Saquon Barkley shows the risk of having the No. 1 fantasy pick
Who is the best replacement for Barkley?
For the record, I have never had the No. 1 pick in any fantasy football draft across the dozens (thousands?) of leagues I’ve been a part of over the last two decades.
Whether the draft order was supposedly “random” (who really knows?), determined through some absurd competition amongst friends, or simply an inverse of the previous year’s standings, I’m yet to have the honor of picking first.
In all honesty, I’ve never been disappointed by this fact. Quite simply, selecting first overall is a huge risk, given this normally means you get the last pick in the following round (since the standard “snake” draft order system reverses back and forth).
The danger of having first pick was recently exposed by the high ankle sprain suffered by Giants running back Saquon Barkley. The injury has sidelined New York’s force of nature for a minimum of a month, and possibly two months.
Regardless of the format of your fantasy league, this is a borderline ruinous blow to your team. Either you selected him first in a draft format and are now without your single top-20 pick, or you spent a majority of your auction budget on one guy who might not play again until December. In either case, times are tough.
Still, while I might not know your pain of having made an unlucky No. 1 pick (my misfortune always happens later in the draft), I do have plenty of experience in trying to find diamonds in the rough on the waiver wire.
Here are a few options that might help offset — though certainly not replace — the injury of Barkley:
Wayne Gallman: This is the obvious choice, given that Gallman filled in on a majority of Giants snaps last Sunday when Barkley left the game. Granted, he’s probably gone from your league’s waiver wire at this point, but keep an eye out for another running back New York is likely to sign to help add cover.
Darrel Williams: The race to get whatever running back sees the most snaps in the Chiefs’ high-powered offense continues, and Williams could be the latest to get his chance. He’s not even the first “D. Williams” to be given a crack at the job (See: Damien Williams). Yet after compiling over 100 total yards in Week 3, the 24-year-old is a player to roster in your league if you haven’t already. His fellow Kansas City running backs all have injury histories that could rule them out, leaving Williams to be the inheritor of some promising opportunities alongside Patrick Mahomes.
Ronald Jones II: Sure, this is basically scraping the bottom of the fantasy football barrel, and Jones is probably not a running back you want to start this week against the Rams’ defense. Yet he’s flashed an explosiveness that showcases what the Buccaneers first saw in him before selecting the 22-year-old in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft. In two of his three games in 2019, Jones has had at least 75 yards rushing, and his two receptions this season have gone for 18 and 41 yards. The only game in which he struggled was on a short week. Jones is at least worth having on your bench, because if his snap percentage (hovering around 25 percent) goes up, he could become a viable fantasy option.
Rex Burkhead:
Not unlike Gallman, Burkhead might have already been claimed in your league (though he’s currently available in approximately 60 percent of ESPN leagues). While the Patriots’ backfield is notoriously difficult to predict, Burkhead has led all New England running backs in snaps this season. That was certainly helped by James White’s Week 3 absence for the birth of his son, but Burkhead has consistently played more than Sony Michel. If you need an emergency starter for Week 4, he could provide some points even against a tough Bills defense.
