2016 Fantasy Football Dilemmas: Is Rashad Jennings the best bargain running back?

Rashad Jennings isn't the most desirable running back in Fantasy drafts, but he might be the best bargain you'll find.

Giants running backs coach Craig Johnson has been on the same team as two 2,000-yard rushers -- first in 2009 with Chris Johnson in Tennessee and again in 2012 with Adrian Peterson in Minnesota. It doesn't mean he's a "running back whisperer" but it does mean he knows what to look for in productive run games.

One of those important factors is rhythm. Last year the Giants used four different running backs at varying times for various roles and it led to disappointment, both for them and for Fantasy fanatics. In the first 12 weeks of last season, New York's backs scored seven times, totaled 100 or more yards once and rushed for 100 yards zero times.

"I've never met a back that has said, 'I don't need more carries so I can get in the rhythm.'" Johnson told the media this week. "We're going to see if we can find the rhythm with a pair and maybe a third guy and, obviously, if it was like we finished the year, like Rashad Jennings finished, that would take care of a lot of problems."

That last quarter of the season was telling for the Giants. They made a conscious effort to give Jennings more work and leave the other backs to minimal duties. It paid off as Jennings had over 100 total yards per outing while averaging 21.5 touches per game. The Giants' record was 1-3 but the offense scored at least 30 points in three of the games.

"(Jennings) had twice as many carries as any other back that was on our team," Johnson said. "But the bottom line is that he just got kind of hot, and as I've told the guys, if you get that hot, I'm going to ride you. He got hot and I rode him. ... I certainly think the way he ended last year, he deserves an opportunity to go out there and be the starter, which is what he is. But there's going to be a lot of competition and he understands that, and I think he'll raise his game to that level."

The way Johnson spoke to the media suggests that the days of the Big Blue merry-go-round at running back are over. Jennings makes sense as the lead back not only because he's done it before but also because he's physical and the most versatile. It's not difficult to view him as a better rusher than Andre Williams, Orleans Darkwa or Paul Perkins.

Thirty-one year-old running backs aren't hot commodities in Fantasy, though. But when they're available, on average, at the end of Round 8, what's the harm?

Name another starting running back you'll find in Round 8?!

Jennings is a good running back to target if you pass on running backs early -- he could end up as a potential early-season starting option. The Giants play against a depleted Cowboys defense in Week 1 and at home against a still-struggling Saints defense in Week 2. He could easily pick up where he left off. If he does, great. If he doesn't, move on. And if he gets dinged up, his backup -- no one's sure who that is as of early August -- will be on waivers.

But even if you don't start Jennings he sounds like a good back to target for your Fantasy bench. He's played at least 10 games in each of his six NFL seasons and made his way through 16 games last year. Maybe it was because he wasn't getting much work for three-quarters of the season, but he still made it. And he has 905 career touches, more than 100 fewer than what Alfred Morris squeezed into four seasons in Washington.

Johnson seems convinced Jennings is the guy for the G-Men.

"[W]e were just in a great rhythm and Rashad was able to play well," Johnson said. "I think he averaged close to six yards a carry and he was available for the next week and the next week. It really showed where we would like to go, but we have to see if we can pick up where we left off and start that way this year."