It feels like every week, we see more and more of Rachaad White, creating intriguing fantasy football questions. With White coming off his biggest performance in both rushing attempts and total touches, should fantasy managers be looking to start him in Week 10?
Let’s examine the role that White has played so far this year as a rookie and whether there is the potential to start him in fantasy lineups this week.
Rachaad White’s Fantasy Impact Has Been Growing Throughout This Season
In the first three weeks of the season, when White had just 32 total snaps and 10 touches across the three games, it looked like we might not see him have a major impact this year. However, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ run game stalling with Leonard Fournette, we’ve seen White’s role growing as the season goes on. The rookie RB has now played more than 15 snaps in all of the last six games, topping 28 in four of them.
In terms of his actual contribution, we had seen a relatively flat usage for White. He had between seven and nine opportunities in each of the five games between Weeks 4 and 8. However, in Week 9, we saw that jump into double digits for the first time. White had a career-high eight rushing attempts and added three targets.
From a fantasy value aspect, we’ve yet to see a consistent breakthrough for White. We’ve only seen him go over 10 fantasy points in half-PPR leagues once this year. In the other eight games, he’s only scored more than five fantasy points on two occasions.
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The problem for White is the inefficiency of the Buccaneers’ running game this year. White is averaging 3.1 yards per rush attempt this season, and the Buccaneers as a whole are only averaging three yards per attempt. Their offense ranks dead last in the league in rushing efficiency, while their three touchdowns are the third-fewest across the NFL.
Tampa Bay’s offensive line has been a major concern for them in 2022. Their 4.05 adjusted rushing yards are the fourth-lowest in the league, per Football Outsiders. Their 1.6 yards before contact per rush attempt is the lowest mark in the league through nine weeks. Neither has been particularly effective after contact, with just 1.5 yards after contact per rush.
All of this has made the Buccaneers’ RBs very dependent on touchdowns to have fantasy value. Fournette has only topped 100 total yards three times in his nine games this year. Therefore, the Buccaneers’ backs have been more useful in Underdog Fantasy Best Ball formats than they have been reliable weekly fantasy starters.
Is White a Potential Starting Option in Week 10?
There is certainly potential for the Buccaneers’ RBs to have fantasy value in this matchup. The Seattle Seahawks have allowed an average of 21.22 fantasy points per game so far this season. That number is the 10th-highest in the league and marginally above the league average this season (20.15).
The fantasy output for RBs against the Seahawks has been very much mixed. In the last two games, Seattle has allowed an average of just 14 fantasy points per game. However, they allowed over 20 fantasy points on five occasions in the first seven weeks, including two performances of over 30 fantasy points.
Therefore, this matchup for Tampa Bay certainly has the potential to provide fantasy value. There is the runway for both Fournette and White to have value this week, but we need to see White remaining in the region of having at least 35% of the rushing attempts. We’ve seen him hit that number twice in the last three weeks, but he dipped down to 26.7% in the middle week.
Therefore, White may not be ready to be a 12-team starting consideration. However, he has a shot to be a 14-team option in Week 10. The Buccaneers will have their bye week coming out of this game, so we could see a bigger switch into the latter part of the season.
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White may be a player you look to stash if you’re preparing for a playoff run in your fantasy league. If you have Fournette on your roster, then White is the clear handcuff. However, the inefficiency of the Buccaneers’ run game is unlikely to improve massively down the stretch. Therefore, expectations for White should be tempered. Even if he were to take the majority of work in this backfield, his value would likely still be heavily limited.
The other thing we need to see flip is the goal-line usage of the Buccaneers’ RBs. White had two such touches against the Kansas City Chiefs back in Week 4. However, those are his only touches inside the 5-yard line this season. Meanwhile, Fournette has had eight carries and two targets close to the goal line. That will put a huge limitation on the potential fantasy output for White if Fournette continues in that role.
All told, White is a tough player to value. He is currently rostered in 23% of ESPN leagues. While that provides the option for him to be stashed in shallower leagues, there are also plenty of limitations to his value suddenly significantly increasing. Even if Fournette were injured, White could share touches with Ke’Shawn Vaughn, further limiting the ceiling.
Stats courtesy of TruMedia, Pro Football Reference, and Stathead.