The 13 Most Undervalued Players in Fantasy Football
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With Doug Martin sidelined with a suspension across the first three games of the season, Jacquizz Rodgers -- and it pains me to say this as a Jeremy McNichols truther -- should see the bulk of the workload in the Buccaneers' backfield through Week 3.
That means, at the very least, Quizz will be a starting running back for an above-average offense for three weeks.
Despite being built like a Goomba, Rodgers was pretty awesome last season when called upon. In five games in which he saw a large market share of the team's carries -- games with 15 or more attempts -- he tallied 462 rushing yards, a 4.32 yards per carry average, and finished as a top-18 fantasy running back in four of the contests. According to our advanced metrics, he was by far Tampa Bay's best running back last year:
| Name | Rushes | Rushing NEP | Rushing NEP per Rush | League Avg | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacquizz Rodgers | 129 | 4.98 | 0.04 | -0.02 | 46.51% |
| Charles Sims | 51 | -9.90 | -0.19 | -0.02 | 27.45% |
| Peyton Barber | 55 | -2.98 | -0.05 | -0.02 | 34.55% |
| Doug Martin | 144 | -28.49 | -0.20 | -0.02 | 34.72% |
Among the 69 (nice again) running backs with 50 or more attempts a season ago, Rodgers ranked 11th in Success Rate, while Doug Martin ranked 58th, Peyton Barber 59th, and Charles Sims 65th. That's, uh, a pretty significant difference.
Reports say that Martin looks like the 2015 version of himself, which was objectively far better than the 2016 model. It's also July. Rodgers is more than likely locked in to see work while Martin serves his three-game suspension, and if Martin doesn't progress after a dreadful year, Rodgers has the upside to become Tampa's lead back. It's not the likeliest of scenarios, but it's in his range of outcomes. And with three start-worthy games to begin the year, that makes him well worth an 11th- or 12th-round selection.
