After spending three seasons as a serviceable backup running back with the Cincinnati Bengals, Samaje Perine has found a new home with the Denver Broncos, where he appears to be in line for some action early in the season. Here’s what you should know about his Week 1 situation.
Fantasy Football analysis: Broncos RB Samaje Perine
Perine opened his career with Washington, where he ran for 603 yards as a rookie. He ended up spending another season and a half with Washington before being acquired on waivers by the Bengals during the 2019 season, where he’d end up spending four seasons. He’s coming off his best season with the Bengals, as he rushed for 394 yards and two touchdowns while adding 287 yards receiving. He’ll likely be the backup running back in Denver but is in line to get the lion’s share of touches in Week 1 due to lingering issues from Javonte Williams’ knee injury from last season.
Start or sit in Week 1 PPR leagues?
Start, but not as a RB1
Perine holds some value in Week 1, especially considering he likely made your roster as a late-round draft pick/waiver wire pickup, as general manager Joe Lombardi said at the end of August that Williams’ role could be limited a little bit as he recovers from a full tear of the ACL, MCL, and PCL last season. While coach Sean Payton said Williams will play “a big role” against the Raiders, I still think they’ll play things safe with him this week, which could lead to some extended run for Perine. He’s a fringe RB2, but is an above-average FLEX option.
Start or sit in Week 1 standard leagues?
Start. All of the same logic applies here. While Perine is a receiving threat out of the backfield, most of his value should come on the ground. I’m expecting the Broncos to have a better offense this year (it’s pretty hard to have an offense that was worse than last year’s), which should lead to lots of scoring opportunities for the Broncos offense.
Player(s) you would start ahead of Perine
FantasyPros has Perine ranked as the No. 35 running back between Dalvin Cook and Jerick McKinnon, two running backs without a clear role in their offense. As mentioned above, I think Perine is a borderline RB2, but I think most of his value is as a FLEX. He’s the No. 87 FLEX player and is a good option to play if you put a lot of stock in wide receivers early in your draft.