As Week 4 of the NFL season approaches, TBD sits at 1-2. I recently asked who I should attempt to trade for in order to make the team better. So far, the public has picked Brandon Marshall as the trade target, with Andre Johnson going the other way. I’ve proposed this trade to Marshall’s owner with a message asking what he/she wanted for Marshall. So we’ll wait and see with that. In other transaction news, both Giovani Bernard and Doug Martin have hit the waiver wire. Should I add either of these players, or do I have enough running back depth? Let me know in the usual ways (Twitter: @BenRosener /@knowhitter272, comments, and/or the poll below).
(I’m leaving most all of this up to you guys, even the team name. So long as it’s not vulgar or offensive, send me your suggestions on Twitter @BenRosener /@knowhitter272 or in the comments.)
The Case for Giovani Bernard
Bernard is stuck in a timeshare with Jeremy Hill, who entered the season as the starter in Cincinnati. However, that hasn’t stopped Bernard from ranking fifteenth in scoring amongst fantasy running backs. Hill scored twice in Week 1, racking up 18 points in the process, but has struggled since. He fumbled twice in Week 2 en route to 39 yards on 10 carries. He finished with -1 fantasy points. Week 3 brought a slight improvement, but not much. Hill had 12 carries for 21 yards and two fantasy points.
The stat line for Bernard is extremely different. The running back had eight fantasy points in the first game of the season before taking full advantage of Hill’s fumbles in Week 2. Bernard ran for 123 yards on 20 carries (13 fantasy points). He followed that up with 49 yards on 13 carries in Week 3. He managed seven fantasy points last week.
Both figure to hold value with the Bengals playing so well. One is bound to feature as the team’s top back, and judging on recent performances, that could be Bernard.
The Case for Doug Martin
Martin has been Tampa’s lead back this season, amassing 46 carries over only three games. While those three carries have only gone for 176 yards, having an unquestioned starting running back (no matter what team they play for) can be valuable in fantasy. If nothing else, you know they will get consistent carries each week.
Bobby Rainey and Charles Sims will get looks going forward,
There’s potential with Martin, but just like Bernard, there is risk. He hasn’t come close to equaling his 2012 numbers when he ran for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns in addition to 472 receiving yards and another score through the air.
