Shane Vereen's playing time to "spike" in 2013

Mar 17, 2013

With Danny Woodhead leaving for San Diego, Patriots RB Shane Vereen's playing time figures to spike next season.

Fantasy Impact:

This is not a great leap considering Vereen's late-season production and the fact that Danny Woodhead is out of the way. Vereen gained at least 38 total yards in six of his last nine games and scored three TDs in that span. If he gets all of Woodhead's touches (not a crazy proposition if you split Brandon Bolden's 58 touches in 2012 between Bolden and Leon Washington) Vereen would be looking at around 135 carries (540 yards at 4.0 YPC) and 45 catches (468 yards at 10.4 YPC -- Woodhead's average over the last two seasons). With an estimated six TDs (one less than Woodhead in 2012), Vereen is looking at around 137 fantasy points in standard formats, which would have been good for a #23 RB ranking in 2012. Vereen appears to have fringe RB2 value heading into 2013 in standard formats. His value will be a bit higher in PPR formats if he gets most of the passing down work.

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Chargers set to open window for RB J.K. Dobbins (knee)

Daniel Popper on X

0 minutes ago

Chargers will be opening J.K. Dobbins' 21-day window today, Jim Harbaugh tells reporters.

Related players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has been on IR for the past four games with a knee injury. He's not a lock to play this week and he's not a lock for a safe workload even if he does play. The Chargers travel to New England in Week 17, so the matchup isn't a bad one. It's an early window game on Sunday, so owners should have plenty of notice. We'll also keep an eye on the practice reports this week.

Dolphins unsure of WR Jaylen Waddle's (knee) status for Week 17

Barry Jackson on X

5 minutes ago

McDaniel non-committal on whether Jaylen Waddle (knee) will practice this week: "I'm expecting to get everything from Waddle that he can do... I've [talked to] the trainer to make sure we protect him from himself. We will see how the week progresses. I don't know exactly what it will look like."

Fantasy Impact:

Waddle owners should probably not count on Waddle for Week 17, or at the very least have a backup plan. Waddle and the Dolphins play the Browns in the later window on Sunday so it could further complicate things for owners who were hoping to play him.

Texans WR Tank Dell tore ACL, dislocated knee

DJ Bien-Aime on X

9 minutes ago

DeMeco Ryans says WR Tank Dell tore his ACL along with dislocating his knee.

Fantasy Impact:

No surprises here as it was a terrible injury to watch during the game. While he's obviously out for the season, the bigger question is what will his status be for 2025. It's a huge question mark at this point given the seriousness of the injury. Even if Dell is able to play next season, he may take a while to get back to 100%.