Heading into Week 9 of the fantasy football season, the injury bug has bitten the Miami Dolphins, leaving Jordan Howard and Patrick Laird as the top two running back options available for Sunday. Myles Gaskin was placed on the injured reserve list with a knee injury, and Matt Breida has been ruled out of the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals with a hamstring injury. With both of them out, what value does Jordan Howard and Patrick Laird offer fantasy football teams in Week 9?
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Jordan Howard and Patrick Laird have lacked opportunities so far in 2020
What makes this Dolphins backfield fascinating this week is the sheer lack of opportunities both running backs have had this season. Jordan Howard has seen just 29 snaps, 18 carries, and one target this season, which he has turned into a mediocre 14 rushing yards and -3 receiving yards.
However, he has scored three touchdowns on those 18 carries. The concern for the Dolphins in turning this backfield over to Howard is that he has been inactive for the past three games, which is not a confidence-building statistic.
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Patrick Laird has just as little experience in 2020, having been on the field for just 24 offensive snaps. Of those opportunities, he has yet to register a carry and has 11 receiving yards on three targets. The issue is further compounded when you consider that the third available running back on the roster is Salvon Ahmed, who has yet to be active for a single game in his short NFL career.
Jordan Howard’s pedigree should make him a better fantasy option in Week 9
While Jordan Howard has struggled in 2020, he has an NFL pedigree that can provide fantasy GMs with some hope. In his first two years in the league, Howard finished as a top-10 option at the position in fantasy, backing that up with a top-20 finish in 2018. For his career, he averages 4.3 yards per attempt on the ground, scoring 33 touchdowns in 61 games. If you look over Howard’s numbers in his career, it is clear that he is very much a touchdown-dependent fantasy option at this stage of his career.
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In a PPR format, Howard will likely not offer any added value. Through those 61 games, Howard averages just two targets and 1.36 receptions per game, with just 10.4 receiving yards per game and two touchdowns. The positive is that when Howard was healthy with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, he was able to provide some burst, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt and scoring six touchdowns in 10 games.
Patrick Laird has yet to show any indication he could be a fantasy-relevant option
While Jordan Howard has some pedigree as a fantasy-relevant option, Patrick Laird does not. In his rookie season in 2019, Laird registered 62 carries, which he took for just 168 yards (2.7 yards per attempt), and found the end zone just once. He did add some value in the receiving game, seeing 30 targets with 23 receptions and 204 receiving yards.
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Therefore, in a PPR format, Laird may be the safer of the two options, especially given the Dolphins hesitance to use Howard as anything more than a short-yardage back so far in 2020.
The Arizona Cardinals present a tough matchup for either running back in Week 9
If you have to start with Jordan Howard or Patrick Laird this week on your fantasy teams, then at the very least, you want them to have a good matchup. Unfortunately, that is not the case, as the Arizona Cardinals are the ninth-toughest matchup for running backs, according to Pro Football Network’s Defensive Points Allowed Consistency Score.
The positive is that while the Cardinals defense has not been consistently beaten by opposing running games, they have been vulnerable at times. That is highlighted by them allowing an average of 25.09 fantasy points per game to the running back position. That number is the 10th most fantasy points allowed to the running back position of any team in the NFL in 2020. That at least provides a small amount of optimism that either Howard or Laird could produce something for fantasy teams in Week 9.
Could Salvon Ahmed be a sleeper in Week 9?
Given Ahmed has yet to be active for a single NFL game in his career, it seems unlikely that he will shine in Week 9. However, we have seen what Patrick Laird and Jordan Howard bring to the table for fantasy, and it is not pretty. Therefore, if you are desperate and need to shoot for upside, then Ahmed could be an interesting gamble in Week 9.
During his time at Washington, Ahmed racked up 2,016 rushing yards on 353 carries with 21 touchdowns. Those numbers are certainly impressive, but his upside for PPR formats appears limited. In three years with the Huskies, Ahmed averaged just 16.6 receptions per season, posting a total of 331 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. The fact that despite these numbers, Ahmed could be viewed as the back with the most upside in Miami this week outlines the concerns that fantasy GMs face when analyzing the Dolphins backfield in Week 9.
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