What to do with Wayne Gallman in Week 4 fantasy football

Wayne Gallman Jr. will fill more than a few long-established archetypes this Sunday when he takes the field as the Giants’ starting running back. He’ll be a bell cow. At least we can make the educated guess that he’ll receive the lion’s share of the workload in a backfield where he only competition for carries appears to be Jon Hilliman — an undrafted free agent who was activated off New York’s practice squad earlier this week. Gallman will be a home favorite, generally the preferred game-script when assessing a running back’s potential value in a vacuum. He’ll also be DFS viable at a $4,600 price point that looks pretty tantalizing when considering the aforementioned attributes of the scenario Gallman finds himself in following an injury to Saquon Barkley. Still, these are just templates. Can we actually expect the Clemson product to produce?

It really appears to come down to matchup. While those who spent their FAAB dollars on the the 24-year-old might not be so inclined to test the waters with Gallman against teams on the horizon like Minnesota and New England, Washington has been quite generous to the offenses it’s faced so far in 2019. At 31.3 points per game allowed, the Redskins have surrendered more scoring than any non-Miami team in the NFL this season. That’s not a great distinction to call your own. Additionally, it’s one that’s directly led to Washington’s opponents possessing a rushing rate of 45.9% - the second-highest mark in the conference. That hasn’t translated into empty volume, either. The Redskins are currently giving up 4.8 yards per carry and 142.0 total yards on the ground per contest. Essentially, they check nearly all conceivable boxes when it comes to an RB’s ideal opposition.

Fantasy Impact: Gallman played a majority of the Giants’ 33 offensive snaps after Barkley left Week 3’s victory over the Buccaneers. There’s no reason to think that phenomenon was a fluke, as New York simply doesn’t have the positional depth for Gallman to not be heavily involved this weekend. Knowing that, and factoring in that the Giants’ can claim the slate’s fifth-highest implied point total, Gallman is entrenched as a low-end RB2.

Recommendation: Start