3 months agoNew England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said on the radio that running back
Antonio Gibson will start over
Rhamondre Stevenson in the Week 17 contest against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise given Stevenson's fumbling issues. Stevenson only played 32 of the team's 73 plays on offense in last week's loss to the division-rival Buffalo Bills and finished with 60 yards and a touchdown, but he also lost his third fumble of the year. Gibson saw a 59 percent snap share , had 10 carries for 28 yards and recovered his fumble. Even though Gibson will be the "starter" in Week 17, we'd expect Stevenson to still be involved. At best, fantasy managers playing for a title this weekend should consider Gibson an RB3/flex in a bad matchup. The Bolts defense has only allowed seven touchdowns to RBs through 15 games in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MassLive.com - Karen Guregian
3 months agoNew England Patriots running back
Rhamondre Stevenson has lost some of his fantasy appeal heading into Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers. While Stevenson does rank as the overall RB24 in PPR leagues this year, he has been quite inconsistent and does not inspire much confidence for Week 17. This reduced faith stems from his performance last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in which he lost a crucial fumble and also dropped a toss from
Drake Maye that turned into a defensive touchdown for the other team. Stevenson did manage to score 13.3 fantasy points against the Bills, but nearly half of those points came from his touchdown. The 26-year-old played just 44 percent of snaps in the contest, which was his second-lowest mark of the year. His career-low 3.9 yards per carry coupled with last Sunday's costly fumble may have put Stevenson in the doghouse, prompting the Patriots to rely on
Antonio Gibson more. There's even a chance that Gibson, who played 59 percent of the snaps last Sunday, draws the start in Week 17. Stevenson will sneak into the RB2 or RB3 tier if he finds the end zone, but that's a relatively big ask. Otherwise, he'll rank as a mid-range RB4 and can be benched in most leagues with 14 or fewer teams. That's especially true against a Chargers defense allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs in 2024.
--Andersen Pickard - RotoBallerSource: RotoBaller
4 months agoNew England Patriots running back
Rhamondre Stevenson rushed 12 times for 60 yards and one touchdown during Sunday's Week 16 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He also caught a 13-yard pass and lost a fumble. Stevenson's showing in Buffalo was a tale of highs and lows. On a positive note, he found the end zone and mustered an impressive five yards per carry. Less ideal, however, was his costly fumble that could have been the difference-maker in a one-score game. He made another mistake that didn't show up on the stat sheet when he couldn't corral a backward pass from
Drake Maye, leading to an easy Buffalo scoop-and-score touchdown. Stevenson certainly has some things to clean up before next Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, but if he can get back in the end zone without fumbling the ball, he'll rank as a high-end RB3 option for fantasy football.
--Andersen Pickard - RotoBallerSource: RotoBaller
4 months agoNew England Patriots running back
Rhamondre Stevenson could have an opportunity to demonstrate his pass-catching upside during Sunday's Week 16 game against the Buffalo Bills. New England faces Buffalo two times over the next three weeks, and this Sunday's contest could set the tone for Stevenson to win back some of the opportunities that he has ceded to
Antonio Gibson lately. While Buffalo has been solid against the run, they're porous against pass-catching running backs. In fact, the Bills have allowed the most catches, most receiving yards, and second-most receiving touchdowns to opposing running backs in 2024. That bodes well for Stevenson, who has multiple catches in nine of his 13 games this season. He has caught an impressive 32 of 39 passes thrown his way this year, which is a higher total than Gibson, his backfield-mate. Touchdown opportunities have been limited for Stevenson this year, which means his fantasy managers need him to catch passes to produce points. There's no better matchup than the Bills for this to happen. As a result, he ranks as a high-end RB3 in most leagues as the fantasy playoffs carry on.
--Andersen Pickard - RotoBallerSource: RotoBaller
RADIO
