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For years, the Detroit Lions have utilized a two-down running back for the majority of ground carries, and Theo Riddick as the primary pass-catcher out of the backfield. Fantasy footballers obviously prefer offenses that delegate rushing and passing down work to one running back for clarity's sake.
But over the last two seasons, Riddick's role became pretty predictable in that he'd garner an average of over six targets per game, with which he'd put together RB2-worthy stat lines for fantasy football purposes in PPR leagues.
Things seem different this year, though. His targets are down a hair -- averaging 5.25 targets per game through four weeks -- and with those targets, he's mustering just a 0.24 Reception NEP per target, which is actually lower than backfield mate Ameer Abdullah's 0.31 mark. It's also worth noting that Abdullah's four targets exceeded Riddick's two targets in Week 4.
Riddick's 0.29 Reception NEP per target across 10 games last season finished below the league average for running backs and was far lower than the 0.50 Reception NEP per target he posted in 2015. So perhaps the Lions' brass is slowly realizing that if Abdullah can put up close to or better efficiency in the passing game as Riddick, they'd be better off leaving him on the field so that they don't telegraph their intentions to pass the ball.
If you're in a PPR league, hold onto Riddick for one more week to see if his target load continues to be reduced. But if you're in a standard league and Abdullah's practicing after a minor ankle tweak from Week 4, feel free to drop Riddick for a player who should see more of a workload, like Latavius Murray.