With less than 24 hours until the Seattle Seahawks take the field against the Arizona Cardinals, there are still major questions surrounding the Seahawks RB group. How should fantasy football managers approach the position when it comes to Chris Carson, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer, and Alex Collins? Is Chris Carson going to play after missing the last three games, and if not, who is the running back that will step up for fantasy managers looking for an early lead after the Week 11 Thursday Night Football game?
Are Chris Carson and Travis Homer active tonight in Week 11?
The Seahawks announced that Chris Carson and Travis Homer are inactive for tonight’s game against the Cardinals. That leaves Deejay Dallas, Carlos Hyde, and Alex Collins as the running backs to look at in Seattle’s backfield. Who should you play? Read on for more details.
Chris Carson won’t play in Week 11
Battling a foot sprain suffered against the Arizona Cardinals, Chris Carson will miss his fourth game in a row. Head coach Pete Carroll said last week that Chris Carson has been doing some running and seemed ahead of Carlos Hyde in terms of recovery. However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier in the week that Carson is questionable and “unlikely to play,” according to a source. Carson practiced for the first time since Week 7 on Tuesday but did not participate on Wednesday at practice.
It seems that the whole fantasy world forgot that Carson was the RB12 in 2019. He played in 15 games, carrying the ball 278 times for 1,230 yards and scoring seven rushing touchdowns. Carson also showed his value in the passing game, catching 37 of his 47 targets for 266 yards and two more touchdowns. It was the second year in a row that Carson had seen over 270 touches, more than 1,200 all-purpose yards, and scored nine touchdowns.
His 2020 started off just as strong. His 91 touches for 470 yards and six touchdowns still have Carson ranked as the RB16 in PPR formats despite having only played in six games this year. His 17.5 points per game are RB7 on the season in fantasy. Prior to the team’s Week 6 bye, Chris Carson was the RB5.
If he was able to make it onto the field this week, Chris Carson would have been a lower-end fantasy RB2 due to the likelihood of a limited snap count.
On a positive note, running back Carlos Hyde (hamstring) was not listed on Wednesday’s injury report and will play tonight. Hyde was injured in Week 7 against the Cardinals and has missed the last three games.
Travis Homer is inactive as well, casting even more questions on the Seahawks RB situation
If you were hoping it would be Travis Homer that would step up this week, you need to start finding another option. Homer had been listed as doubtful in the team’s final injury report due to a myriad of injuries. Officially it is wrist, knee, and thumb related. And now, he will be inactive.
“He’s pretty sore still, and the short week didn’t help him at all,” Carroll said when asked about Homer earlier in the week. “We’ll have to see. He’s doubtful right now; it’ll be hard for him to get out there.”
With both Chris Carson and Travis Homer out for fantasy this week, it leaves DeeJay Dallas, Carlos Hyde, and Alex Collins as the Seahawks RBs for Thursday night.
Which Seahawks RB do you want to trust in fantasy for Week 11 with Chris Carson unlikely to suit up?
Seattle running backs are averaging just 18.22 rushing attempts per game and 6.5 targets per game. So if we are looking at a three-way split between 24.72 opportunities, there is a limited amount of fantasy upside for any running back who sees less than 70% of these attempts.
This remains especially true for PPR fantasy formats where Chris Carson is still the team leader in targets with 16 in his six games played in 2020. When you factor in that the Cardinals have allowed just four rushing touchdowns on the season, it’s hard to imagine DeeJay Dallas, Alex Collins, or any other Seahawks RB having a great fantasy night on Thursday.
After DeeJay Dallas had a great fantasy performance in Week 8, he was overtaken by Travis Homer in Week 9, who was then overtaken in Week 10, but this time by veteran Alex Collins. It was Collins who led the backfield in snaps and carries while Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde remained out.
Even if Carlos Hyde is listed as the Seahawks RB1, I expect him to be on a snap count, and from that point on, the Seahawks RB situation appears to be a confusing mess that I would try to avoid if at all possible.
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Tommy Garrett is a writer for PFN covering Fantasy Football. You can read more of his work here and follow him at @TommygarrettPFN on Twitter.
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