The usage of Michael Carter and Breece Hall in Week 1 has left fantasy football managers scratching their heads entering Week 2. With both of them seeing double-digit touches last week, can fantasy managers trust either Carter or Hall in their lineups when the New York Jets take on the Cleveland Browns?
Are Michael Carter and Breece Hall fantasy starters in Week 2?
There is a lot to consider when it comes to the potential for Carter and Hall to deliver for fantasy managers in Week 2. If we look back to last week, Carter had a 60 percent share, with Hall at 45 percent. Carter led the team in rushing attempts with 10, while both saw nine targets.
Hall finished with 61 yards from scrimmage with six rushing attempts and six receptions. His return would have been a borderline RB3 performance in non-PPR, but for a fumble, knocking him down to the low RB4 region. In half-PPR, he finished just outside the top 36 at the position and just inside that RB3 cut-off in a 12-team league in PPR.
In contrast, Carter was able to post RB2 numbers across the three scoring formats. He finished with 60 rushing yards and 40 receiving yards on seven receptions. Carter ended up leading the team in receptions, narrowing ahead of Hall and Corey Davis.
Carter’s goal line role makes him intriguing for fantasy
While the general splits in terms of touches and snaps are not that wide between Carter and Hall, one area that stands out is the goal line. Carter saw usage when it came to short-yardage situations, including monopolizing the goal line touches. On top of that, he was also the more heavily utilized of the backs on third down.
All of that gives Carter an intriguing ceiling for Week 2. While the Browns played the run well last week, the opportunities should be there for Carter this week. The Browns struggled in Week 1 with Deshaun Watson suspended, and this could be a tight battle. Therefore, we should see the Jets rush the ball more than 17 times this week.
There are pros and cons to that. While Carter is the lead back if the balance between run and pass evens up, it is likely he sees a reduction from the nine targets he had last week. Passing plays carry more fantasy upside than running plays, so this could be a net negative if Carter trades three or four targets for a similar number of rushing attempts.
Carter’s projections when it comes to Underdog’s Pick’em game are intriguing. He is projected for 9.5 rushing attempts, 39.5 rushing yards, 3.0 receptions, 19.5 receiving yards, and 10.55 fantasy points in half-PPR. Those numbers feel a touch on the low side based on what we saw from Carter in Week 1.
Entering Week 2, the uncertainty over how this backfield will play out makes Carter a flex option. After the number of targets we saw, he sits highest in our Week 2 PPR rankings but is still in the RB30 region.
Hall presents a tough decision for fantasy managers in Week 2
Based on the split we saw in Week 1, projecting Hall’s outcome this week is really tough. Underdog has him projected for seven rushing attempts, 28.5 rushing yards, 2.5 receptions, 14.5 receiving yards, and 9.45 fantasy points in half-PPR.
The rushing projections present an increase on what we saw last week, while the receiving work is projected to decrease. Based on how we feel this game could go script-wise, that certainly makes sense.
The fantasy point return that Underdog has Hall projected for is somewhat ambitious based on the yardage they project him for. For Hall to get to that double-digit region in half-PPR and non-PPR, he will likely need to find the end zone. Given his lack of goal line work, that could be tough for him to achieve.
Hall sits outside the top 36 RBs in our Week 2 rankings for all formats. In terms of his overall ranking for Superflex decisions, he is highest in our non-PPR rankings at around the 100th overall player. That puts him on the edge of being a flex starting option for fantasy managers this week.
