Fantasy Sports Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Week 11 Sleeper: Terrance West

Fresh Videos

By @RoKnowsDFS

terrance west cleveland browns rb running back

Getty Images

When most people think of the Houston Texans, the first thing that comes to mind is defensive intensity. This is mostly due to the presence of All-World DE J.J. Watt, who at age 25, has already appeared in two Pro Bowls and won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2012. Due to his maniacal playing style and play disruption tendencies, the Houston defense is feared. The additional presences of the oft-injured Brian Cushing, Whitney Mercilus and Kareem Jackson also help contribute to the fear induced by the Texans defense.

However, their defensive strength is overcompensated in one area, and that’s with the pass rush. When it comes to pass coverage, they’re subpar and when it comes to run defense, they’re literally the worst in the league. Therefore, this makes Cleveland Browns RB Terrance West an excellent fantasy football sleeper for Week 11 with tremendous upside.

While some may think that labeling the Houston run defense as the worst in the league is an exaggeration, let’s take a look at what the numbers say. According to Pro Football Focus, the Texans have a run defense grade of -32.2 which has them ranked dead last in the NFL. They’re slightly worse than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and everyone is well aware of how porous the Tampa Bay defense has been this year.

Additionally, excluding only two games, Houston has given up at least 100 total yards to the opposing RBs they’ve faced this season. They’re giving up an average of 117.3 rushing yards per game with a 56-percent chance of yielding a TD. Additionally, they give up an average of five receptions and 48 receiving yards to RBs with a 22-percent chance for a receiving TD. Those statistics make it abundantly clear that Houston has an egregious deficiency at stopping the run.

Although Cleveland deploys a three-headed RB attack with West, Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell, it has been West getting the bulk of the carries lately. This includes his last game in which he carried the ball 26 times for 94 yards and a TD against the Cincinnati Bengals. This currently has him solidifed as the RB1 for the Browns at least for now.

Tate was injured early in the year and West was able to give glimpses of his great upside, although he still had some issues to work through. Additionally, when Cleveland tried to give Crowell more of the carries, he simply didn’t show the same performance ceiling as West. Therefore, the expectation is that the former Towson Tiger should see another 20-plus carries and he should easily rush for over 85 yards and a TD. When you also consider the fact that Cleveland has one of the best run blocking units in the league, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if West manages to squeeze in a second TD.

In all league formats, West can be started as an RB2 or Flex with a great deal of confidence. Don’t overestimate the power of Houston’s defense. As it currently stands, they are one-dimensional and the Browns should be able to take full advantage of that through the capable hands, feet and vision of Terrance West.

 

Roje Smith is a Fantasy Sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RoKnowsDFS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on