This article is part of our Job Battles series.
This article looks at a few notable position battles throughout the league in the last week. The blurbs are grouped by position and then listed alphabetically by team location.
RUNNING BACK
Christian Wade vs. The Field in BUF
Wade is evidently unlikely to make the final Buffalo roster, but his compelling preseason performances perhaps make things more complicated than the Bills might have previously figured. Wade (5-foot-7, 185 pounds) is a 28-year-old former rugby star who initially seemed like little more than a novelty project, yet a 65-yard run and 48-yard reception in the preseason might make Buffalo think longer about leaving Wade subject to waivers.
Wade, who was credited with a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, perhaps looks a little faster in the previously mentioned preseason games, and his explosiveness stands out in a Buffalo running back rotation that otherwise lacks speed. Devin Singletary might be the most elusive among the group, yet even he only ran a 4.66-second 40 at the combine.
Still, the fact that Wade has been playing football for less than a year would it difficult for any other team to get him prepped for regular season snaps, and as an older prospect it would be problematic to designate a roster spot to Wade as a longer-term project. The most likely outcome seems Wade clearing waivers and landing on Buffalo's international player slot as the 11th practice squad member. Still, it's interesting that he couldn't have landed in a more contrasting backfield than Buffalo's, which is defined
This article looks at a few notable position battles throughout the league in the last week. The blurbs are grouped by position and then listed alphabetically by team location.
RUNNING BACK
Christian Wade vs. The Field in BUF
Wade is evidently unlikely to make the final Buffalo roster, but his compelling preseason performances perhaps make things more complicated than the Bills might have previously figured. Wade (5-foot-7, 185 pounds) is a 28-year-old former rugby star who initially seemed like little more than a novelty project, yet a 65-yard run and 48-yard reception in the preseason might make Buffalo think longer about leaving Wade subject to waivers.
Wade, who was credited with a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, perhaps looks a little faster in the previously mentioned preseason games, and his explosiveness stands out in a Buffalo running back rotation that otherwise lacks speed. Devin Singletary might be the most elusive among the group, yet even he only ran a 4.66-second 40 at the combine.
Still, the fact that Wade has been playing football for less than a year would it difficult for any other team to get him prepped for regular season snaps, and as an older prospect it would be problematic to designate a roster spot to Wade as a longer-term project. The most likely outcome seems Wade clearing waivers and landing on Buffalo's international player slot as the 11th practice squad member. Still, it's interesting that he couldn't have landed in a more contrasting backfield than Buffalo's, which is defined by its lack of big-play ability between LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore, and T.J. Yeldon in addition to Singletary.
Jamaal Williams vs. Dexter Williams vs. Darrin Hall, GB
Jamaal has a considerable experience advantage as a third-year back with 274 carries, 75 targets, and 966 snaps already to his credit, but his inability to average four yards per carry in a season leaves him vulnerable to a more explosive hypothetical runner. It's not clear yet whether Green Bay's duo of rookie runners – Dexter and Hall – can establish themselves as that hypothetical runner.
Jamaal had missed a couple weeks of training camp with a hamstring injury, but he jumped back in as of Sunday and returns with concerning details surrounding Dexter's practices. Dexter was a convincingly explosive runner at Notre Dame, where he averaged 6.4 yards per carry before Green Bay picked him in the sixth round of the most recent draft, but mental errors (https://twitter.com/mattschneidman/status/1163168527915896833) could threaten his role.
That scenario is one worth considering, especially if Hall continues to present himself as a viable alternative. Hall (6-foot, 217 pounds) is potentially more toolsy than either of Dexter or Jamaal, posting a 4.52-second 40 and 10.97 agility score at the Pittsburgh pro day while those two respectively posted 4.59/11.78 and 4.57/11.16 in the same categories. Hall didn't see a big workload in college, but he can probably be forgiven for that since his teammates at Pittsburgh were James Conner and Qadree Ollison. That he averaged 5.7 yards per carry over 381 attempts also checks the box.
