In the never-ending carousel that is the Philadelphia Eagles’ backfield, a familiar name that had been missing for weeks reemerged in Week 13 with a solid fantasy football outing. Rookie Kenneth Gainwell, who had been bumped to the back of the fantasy line with the emergence of Jordan Howard, got an opportunity and performed well. Is Gainwell worth a waiver wire claim in Week 14?
Kenneth Gainwell has had a tumultuous rookie season
The usage for Gainwell hasn’t been there this season, but he’s made the most of his playing time when given an opportunity. In a complementary role, Gainwell has 209 rushing yards, 4 TDs, 28 receptions, 238 receiving yards, and another TD through the air. 5 total TDs on 83 total touches is real nice. He finds the end zone every 16.6 touches.
Gainwell was an explosive running back in college at the University of Memphis, relegating Antonio Gibson to the bench (or wide receiver). Gainwell had 2,051 scrimmage yards, 51 receptions, and 16 TDs in 2019. The dude can play. He’s a great receiving threat and was expected to handle more passing-game work in an offense that tended not to throw to Miles Sanders last year.
When Sanders first suffered his injury, I thought Gainwell would get much more work. Instead, it was Jordan Howard who took over the backfield for a few weeks.
In Week 13, Gainwell was a part of the game plan, handling 12 carries for 54 yards and a TD while adding 5 receptions for 33 yards through the air. He finished the week as the RB10, pending Monday Night Football. This was in a game in which Sanders played the majority of the snaps, adding intrigue to the workload that Gainwell might see going forward.
Miles Sanders reaggravated his ankle injury
Late in the fourth quarter, after he’d already rushed 24 times for 120 yards, Sanders was ruled out after reaggravating the ankle injury that sidelined him from Weeks 8-10. It’s a concerning development for Sanders managers just one week before the fantasy playoffs begin.
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The severity of the injury is unknown, but we do know that Philly’s offense strongly gravitates toward the rushing attack. Whichever running back is healthy enough to play for him will see work when on the field. Fortunately for Sanders, the Eagles are heading into their bye week, giving him the opportunity to be ready for Week 15, the first week of the fantasy football playoffs.
Fantasy expectations for Gainwell
The Eagles’ backfield is tricky to predict. When he’s healthy, we know Sanders is the lead back. How Boston Scott, Howard, and Gainwell will factor in remains a mystery. We haven’t had a week where all four have been on the active roster and healthy.
Head coach Nick Sirianni said he expects Howard to return healthy following the bye week. So, what happens in this backfield? The last time Sanders, Howard, and Scott were active together was in Week 11 against the Saints. Sanders had 16 carries, Howard had 10, and Scott had 6.
Should you pick up Gainwell? Yeah, I think you should. He’s a speculative bench addition in case Sanders, Howard, or both aren’t ready to go after the bye week. If everyone is healthy, Gainwell won’t be startable, but he’ll be back in consideration for a starting spot if anyone misses time.
