It was a bit of a surprise when Chase Edmonds popped up on the Wednesday injury report with a groin injury, but he was a partial participant in a Wednesday practice, and those designations are going to to turn into actives on Sunday in a majority of cases. It's definitely one we'll be watching closely, because Edmonds has big-time upside in his first start as a Dolphin in Week 1.
Edmonds' upside starts with his role in the passing game. He averaged nearly five targets per game in his 11 healthy games in 2021 and caught four or more passes in more than half of those games. No matter what your role is on early downs, 70-catch potential gives you immense upside in PPR leagues. But we have reason to believe Edmonds will be used more in the running game as well.
For one thing, the Dolphins gave him $12 million as the first back signed in free agency. That's more money than you give a third-down back. Also, the wide zone scheme Mike McDaniel is bringing from San Francisco just so happens to be Edmonds' favorite scheme.
Edmonds was listed as the starter on the team's first official depth chart alongside Raheem Mostert. Depth charts don't mean much, but an even split of the rush attempts plus five targets a game would absolutely give Edmonds top-12 upside in a given week. In the six games he saw double-digit carries last year, he averaged 16.1 PPR FPPG. And that was with only one touchdown in those six games.
With Edmonds currently nursing a groin, you do need to make sure Mostert is rostered. Mostert himself would come close to must-start if Edmonds misses Week 1. On the flip side, Mostert is 30 years old and has only played nine games in the past two seasons. If he gets hurt again, Edmonds may not just have top-12 upside. He may just be a top 12 running back.
Now let's get to the rest of the Week 1 RB Preview:
Week 1 RB Preview
Who's Out
Numbers to Know
Matchups That Matter
Waiver Wire Targets
DFS Plays
Projections
The following players are not being projected to play Week 1 at this time. Here's what it means:
RB Preview
Numbers to know
- 21.9 -- Jonathan Taylor led all running backs with 21.9 FPPG last year. That was the 12th best per-game average in the past five seasons.
- 29.3 -- Christian McCaffrey's 29.3 FPPG was 8.4 points better than any other running back in 2019.
- 74 -- Najee Harris led all running backs with 74 catches last year. That's a very important part of him justifying his Round 1 ADP.
- 6.7 -- Aaron Jones has averaged nearly seven targets per game in his past seven games without Davante Adams. That would give him a chance to lead all running backs in catches.
- 2.4 -- Cam Akers averaged just 2.4 yards per carry after returning from his torn Achilles in 2021.
- 28.3% -- The Saints led the NFL with a 28.3% running back target rate last year.
- 45 -- Derrick Henry leads all running backs with 45 touchdowns over the past three seasons. Aaron Jones is the only other back with 40.
- 20.3 -- David Montgomery has averaged 20.3 touches per game over the past two seasons. He'll be an enormous value if he maintains that role.
- 4.9 -- Since Devin Singletary entered the league, he's one of 37 running backs to earn at least 100 targets. He ranks 34th in yards per target (4.9) and 35th in yards per reception (6.5). Don't expect many targets this year, which makes him much better in non-PPR.
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
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RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
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RB Preview
Heath's Projections