One Running Back to Target in Each Round of Your Fantasy Football Draft
Round 4: Danny Woodhead, Baltimore Ravens
Average Draft Position: 4.08 (RB19)
Danny Woodhead's ADP has exploded since Kenneth Dixon was lost for the year.
The pass-catching maven has crept into the back half of the fourth round in PPR leagues (going in the seventh round in standard), and while there are other good backs coming off the board in this price range -- Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon and Carlos Hyde, to name a few -- all of them have at least some volume concerns.
There's no such worry with Woodhead -- he's going to be busy.
The Baltimore Ravens have led the league in pass attempts in each of the past two years, and since the start of 2013, only David Johnson and Le'Veon Bell have averaged more receiving yards per game among running backs than Woodhead's 38.6. In fact, Woodhead sits seventh among all running backs in total receiving yards over the past four years, and he's only played in 37 of a possible 64 games in that span.
The Ravens -- who seem to be enjoying their new toy -- gave a combined 135 targets to Dixon, Terrance West and Kyle Juszczyk last season. Woodhead isn't going to assume all of those targets, but he should see a great deal of them.
West is still around and will likely open the year as the lead back on early downs, but our Net Expected Points (NEP) metric rated West pretty poorly last season. He ranked 38th in Rushing NEP per carry among the 54 backs with at least 80 attempts, so maybe there's upside for more with Woodhead if West struggles on the ground.
When Woodhead is on the field, he produces as an elite pass-catching back, and he's now part of one of the more pass-happy offenses in the NFL. It could be a perfect marriage.