The vast majority of fantasy football managers were not pleased with the production of their tight end last week.
Hoping for better performances this week, should fantasy managers be considering Taysom Hill and Dallas Goedert as potential starting options?
Which Running Back Should You Choose from Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale in Week 3?
Remember just three short weeks ago. It was late August/early September. We had just drafted our fantasy teams and were so excited about all the great players we rostered.
Now, it’s Week 3, and we’re debating whether to start Cam Akers or Dare Ogunbowale. It’s 2024. Can we figure out how to turn injuries off, please?
Here we are, though. The Texans lost Dameon Pierce to a mid-week hamstring strain ahead of Week 2. During their win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, Joe Mixon was the victim of a highly illegal (but not flagged) hip-drop tackle. Although he briefly returned to the game, his ankle sprain is clearly serious enough that it will cost him at least one game.
MORE: PFN’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings
After Akers tore his right Achilles tendon while with the Rams, it was presumed his career was pretty much over. Last year, he tore his left Achilles. Yet, here he is, not only having made the Texans’ roster, but set to start and be the lead back.
Akers’ backfield mate will be Ogunbowale. The journeyman veteran is 30 years old and has never really been a fantasy-relevant player. He’s always been a useful member of an NFL team, but more as a receiving back and special-teams asset.
The PFN Start/Sit Optimizer has this one clearly in favor of Akers, and I agree. While we don’t necessarily know how touches will be distributed, we do know what we saw last week. When Mixon left the game, it was Akers taking over pretty much his entire role.
Akers’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
Can we call this an Akers revenge game? I guess, technically, any game against a former team is a revenge game. Akers didn’t do much with the Vikings last year, but perhaps he will be extra motivated to show them what they could’ve had.
The Vikings have been pretty good against opposing running backs through two weeks, allowing just 3.8 yards per carry. However, they’ve also had positive game script in both contests.
They were up to the task against the presumptive NFC favorite San Francisco 49ers last week. Now, they face a similarly tough challenge in the Texans. I don’t expect the Vikings to surprise the Texans like they did the 49ers.
We could be looking at a pretty sizable workload for Akers. He’s proven capable of handling volume in the past with six career games of 20+ carries.
In limited action last week, Akers ran the ball seven times for 32 yards. If he can give fantasy managers 12-14 carries plus a couple of receptions, that’s a really nice floor. If he finds the end zone, he can push RB1 numbers. I really like this spot for Akers in what may be a one-week audition for a potential lead-back role in 2025.
Cam Akers getting more carries for the Texans isn’t a bad thing IMO
Akers was the best RB against Chicago and is a great scheme fit which he showed in preseason & week 2
Hopefully Mixon gets ready to go soon but Akers will be fine holding it down. pic.twitter.com/cQcNqMDrhJ
— Jacob (@Stroud4MVP) September 19, 2024
Ogunbowale’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
There’s not much to get excited about regarding Ogunbowale. The only fantasy managers that should consider starting him are those completely ravaged by injury in very deep leagues who just need a warm body to not get them zero.
Ogunbowale is probably going to handle no more than 3-5 carries, while maybe seeing a couple of targets. He has three catches for 23 yards through two games.
I’m confident Ogunbowale won’t end up with a goose egg in your lineup. However, there’s virtually no chance at a touchdown, and his ceiling is likely in the range of 4-6 fantasy points. That’s just not a player managers need to consider rostering, let alone starting.