As the Tennessee Titans continue to roll despite the loss of star running back Derrick Henry, there is confusion about which RB is the best for fantasy football purposes. With a date with the Houston Texans on the horizon, which Titans RB is the better fantasy option in Week 11 between D’Onta Foreman and Adrian Peterson?
Adrian Peterson is not the AD of old
I’ll take obvious takeaways for $1000, Alex. Sure, that is not some nuanced take or anything special, but it is accurate nonetheless. Peterson, for as great as he once was, is no longer the same player.
Perhaps it’s the time off. Peterson had not played in 308 days and then faced two brutal rush defenses in the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints.
But let’s be honest, Peterson looks gassed. He is averaging 2.3 yards per carry on his 18 rushes (42 yards), and outside of the fluky touchdown against the Rams, Peterson would have tanked your fantasy team in both of the games he has appeared in so far. He lacks any visible explosion that used to be the calling card of his game.
It would be one thing if Peterson was the only RB on the Titans roster and struggled, but he isn’t. So, we have a measuring stick to compare to. And right now, Peterson is coming up short.
D’Onta Foreman is the Titans running back to roster in fantasy
Wow. You know, I said that, and I still can’t believe I said it. The 2021 NFL season must be in full effect. After an inauspicious start in Week 9, Foreman looked like the best back wearing a Titans jersey — it wasn’t close.
Foreman got the start over Peterson in Week 10, playing on 35% of the offensive snaps. He rushed 11 times for 30 yards and added 48 yards on 2 receptions. It was the second week in a row Foreman outpaced Peterson. Foreman ended the day with 9.8 PPR points (RB26) and simply looked like the better back.
Believe it or not, he was at one point a highly touted draft pick back in 2017. As a junior at Texas, Foreman won the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s best RB. He was a third-round draft pick by the Houston Texans, but a torn Achilles in his rookie campaign virtually derailed his trajectory. He missed the remainder of the 2017 season, most of 2018, and all of 2019.
In his fourth NFL season, Foreman is about to play in his 20th career game and make his third start. Now, by no means am I saying Foreman is a must-roster player. But if you have to choose between guys only wearing a Titans uniform, I would take Derrick Henry on one leg, and then it would be Foreman.
Jeremy McNichols will not play in Week 11
Jim Wyatt of the Titans’ official site reports Jeremy McNichols will not play in Week 11 as he remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol. McNichols sustained a head injury last week against the Saints.
While not a massive player in this backfield, McNichols’ absence does open up some passing work as he led the RBs in targets last week (3) while running 8 routes.
Start Foreman over Peterson in Week 11
The Titans are trying to replace the irreplaceable. No one can duplicate what Henry brings to this team. I mean, despite missing the last two games, he still leads the league in rushing yards (tied with Jonathan Taylor – 937). But if I am picking one Titans RB for Week 11, give me Foreman.
The matchup alone is worth looking into on its own. The Texans are a great team to target when looking for an RB. They’re No. 23 in fantasy points allowed to the position at 24.89 and are giving up the second-most rushing yards per game at 119.2.
There is also the “Revenge Game” narrative I could play into, but we’ll leave that alone. Foreman comes in as a lower-end RB2, and with McNichols out, Foreman could see increased reps as a receiver.