Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego Chargers fans have been awaiting a replacement for Darren Sproles for three years now. They’ve had success with Ryan Mathews, but they were missing that versatility that Sproles had brought. But now it seems that the wait is over. They may have even found a better (and younger) option, Danny Woodhead.
Positives:
Last season with the Chargers, Woodhead placed fourth among running backs in Win Probability Added, as well as placing first in Success Rate — 54.2 percent of his plays were “successful” according to AdvancedFootballAnalytics.com.
He led the league among his position in receptions and reception yards.
Starting running back Mathews is known for injuries. He wasn’t injured last year, so it seems that he may see some time sidelined this year, giving more touches for Woodhead.
Woodhead’s yards per attempt stayed flat at 4.0 yards even after receiving 30 more carries from 2012 into the 2013 season. So his average production should not be a problem.
Negatives:
Donald Brown is in town. He’s coming off a season with the Indianapolis Colts in which he was the leader in the NFL in elusiveness and missed tackles forced according to ProFootballFocus.com
Woodhead may in fact not be the second string RB for the Chargers. Brown has been impressive in camp thus far, and has only been improving since entering the league, as has Woodhead.
He won’t be given starter-like touches. He won’t overtake Mathews unless Mathews goes down for any period of time. He won’t be given consistent touches that would make him truly valuable in fantasy football.
Final Verdict:
I love this man’s talent and ability to score in a multitude of ways. He’s only getting better as he matures, but so is the other running back (Brown) that they brought in for more support. As a way to lessen Mathew’s chances of injury, the Chargers would be wise to do a more even timeshare, and that could mean less touches for Woodhead. He’ll put up good numbers — I expect just a slight dip in production from his 147 points from last season. But ultimately, he’s worth the pick at the price you’ll pay (0n average).
Bye Week: 10
Auction Value: $8
Projected Round: 10 (in a 12 team league)
