The Commanders ruled out Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) for a second straight week as they get ready to host the Steelers in Week 10. Austin Ekeler ($5,800) immediately becomes a fantasy football must-start since he will likely be the primary back, but there is even some fantasy football potential further down the depth chart as well.
Austin Ekeler’s upside
Ekeler was marginally involved as primarily a third-down, pass-catching back early in the season. He had double-digit fantasy points in each of his first five games of the season but never had double-digit carries.
Last week, the team ran Ekeler a season-high 11 times. He finished with 42 rushing yards and added three catches for 41 more yards to total 17.3 DraftKings points against the Giants.
He had a 47% snap rate and got 43% of the RB opportunities. He also got the two goal-line carries and converted one for this touchdown:
Austin Ekeler powers it in for the @Commanders TD!
📺: #WASvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/oF0B2XG36x— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
The Steelers are no easy foe, but they have allowed 12 running back touchdowns in their eight games while giving up an average of 81.8 rushing yards and 42.5 receiving yards per game to the position. In their last game before their bye week, Tyrone Tracy Jr. ran for 145 yards and a touchdown against them in primetime.
Further down the depth chart
While Ekeler got most of the work, Jeremy McNichols ($4,400) and Chris Rodriguez Jr. ($4,300) were also involved. Rodriguez had 11 carries for 52 yards after being promoted from the practice squad and could be an interesting punt play if he’s called up again this week.
McNichols had eight rushes for 20 yards and didn’t catch his only target. However, he is ahead of Rodriguez since he has a full-time roster spot and had a few good games earlier this season. He had 20.4 fantasy points against the Cardinals back in Week 4.
Third-and-Short
The Commanders are three-point home favorites in Week 10 even without Robinson. Ekeler has short odds to score a touchdown at +100 while McNichols is at +225.
Ekeler is a great grab on any league’s waiver wire and is a fantasy football must-start as a flex play based on his potential workload. He is also an amazing value in DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. There aren’t many RB options getting consistent touches under $6,000, and Ekeler has proven he can still put up point in multiple ways when given the extra opportunities.
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