8 Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 3
Frank Gore, RB, Miami Dolphins
Sticking with players whose ceilings aren't particularly exciting, Frank Gore also won't dominate his team's touches. Even though the Miami Dolphins are divvying up the backfield work, Gore's ceiling isn't going to come close to that of Kenyan Drake. That doesn't mean that Gore is bereft of fantasy value, though.
The 35-year-old Gore may have lost a step or two since his prime, but he has opened 2018 running the ball quite well. 38 running backs have seen at least 15 carries this season, and Gore's 0.01 Rushing NEP per carry ranks 12th in that group. His 55.6% success rate (percentage of plays that generate positive NEP) is also good for third. Both of those marks exceed Drake's (-0.05 Rushing NEP per carry, 44.0% success rate).
The sample is small, but Gore also showed that he's a capable runner last year. His -0.05 Rushing NEP per carry wasn't a great mark, but part of that was being in the lowly Indianapolis Colts offense. Stablemates Marlon Mack (93 carries) and Robert Turbin (23 carries) both posted marks of -0.07.
Gore has nine carries in each of his two games so far in 2018, and he has played 34.4% of the team's offensive snaps. That's not big volume, but it also doesn't take him completely out of consideration, especially in a plus matchup against the Oakland Raiders this week.
The 'Phins are 3.5-point favorites in this one, positioning them well for solid rushing volume, and running against the Raiders has not been difficult this year. Our metrics have them as the league's worst defense against the run.