Fantasy Football: What We Learned From Week 3

Thomas Rawls Owners Should Worry

Thomas Rawls was a beast last year. Logically speaking, it seemed silly to heed offseason coachspeak that Rawls might cede meaningful work to Christine Michael.

All he had to do was get healthy and everything would be right in the world.

Well, Rawls owners, he’s not 100% healthy, and even when he is, I'm not sure everything's going to be all right. Because Michael seems to finally be living up to his potential.

His off the charts Burst, Agility, and Bench Press scores, according to Player Profiler, suggested the perfect size and elusiveness combination to be the inevitable heir to Marshawn Lynch. But for years, Michael never produced in the few opportunities he got.

Until now.

Through three games, Michael's sporting a 0.13 Rushing NEP per rush, higher than Rawls' 0.08 Rushing NEP per rush last season. And he's moving the chains consistently too, sporting a 44.4% Rushing Success Rate on 45 carries this season.

He started off Week 3 right, bursting for a 41-yard score on his first carry. And he managed to hit pay-dirt a second time and rushed for 106 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Rawls, in albeit a limited sample size, has put up an awful -0.40 Rushing NEP per rush on 19 carries, ranking dead last among the 42 backs with at least 15 carries.

Perhaps Rawls comes back next week and assumes the role his drafters thought was rightfully his. But I doubt it. At the very least, Michael has earned his way into a timeshare, and he may have done enough to earn a majority of those touches.

Thomas Rawls owners should be very worried.