Week 9 Fantasy Football: RB Alfred Morris Will Have A Big Game

By Adam McGill @adammcgill83twitter.com on November 1, 2014

After busting out 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns in his rookie season, Washington Redskins RB Alfred Morris became a fantasy football superstar. He was instantly added to the top-10 backs, and as a result, he has become a popular pick over the past two seasons.

Unfortunately, Morris has slowly watched his fantasy value disappear in recent years. New head coach, Jay Gruden, has been much more dedicated to throwing the ball and it has caused the back’s value to fall out of RB1 territory.

Morris hasn’t received over 18 carries in five straight games. He also has yet to have a single 100-yard rushing effort this season. The lack of production is most likely due to the team’s struggles offensively and the constant turnover at the quarterback position, but it still speaks volumes to his fantasy production.

Luckily, QB Robert Griffin III will likely be returning this week. The dual-threat quarterback will give the offense more flexibility. It will also allow Morris to face much softer boxes than he has previously with Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy under center.

This week the Skins face off against an abysmal defense in the Minnesota Vikings. They are giving up 19 fantasy points per week to opposing running backs and have notoriously been beat up by opposing backs. The Green Bay Packers ran all over the Vikings in Week 5, as they racked up 156 rushing yards on 28 carries (5.6 AVG), capped off by a 105-yard, 2-TD effort of RB Eddie Lacy. While Lacy is a much more physical back, he still has a similar running style to Morris. He is true north-to-south runner and knows how to square his shoulders to the line of scrimmage. It isn’t out of the question to expect a similar effort from Morris in Week 9.

Morris will shine this week against the Vikings and should end up with his first 100-yard contest of the season. If you own the back, this is one week to make sure he is active.

 

Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.