After a tough first week of the season for Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, what can fantasy football managers expect in Week 2? Will Elliott bounce back against the Los Angeles Chargers, or will offensive line concerns mean he has a second-straight bad week for fantasy managers?
Ezekiel Elliott’s fantasy season got off to a tough start
Facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the opening NFL game of the 2021 season on Thursday night was always going to be tough for Elliott. It proved to be the case as he managed just 33 yards on 11 carries, adding 2 receptions for 6 yards. All of that added up to a disappointing 3.9 fantasy points in standard formats and 5.9 in PPR.
After Week 1, Elliott ranks 46th among backs, which is a long way from the top-five draft spot that many spent on him. However, there are still 16 games for Elliott to return value on his ADP for fantasy managers. Will that begin in Week 2?
The Chargers had a solid performance against Washington in Week 1
While Antonio Gibson managed 90 yards on 20 attempts and 18 receiving yards on 5 targets, he was held in check reasonably well. The Chargers enter Week 2 tied for sixth, ironically with the Cowboys, in terms of fantasy points allowed to the running back position. That is a major concern for Elliott’s fantasy value this week.
A significant portion of that was due to not allowing a touchdown to the position. However, Washington only had 1 touch for running backs inside the red zone. Given the potency of the Cowboys’ offense, it seems likely they will offer more red-zone opportunities to Elliott in Week 2.
Should you start Ezekiel Elliott in fantasy?
If you drafted Elliott in the first round, it’s hard to imagine sitting him already. If you were going to do so, Week 1 would have been the more likely opportunity. In 2020, the Buccaneers’ defense ranked seventh in fantasy points allowed to the RB position. In contrast, the Chargers ranked closer to the middle of the pack last season.
Nevertheless, there are a number of concerns for Elliott this week. On their offensive line, La’el Collins has been suspended, and Terence Steele is starting at right tackle. Throw in the role of Tony Pollard, and it limits Elliott’s ceiling. Last week, Pollard had 7 touches, including 4 receptions for 29 yards. He received 35% of the Cowboys’ RB touches in Week 1.
Regardless of that, Elliott is tough to bench because of how big the return can be. Elliott has had 15 multi-touchdown games across the first five years of his career. That works out to an average of a multi-touchdown game every 4.7 contests. The caveat is that the Chargers only allowed 11 touchdowns to running backs in 2020.
