Week 13 Fantasy Football Market Share Report: Josh Gordon Is Back

Rushing Market Shares

1. Kenyan Drake Gets Bellcow Usage

Prior to Sunday, Kenyan Drake hadn't exceeded 14 carries in a single game since high school. He had always been more of a complementary back, casting doubt on what his role would look like with Damien Williams on the shelf.

Drake had 23 carries and 5 targets in Week 13. All of those workload concerns have taken up permanent residence in the dumpster.

Drake controlled 45.2% of the team's carries plus targets, which is the mark of a bellcow back. Bigger than the rushing volume may be the five targets because they allow him to still be viable when the Miami Dolphins are behind. Drake has 10.6% of the team's targets since the Jay Ajayi trade, and that includes the games in which Williams was active.

This forces us to reevaluate the way that we view Drake. Until Williams gets back -- and potentially beyond that -- we should assume he's going to get workhorse usage within a poor overall offense. That's not the best asset in the world due to capped touchdown expectation, but it's similar to the way we viewed Carlos Hyde when he had Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard at quarterback. There is value in that.

We'll have to keep tabs on Drake once Williams is back to see if he maintains this level of usage. But Drake is a third-round pick in his second year in the pros, and the Dolphins aren't going anywhere soon. It makes sense to see what he can do, allowing us to assume -- for now -- that this role is a sticky one.

2. Mike Davis Forces Us to Look at the Seahawks

Nobody wants to discuss the Seattle Seahawks' backfield. It's a black hole of despair from which no good can come. But Mike Davis is going to force us to at least take a peek. This is the face of true cruelty.

In Sunday's game, Davis handled 16 of 19 running-back carries, added four targets, and rarely left the field.

No matter how awful your team may be at running the ball, opportunity is king. And Davis got plenty of it.

That opportunity means even more when you've got Russell Wilson as your quarterback. Despite wretched surrounding circumstances every year, Wilson is consistently an efficient quarterback who is able to generate touchdown drives. This means that even if Davis isn't efficient in the carries he gets, he'll hold touchdown upside, which is something we should crave. Assuming he can maintain this role, he's suddenly an intriguing asset.

The matchup in Week 14 is tough against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that has been stout against the rush since acquiring Marcell Dareus. But Davis is just $5,500 on FanDuel, which doesn't come close to reflecting his current workload. That means we'll have to at least consider Davis in DFS, and his value could be through the roof if the Seahawks find themselves in better matchups going forward.

3. Matt Breida Gets Additional Opportunities

In his first start with the San Francisco 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo looked pretty solid. He added 10.64 expected points as a passer, according to numberFire's Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, meaning he was operating in an efficient fashion. As discussed with Wilson, efficient quarterbacks generate more touchdown drives, meaning that if Garoppolo were able to sustain the early success, it would be an upgrade for the entire offense.

Carlos Hyde just may not get to reap the benefits as much as expected.

In Sunday's game, Hyde still led the backfield with 17 carries, but Matt Breida added 12 of his own. Many of those came early in the game, too, indicating that this was likely part of the team's gameplan. With the 49ers now sitting at 2-10 and Hyde in a contract year, it makes sense that they would want to get a look at at the rookie down the stretch. It's just not going to help Hyde's fantasy outlook.

While this should influence the way that we view Hyde, it also doesn't mean we need to be entirely out on him. Not only does any solid play from Garoppolo boost his touchdown expectation, but Hyde's role in the passing game seems pretty firm.

Hyde added 4 targets on to his 17 carries in Week 13 while playing 50 of 75 snaps. If he were to maintain that exact volume, then he'd still be a decent fantasy asset. It's just not a given that he will if they want to evaluate Breida over the final four games.

For now, we should assume that Hyde will continue to cede some work to Breida while largely being the team's lead back. If Breida becomes more than that, then Hyde will be off the DFS radar. But with Garoppolo potentially elevating the offense, Hyde could be in for a bounceback in Week 14.