Last week, fantasy football managers enjoyed all 32 teams in action. This week, bye weeks are back to wreak havoc on lineups. Two guys that fantasy managers might have to throw into lineups at an injury-riddled RB position are Tyjae Spears and Devin Singletary. Should either, or perhaps both running backs be in fantasy lineups this week?
Should You Start Tyjae Spears or Devin Singletary This Week?
To jump-start the discussion, let’s see what the PFN Start/Sit Optimizer has to say. PFN Consensus Rankings currently have Singletary as the start. He’s projected for a very pedestrian 8.2 fantasy points, amassed from 31.7 rushing yards and 0.2 touchdowns while adding 2.0 receptions for 4.9 yards.
Singletary’s projection is firmly ahead of Spears’ 6.6 points.
MORE: Week 9 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
These are two running backs who have been similarly unproductive for fantasy purposes this season. Spears did have that one game where he scored a touchdown, resulting in 16.9 fantasy points. Other than that, neither of these running backs has come close to double-digit fantasy points.
In my individual rankings, I have Spears slightly ahead of Singletary, but not by an amount that would preclude fantasy managers from going the other way. It truly is a toss-up, and coincidentally, I have both of these players on one of my fantasy teams — and I may need to start one of them. Let’s see if we can figure out which one it should be.
Tyjae Spears Fantasy Outlook This Week
It’s always risky to start a guy like Spears, who is a pure backup. Although he has been averaging around a 50% snap share, he’s only seeing 8.2 opportunities per game. He usually handles 3-5 carries while seeing 3-4 targets.
The positive with Spears is he won’t get you zero. He’s a pretty safe bet to get you five points. That’s obviously nowhere near fantasy-starter level, but in dire circumstances, five is better than nothing.
The negative with Spears is barring a random, unpredictable explosive play, he’s probably totaling around 30-40 yards a game, at best. The volume is just not there with Derrick Henry as the alpha.
Fantasy managers really only want Spears in lineups when the Tennessee Titans are projected to see negative game script. While the Titans are field-goal underdogs in Pittsburgh this week, the game has a 36-point total. It’s highly unlikely that game script gets away from Tennessee, which should keep Henry on the field more this week.
Furthermore, the Steelers, while generous to running backs, have not yielded much to them through the air. Just 10.9% of their total receiving yards allowed have gone to running backs.
It’s very likely Spears only catches 1-2 passes for under 20 yards this week. Barring a flukey touchdown, that’s not going to get it done.
Devin Singletary Fantasy Outlook This Week
While Spears doesn’t have the greatest outlook this week, Singletary’s might be worse. We’re talking about a player with a season high of 8.84 fantasy points.
Singletary has been pushing for more playing time, with Dameon Pierce playing like you’d expect a Day 3 prospect to play. It’s looking more and more like last season was just a fluke for Pierce. It hasn’t been much, but Singletary has undoubtedly been the better RB for the Houston Texans this season.
With that said, what exactly is 50% of the Texans’ backfield worth?
Singletary has seen carry counts of 10 and 12 over his last two games. That’s enough to get something done, but Singletary is on the Texans…he’s also Devin Singletary. His 3.7 yards per carry is better than Pierce’s, but it’s still not good.
Singletary is also not used in the passing game, as the Texans have opted to use a third back, Mike Boone, in that role. That’s resulted in a paltry 4.7% target share for Singletary this season.
As if that wasn’t reason enough to worry, the Bucs have one of the best run defenses in the league. They’re allowing the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to the position.
MORE: Katz’s Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Week 9
Pierce remains the primary goal-line back (for now), but even if Singletary were to get a couple of chances, the next rushing touchdown allowed by the Bucs to running backs will be the first.
Ultimately, this is a very bad spot for both Spears and Singletary. However, if forced to start one, I would go with Spears, as he’s the more explosive player, hoping for a splash play.
It’s worth noting that Pierce missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury. If he doesn’t practice again on Thursday, I would operate under the assumption he’s not playing and pivot to starting Singletary with the projected increase in volume.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!