It seems like the New England Patriots offense gets worse every week. That’s something felt acutely for anyone with a Patriots skill player in their fantasy football lineups. Even though he’s not catching many passes from Mac Davis (who is?) the overall sluggish offense has been a drag on running back Rhamondre Stevenson too, someone who’s still on a lot of fantasy football rosters. So could this week be a better one for Stevenson?
Fantasy Football analysis: Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson’s had just 54 rushing yards on 22 carries over his last two games. Of course, there’s not much need to run the ball in games where your team is losing 34-0 like they did last week against the Saints.
This week, the Patriots are on the road to play the Las Vegas Raiders. They haven’t been an especially difficult defense for opposing running backs, who have accumulated 520 rushing yards and three scores this season, along with 126 receiving yards.
The thinking goes that the Patriots will need to lean on Stevenson this week to keep from having to lean on Jones for offensive production. But we’ll see.
Start or sit in Week 6 PPR leagues?
Start. Stevenson hasn’t had more than three receptions since Week 1. He’s not doing enough in the passing game to justify any extra consideration in a PPR league. He’s still worth a RB2 slot, just because of what his role in this offense should be, but it’s going to be tough to bank on him for much production.
Start or sit in Week 6 standard leagues?
Start. Stevenson’s a low-ceiling starter in standard leagues. It’s hard to bank on him for much production in this Patriots offense, but given his role in the offense, it’s hard to justify leaving him on the bench unless you have better options.
Player(s) you would start ahead of Rhamondre Stevenson
If you can, I’d pop in someone like Alexander Mattison of the Vikings this week.