3 Late-Round Running Backs Le'Veon Bell Owners Should Target in Fantasy Football Drafts

Rashad Jennings, New York Giants

Week 1 & 2 Schedule (Def Rank): at DAL (#23), vs ATL (#29)
ADP (Std/PPR): 64/71

Early this offseason, I wrote why Rashad Jennings was clearly the best early-down back for the Giants. At numberFire, we label a successful play as one that nets a positive NEP and, hence, increases a team's chances of scoring. Success Rate is therefore the percentage of plays for any given player that produces a positive NEP.

Owning the best Rushing NEP and Success Rate among the three main backs on the team's roster, it's obvious why many have Jennings pegged as the team's lead back to open the season.

And in regards to value, our Editor-In-Chief JJ Zachariason has noted that, as the Giants' likely leader in backfield touches and combined with his mid-round ADP, Jennings is an absolute bargain in redraft leagues this season.

Jennings and the Giants open the season against the Dallas Cowboys and their 23rd-ranked run defense before facing the Falcons 29th-ranked run defense in their home opener. In terms of efficiency, Dallas and Atlanta gave up 0.03 and 0.08 Defensive Rushing NEP per play, respectively, when adjusted for strength of schedule last season, rating both teams in the bottom-10 of the league in this metric. And as things stand right now, we can expect more of the same from these two defenses this upcoming season.

The Cowboys biggest free agent acquisition, defensive lineman Greg Hardy, won't be suiting for Week 1 of the season as he serves a four-game suspension And while second-round draft pick Randy Gregory has a ton of potential, there's a reason he fell to the Cowboys with the 60th overall pick.

For the Falcons, though Atlanta hired former Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to oversee their defense, a lack of big free agent acquisitions likely means that the Falcons will be spending 2015 as a bottom-dwelling defense once again.

The one knock on Jennings, of course, is his durability. With a fairly well-documented injury history, the concern that he'll once again wear down in 2015 is a real possibility. But just like the other players on this list, when healthy Jennings not only gives owners an excellent plug-and-play option to start the year, but with his likelihood to remain the team's workhorse for the remainder of the season also makes him a fine bench player to stash with the upside that he becomes a mid-level RB2 option like he was for many last season.