With New England Patriots running backs so difficult to trust, should fantasy football managers target Brandon Bolden on the Week 8 waiver wire?
Is Brandon Bolden a viable fantasy option?
Over the first seven weeks of the season, the only constant in the New England backfield has been Damien Harris as the early-down runner. Everything else has been in flux.
Since James White went down, we’ve seen spurts of J.J. Taylor, Rhamondre Stevenson, and Brandon Bolden in the complementary role. We’ve also seen the first two guys on that list healthy scratches in multiple games. To successfully use a non-Harris Patriots running back, fantasy managers need to guess correctly and have that player produce.
Brandon Bolden remains a risky waiver wire add
There’s no denying that a running back seeing 7 targets in a game is worth rostering. Bolden caught 6 passes last week for 79 yards and a touchdown. It was his second game of the season with 6 receptions.
While Bolden’s recent production seems useful, it’s important to remember that this is a 31-year-old special-teams ace that entered the 2021 season with 59 career receptions and 239 career carries. This is his ninth season, and he’s never even been remotely fantasy-relevant.
Production does not correspond with playing time
One of the best barometers we can use to assess the sustainability of player performance is by comparing usage to playing time. Although Bolden had 9 opportunities (targets plus carries) in Week 8, he played just 28% of the offensive snaps (21 total). That means Bolden was given a chance to touch the ball on 42% of his reps, his highest rate of the season.
Bolden’s season-high snap share came back in Week 3 when he played 46% of the snaps. Including that week, Bolden’s total opportunities per game have been 7, 7, 6, 2, and 9. In Week 6, Bill Belichick inexplicably used Stevenson in the role Bolden had been playing, presumably just because he felt like it.
Should fantasy managers add Bolden from the Week 8 waiver wire?
As always, the answer is relative. In Week 7, there were injuries aplenty as well as six teams on a bye. Those teams contained many high-end fantasy assets. In Week 8, just two teams are on a bye, and last week’s games were light on the injury front.
It seems unlikely that Bolden will ever be a running back fantasy managers can trust. It’s difficult to envision a scenario where you can’t do any better than Bolden in the coming weeks.
Of course, injuries hit every fantasy team differently. Bolden is at least touching the ball 5-7 times per game. If your fantasy team just needs a warm body, then it might be worth seeing if you can grab Bolden from the waiver wire.
However, I imagine someone in your league is going to overreact to the most recent episode of “What have you done for me lately?” and overpay for Bolden. I would not advise spending more than a dollar or two of FAAB on him (and only if you need him to start this week). Otherwise, save your budget and target more productive players on the Week 8 waiver wire.
