The hierarchy in the Dallas Cowboys backfield became much clearer Tuesday, with the departure of running back Joseph Randle, per Cowboys insider Clarence Hill. Both Darren McFadden and Christine Michael will see their respective fantasy football values increase.
Through the first five weeks of the season, Randle and McFadden split time in the backfield; however, Randle received twice as many carries (74) than McFadden (37).
But a back injury to Randle and his undisclosed personal issues opened up an opportunity for McFadden to become the feature back. The former Arkansas Razorback rushed for 216 yards and a touchdown on 49 carries in Dallas’ last two defeats.
“Certainly we were giving him a lot of work out there and it seemed like he was handling it well and just gaining, if you will, strength,” said team owner Jerry Jones following Sunday’s game, per Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. “He took a breather or two, but seemed like he’d come back out and was the most effective back for us out there.”
In a sense, cutting Randle illustrates how Jones and the team are confident McFadden can be the guy going forward this year.
While Randle’s release makes McFadden a fringe RB2/flex option, fantasy owners know better than to put too much faith in him. Few players have so frequently disappointed in terms of output as much as McFadden has in recent years. It felt like every season between 2008 and 2013 he was discussed as a fantasy sleeper.
Yet, only once in the last seven years has McFadden rushed for over 1,000 yards. He isn’t the kind of running back who gives you a high volume of receptions on a weekly basis, either, which could’ve otherwise compensated for underwhelming production on the ground.
Of course, the biggest knock on McFadden is his inability to stay healthy, a point to which Nerdy Football’s Matt Camp alluded after the news about Randle:
McFadden has never started a full season in the NFL, and he has averaged just over 11 appearances per season since getting drafted in 2008. The next ailment to sideline McFadden is seemingly a matter of when, not if.
As a result of McFadden’s injury issues, Michael wouldn’t be a bad addition in deeper leagues or if you have McFadden already. Stats’ Tom Kessenich figures the former Seattle Seahawk is bound to get a chance at some point:
With that said, there’s no guarantee Michael will deliver if given time in the backfield. Michael’s talent isn’t in question, but Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable described last year how he sorely lacked consistency during games, per Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times:
You might see the great cut one time and then not the next, and it’s the exact same scenario. He comes across and makes a great blitz pickup one play and then he’s supposed to chip and then, ‘Oh, I’m going to get out for my route, and oops I forgot to chip.’ It’s just being able to put a good play together and then a good one the next time and the next time. When that becomes his habit, then he owns it. Right now he doesn’t own it.
Seeing Michael explode for one or two games in 2015 wouldn’t be all that surprising. Maybe the matchup is just right and McFadden is hobbled, or maybe everything clicks and Michael looks like the running back everybody expected him to be coming out of Texas A&M.
Until he shows can deliver week and and week out, though, a one- or two-week outburst is all you can expect from Michael at this point.
He has a somewhat-high ceiling, and when you combine that with McFadden’s injury history, he is a more attractive waiver-wire option with Randle out of the picture. Just don’t count on him to single-handedly win you a critical game in the second half of your fantasy season.
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