Jerome Ford

Fantasy Upside
Jerome Ford made the most out of his sophomore year opportunities, jumping up the depth chart and racking up over 1,100 total yards on 248 touches. After Nick Chubb went down in Week 2, Ford took control of the backfield, logging 51.5% of the snaps and 39.1% of the rushing attempts from Weeks 3-18, finishing as the RB22 in half-PPR points (11.0) during that span. If Chubb has issues with being ready by Week 1, or is simply not the same player after his second major knee injury, Ford looks to be the first man up.

Fantasy Downside
Ford did perfectly fine with his touches last season, but it wasn't anything to write home about. His 3.9 YPC were mediocre, while his yards after contact (2.87) and yards per route run (0.96) were slightly below league average. The team also opted to lean on Kareem Hunt near the goal-line, where the veteran out-touched him 12-to-4, scoring seven touchdowns to Ford's three. Hunt is now out of the picture but the team brought in Nyheim Hines and D'Onta Foreman to help ease the load if Chubb can't return to form. If Chubb does return to form, Ford will be downgraded to nothing more than a bench stash.

2024 Bottom Line
Jerome Ford is a very sensible selection at his current ADP as a floor play that can't hurt you much, considering his draft cost. But his floor is closer to zero than his ceiling is close to an RB1 outcome. There are a lot of red flags here, not least of which is Nick Chubb returning and sending Ford into the fantasy abyss by the second half of the season. This seems like a classic "you get what you pay for" situation.

Week 16 at Houston Texans

The Browns being down in the second half, plus the presence of Kareem Hunt, may have led to another limited performance by Jerome Ford but the early momentum for him seems to have worn off. Ford has three games in his last four with single-digit rushing attempts, but he does have at least three catches in four straight games. That's what's separating him from Hunt still and makes him a borderline RB2 for the week, but this is almost a true committee in Cleveland.

Week 14 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

It wasn't the best day on the ground for Jerome Ford against the Rams -- just 19 yards on nine attempts -- but it was another day with multiple receptions and he scored his sixth touchdown of the season (3 rushing, 3 receiving). The backfield has almost become a split between Ford and Kareem Hunt. The Jaguars have been solid against the run. Ford is a flex play this week.