiel Elliott was a late inactive, which gave Tony Pollard a chance to finally show what he could do with the backfield to himself. He did not disappoint.

Pollard finished as the top-scoring RB of the week, and the only RB to manage the EP double-double (double-digit points in both rushing EP and receiving EP). Pollard was a RotoViz favorite all offseason, and for much of the year it looked like he would disappoint us. But remember, if your thesis on a player appears to be wrong, it probably just means you don’t have a long enough time horizon.

Los Angeles Rams

Cam Akers has looked like something approaching a true workhorse RB over the past few weeks. Unfortunately he left Week 15 with an ankle injury, and has already been ruled out for the fantasy Super Bowl. In games Akers has missed, Henderson has looked almost like an RB2.

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Footnotes

Footnotes
1 If you really want to know how bad it was, three different RBs carried the ball for Atlanta. Two of them finished the game with negative yards. Ito Smith led the team with six carries for 24 yards. The 10 targets directed at Falcons RBs — if you count Keith Smith — gained a total of nine yards combined. I told you there was nothing to see.

Please subscribe For Full Access to all RotoViz content and tools!

 

What’s included in your subscription??

  • Exclusive Access to RotoViz Study Hall
    • A treasure trove of our most insightful articles that will teach you the metrics that matter, time-tested winning strategies, the approaches that will give you an edge, and teach you how to be an effective fantasy manager.
  • Revolutionary Tools
    • Including the NFL Stat Explorer, Weekly GLSP Projections, NCAA Prospect Box Score Scout, Combine Explorer, Range of Outcomes App, DFS Lineup Optimizer, Best Ball Suite,and many, many, more.
  • Groundbreaking Articles
    • RotoViz is home of the original Zero-RB article and continues to push fantasy gamers forward as the go-to destination for evidence-based analysis and strategic advantages.
  • Weekly Projections
    • Built using RotoViz’s unique GLSP approach.
  • Expert Rankings
  • And a whole lot more…

Blair Andrews

Managing Editor, Author of The Wrong Read, Occasional Fantasy Football League Winner. All opinions are someone else's.

4 Running Back Prospects Whose College Production Points to Outsized Returns, and 4 Potential Red Flags: 2025 Backfield Dominator Ratings

Collegiate production is still among the most undervalued measurements for running back prospects. In large part this is because we lack many good ways to measure it. Both rushing and receiving numbers depend on scheme, personnel, offensive and defensive strength, and a host of other factors. This can make many of the raw counting stats misleading. The solution is to control for these factors as…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Win Probabilities and Contrarian Value Picks for Your 2025 March Madness Bracket

The NFL free agency period is more or less over, which can only mean one thing: March Madness time! Just like last year, I’m leveraging advanced team metrics and simulations to find value in the bracket. For a more detailed look at the methodology, check out the introduction to last year’s article. This year I’m adding two tools to the analytical arsenal. The first is…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Evan Engram Becomes Sean Payton’s Latest Joker, But Can He Live Up to the Inevitable Jimmy Graham Comparisons?

The Broncos have signed Evan Engram to a two-year, $23 million contract with $16.5 million guaranteed, and Sean Payton finally has his Joker: During an interview with Kay Adams of the “Up and Adams Show” at the Super Bowl earlier this month, Payton discussed a key need in 2025. Adams started the conversation by suggesting Denver needed a veteran wide receiver. Payton countered, “I would…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

4 Running Back Prospects Whose College Production Points to Outsized Returns, and 4 Potential Red Flags: 2025 Backfield Dominator Ratings

Collegiate production is still among the most undervalued measurements for running back prospects. In large part this is because we lack many good ways to measure it. Both rushing and receiving numbers depend on scheme, personnel, offensive and defensive strength, and a host of other factors. This can make many of the raw counting stats misleading. The solution is to control for these factors as…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Win Probabilities and Contrarian Value Picks for Your 2025 March Madness Bracket

The NFL free agency period is more or less over, which can only mean one thing: March Madness time! Just like last year, I’m leveraging advanced team metrics and simulations to find value in the bracket. For a more detailed look at the methodology, check out the introduction to last year’s article. This year I’m adding two tools to the analytical arsenal. The first is…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Evan Engram Becomes Sean Payton’s Latest Joker, But Can He Live Up to the Inevitable Jimmy Graham Comparisons?

The Broncos have signed Evan Engram to a two-year, $23 million contract with $16.5 million guaranteed, and Sean Payton finally has his Joker: During an interview with Kay Adams of the “Up and Adams Show” at the Super Bowl earlier this month, Payton discussed a key need in 2025. Adams started the conversation by suggesting Denver needed a veteran wide receiver. Payton countered, “I would…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Blitz

Connect
Support

rotovizmain@gmail.com

Sign-up today for our free Premium Email subscription!

Data provided by

© 2021 RotoViz. All rights Reserved.

Welcome Back to RotoViz...

– IF YOU HAVE ISSUES LOGGING IN PLEASE CONTACT ROTOVIZMAIN@GMAIL.COM

– PLEASE NOTE THAT ROTOVIZ USES WORDPRESS FOR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT. IF RESETTING YOUR PASSWORD YOU MAY BE FOWARDED TO A WORDPRESS PAGE.