{"id":69690,"date":"2019-08-04T09:57:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T13:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=69690"},"modified":"2021-03-12T19:30:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T00:30:23","slug":"lamar-miller-fantasy-football-donta-foreeman-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/08\/04\/lamar-miller-fantasy-football-donta-foreeman-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamar Miller Fantasy Football Outlook Following D\u2019Onta Foreman Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Houston Texans<\/a> surprised many on Sunday morning by releasing running back D\u2019Onta Foreman<\/strong><\/a>. Foreman battled his way back from a 2017 Achilles injury and appeared ready to challenge Lamar Miller<\/a><\/strong> for the starting role. However, with Foreman out of the way, let\u2019s take a look at Lamar Miller\u2019s updated fantasy football value for the 2019 season.<\/p>\n

Update: The Houston Texans have traded for Duke Johnson since this posting. For Lamar Miller’s updated fantasy outlook, click here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

2019 Fantasy Football Draft Headquarters<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

How the D\u2019Onta Foreman Release Affects Lamar Miller<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As of this posting, Houston\u2019s running back depth chart consists of Buddy Howell<\/a>, Josh Ferguson<\/a><\/strong>, Taiwan Jones<\/a><\/strong>, and a series of undrafted free agents. This is a pretty underwhelming cast, so the Texans very well might add somebody like Jay Ajayi<\/a><\/strong> in the coming weeks. If they do that, this article becomes null and void. However, if Houston didn\u2019t trust Miller to handle the load, they would\u2019ve added another running back at some point in the 2018 or 2019 off-seasons. For now, let\u2019s assume Houston doesn\u2019t make any significant changes to their depth chart between now and the regular season. [They made a significant change<\/a>]<\/p>\n

D\u2019Onta Foreman was on the roster in 2018, but Lamar Miller essentially had the backfield to himself. Foreman suffered an Achilles injury in 2017 and only recorded seven carries in his second season. He hardly made those carries count, as he actually lost one yard on his seven attempts. Miller was the primary guy, recording 210 carries while seeing 56.6% of the offensive snaps. Alfred Blue<\/a><\/strong> was the clear backup, finishing the year with 150 carries and 42.1% of the snaps. It\u2019s worth noting that 24 of Blue\u2019s carries came in the two games Miller missed.<\/p>\n

Miller ended the year as the RB22 in half-point scoring, and his 11.4 points-per-game was the 23rd<\/sup>-best among running backs. He only had two games in which either didn\u2019t record a touchdown or failed to reach 49 combined yards, and he got hurt midway through one of those games. He never had a week-winning performance, but he was rarely the reason you lost.<\/p>\n

2019 Projection<\/h3>\n

Lamar Miller\u2019s stock has never been higher. The Texans let Alfred Blue walk in free agency, presumably because they thought Foreman could push Miller for the starting job. That obviously didn\u2019t happen, and now Miller is the unquestioned star in Houston\u2019s backfield. While there is a chance that one of Houston\u2019s undrafted running backs turns into a solid player, it doesn\u2019t appear likely at this time. Nobody\u2019s stood out in training camp, and head coach Bill O\u2019Brien<\/strong> said that Miller was easily atop<\/a> the depth chart.<\/p>\n

With 157 vacated carries, Miller is a lock to do better in 2019 than he did in 2018. He\u2019s in one of the most high-powered offenses in the league and doesn\u2019t have any real competition. Howell, Ferguson, and Jones have combined for a whopping 60 carries and pose no real threat to Miller.<\/p>\n

The one downside to Miller is that he\u2019s still not a touchdown threat. The Texans love to throw when inside the red zone, which is bad news for Miller. It\u2019s hard to blame them, as DeAndre Hopkins<\/a><\/strong> is one of the most unstoppable redzone weapons in football. Miller doesn\u2019t have the explosiveness to score on huge runs, so he comes with a bit of a ceiling. However, Miller has one of the best opportunities in all of fantasy football and will probably be a high-end RB2. You should feel comfortable taking him in the fifth or sixth round.<\/p>\n

2019 Fantasy Football Draft Headquarters<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>