If you were banking on Adrian Peterson running all over the defense of the New England Patriots, your fantasy football dreams have just been destroyed with A.P. being deactivated by the Minnesota Vikings.
When you drafted Peterson, you were expecting two things: A large amount of fantasy points and consistency. Now that he is out, should you pick up Matt Asiata and make him your fantasy starter?
Everyone may point to the freakish Week 15 performance Asiata had last season against the Philadelphia Eagles as a reason to start him, but that performance is simply an outlier. Asiata did record three rushing touchdowns, but on 30 carries, he only totaled 50 rushing yards and he only averaged 1.7 yards per carry. If you want to just go by those results, the 27-year old running back basically gets stuffed every time he carries the ball, but he can score several touchdowns a game.
The truth, however, is somewhere in the middle. With only 47 rushes in two years, however, we have very little data to judge Asiata.
The Patriot’s defense was gashed in Week 1 by Knowshon Moreno and Lamar Miller for 193 rushing yards, but that doesn’t automatically mean Peterson’s replacement can produce the same kind of results. The simple fact of the matter is that we just don’t have enough information around Asiata to predict what type of game he will have. I know that is something fantasy owners don’t want to hear, but it is the truth.
If you are going for consistency, hopefully you have an experienced running back on your bench you can plug in. Asiata does have a good matchup, but he is a boom-or-bust option. He could run all over the Patriots’ defense, or he could be shut down for no touchdowns and only average 1.7 yards per carry again.
So, if you want consistency, go with a proven back on your roster. If you want to play someone who is riskier but has a high ceiling, pickup Asiata from the waiver wire and start him.
Categories: Fantasy Football
Your Fantasy Football Coach 
You’re going to have your hands full next week finding replacements for Knowshon Moreno, Ryan Mathews, Mark Ingram …
Crazy all the injuries that happened this week. Hopefully everyone has a very DEEP bench