For now I'd consider Jamaal the clear favorite for the RB2 role behind Aaron Jones, and that role is worth thinking twice about given Jones' own durability issues going back to UTEP. Whether he can hold off the competition might just be a matter of whether Dexter and Hall can apply their talents to the game plan, and how quickly they do it.
Carlos Hyde vs. Darwin Thompson, KC
Team observers have different interpretations of the Kansas City training camp and preseason so far, with presumptions ranging from Hyde as the backup to Damien Williams, to Hyde not even making the team. The Chiefs have otherwise issued an initial, not-all-binding depth chart that names Hyde as the RB2, yet its declaration of Darrel Williams as the RB3 over Thompson strains credulity, making it fair to question the document as a whole.
With that said, be it preseason or training camp, Thompson has earned seemingly rave reviews for his work. He's otherwise easy to like as a prospect, his film looking better than his workout metrics (4.55 40 at 198 pounds), but his explosive production (6.8 YPC, 14 touchdowns on 153 carries) breaking the tie. Hyde has seen his own share of positive reviews, but not as universally as Thompson.
Hyde's roster spot seems safer than not, but part of the skepticism around him might reasonably root in the fact that coach Andy Reid named the previously mentioned Darrel Williams as a candidate for the Chiefs' "running back committee," and at 225 pounds Darrel is more likely to mimic Hyde's functions than the much smaller Thompson. With fewer imitators nearby, it's maybe reasonable to think Thompson has more security than Hyde, even if Hyde is somewhat paradoxically closer to the RB2 role.
Kenyan Drake (foot) vs. Kalen Ballage vs. Myles Gaskin vs. Mark Walton, MIA
With Drake questionable for Week 1 with his recent foot injury, the Ballage hype that preceded it reasonably has more momentum than ever. After previously settling into more of the 12th-round range upon opening training camp ahead of Drake in first-team snaps, Drake's foot tweak has Ballage regularly crashing the first 10 rounds now.
I'll link to my reasoning in a second, but my belief is that Ballage basically can't match Drake as a runner, and the only way he'll be viable as Miami's lead runner is if Drake is injured. Ballage's 4.46 speed could be useful as a pass catcher, though, even if he proves below average as a pure runner out of the backfield. In whatever case, if Drake is unavailable then Gaskin or Walton would be the next in line behind Ballage. Read all about Ballage, Gaskin, and Walton on the RotoWire blog here.
WIDE RECEIVER
Marqise Lee (knee) vs. D.J. Chark vs. Chris Conley, JAC
Dede Westbrook seems established as Jacksonville's lead WR, serving as both the slot receiver and starter in two-wide sets, but there might be room for a second or even third impact fantasy receiver in Jacksonville aside from him. Nick Foles offers new hope at quarterback, and despite his reliability, Geoff Swaim is only so threatening at tight end.
Unfortunately for fantasy drafters, it's not so clear who has the best route to success after Westbrook. That's particularly true in light of Lee (knee) getting activated from the PUP list Saturday, adding perhaps the most qualified WR2 candidate yet between himself, Chark, and Conley. If there's a case to make for Westbrook optimism on the basis of the improvement offered by Foles, then the same reasoning should apply to Lee, who nearly matched Allen Robinson in 2016 and led the team in receiving yards per game in 2017. Lee also nearly doubled up Robert Woods' yardage at USC in 2012, 1,721 to 846, and his solid prospect profile is worth recalling. If you can get him in the last couple rounds, it's hard to think of an argument against him in leagues of 12 or more teams.
With that said, Chark and Conley are both interesting for the blistering speed they offer, and both have seen their share of praise in training camp. Conley (4.35 40, 45-inch vertical, 139-inch broad jump) may have been miscast as an underneath target in Kansas City, and if the Jaguars send him downfield then Chark (4.34 40, 40-inch vertical, 129-inch broad jump) will be able to keep pace. That speed could meaningfully create space for Westbrook, Lee, and Leonard Fournette underneath while presenting a credible downfield sideline threat at the same time. If one should get declared the clear leader between the two, it'd be easy to identify that player as a breakout threat.
