Trades are tricky in fantasy football. Sometimes team owners are prone to jump to knee-jerk reactions when players either do or don’t perform early in the season. Oftentimes, people forget that the fantasy season is a marathon, not a sprint, and look at short point output, rather than long-term potential.
While it is smart to sometimes trade away a high upside player that may never reach his potential for a solid performer, other times patience will be rewarded. Detroit Lions rookie running back Kerryon Johnson is a player that needs to be held on to no matter what offers come in.
Hold on and Don’t Let Go to Kerryon Johnson in Fantasy Football
Role Has Increased Every Week
The main reason to hold Johnson, and the reason people are trying to buy him now, is because his role is expanding almost exponentially each week. The Lions signed LeGarrette Blount this offseason, but at age 31 and coming into his ninth season, he is just a stopgap at running back for the Lions. He began the season as the starter as Johnson gets acclimated to the game, but even Blount himself knows that he is just keeping the seat warm for Johnson.
In Week One, Johnson only saw five carries, turning them into 17 yards. To his credit, the Lions were getting blown out behind Matthew Stafford’s plethora of picks, so there wasn’t any real semblance of a run game. He did add four receptions for 33 yards, showing that he has versatility as both a runner and receiver. Week Two saw his carries increased to eight, and he made the most of them, gaining 43 yards. Johnson also reeled in five catches, but only managed 23 yards from them. Still, his involvement in the passing game the first two weeks is promising.
Last week was his real coming out party. He doubled his carries all the way to 16, rumbling off 101 yards with them. This broke an embarrassing streak for the Lions of not having a 100-yard rusher since Thanksgiving of 2013, almost five years ago. This feat will undoubtedly get the attention of his coaches and earn him more carries moving forward. More carries equal more points in fantasy.
Outplaying LeGarrette Blount
Most were scared to pull the trigger on Johnson during fantasy drafts because of the presence of Blount in the Lions backfield. Blount became a household name with the New England Patriots, especially after leading the league in touchdowns with them in 2016. He played with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, turning in a solid season with 766 rushing yards.
However, once the Eagles traded for Jay Ajayi, he saw his usage steadily decline, as well as his effectiveness. Starting with week 12, Blount never had more than nine carries in a game. He totaled 36 carries for 108 yards, good for only three yards per carry. So far this season, he’s matched that same average, managing only 83 yards on his 28 carries.
Blount’s time has come and gone; now it is Johnson’s turn to shine.
Too Versatile to Not Keep on the Field
Johnson is quick and decisive to hit the hole, and then sneaky shifty in the open field. Once he got going against the Patriots last week, he was busting through arm tackles and juking defenders out of their shoes all game. Though he got the same amount of carries as Blount, he more than doubled his yardage totals.
If that isn’t enough, Johnson is also an excellent receiver out of the backfield. In three games, he has totaled 10 receptions for 52 yards. This gives him even more value in PPR leagues, but also raises his floor in standard leagues. Detroit hasn’t had a back that an both catch and run really well in a long time.
Last Word on Kerryon Johnson in Fantasy
The time to buy Johnson is now. Savvy players have probably already made offers, and many others are waiting to see how he does this weekend. It still may take a few weeks for Johnson to get a real hold on the starting job and see the lion’s share of carries, but it will happen. Players that already have him on their roster need to decline offers that come in. They will be taking into account what he has done so far, and not projecting out to his future.
