Kimani Vidal broke onto the scene last week in his first taste of NFL action, finishing a 23-16 victory over the Broncos with 13.1 FPTS. Still, despite that impressive performance, there’s some serious question marks when it comes to the rookie’s viability on a week-to-week basis.
Let’s start with the obvious: Vidal’s limited role. While Vidal did find the end zone in Week 6 — and even garnered a rushing attempt inside the opponent’s 10-yard line — he’s little more in Monday’s matchup than a touchdown-dependant backup. Against Denver, Vidal logged a modest 24.4% snap share and registered just six touches. Fortunately for owners, one of those six was a 38-yard touchdown reception. Not only is that not a stable path to consistent fantasy relevancy in a vacuum, it’s especially unsustainable in an offense that is averaging only 1.2 passing touchdowns per contest.
On the flip side of that red flag, there is a positive. The Chargers do love to run the football. Like, more than almost any other team in the NFL. Coming into its matchup with the Cardinals, Los Angeles is keeping the ball on the ground on 52.4% of its plays — the third-highest rate in football. In theory, that’s great news for any running back employed by Jim Harbaugh, yet in practice, it’s really just a boost if your name is J.K. Dobbins. To wit, in Week 6, Dobbins saw a 73.1% snap share and 86.2% of the Chargers’ RB carries. This is a committee situation by any means.
So where does that leave us? Well, while Vidal isn’t someone I’d be looking to start in most formats in Week 7, he is one of the most valuable running back handcuffs in the league, especially with Gus Edwards (ankle) on injured reserve. If Vidal is available in your league, he’s certainly worth an add and a stash, because if anything were to happen to Dobbins, the former sixth-round pick would suddenly be a fringe RB1.
Start or Sit Kimani Vidal? Sit.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
