Last week, I broke down Ezekiel Elliott‘s chances for success in 2016 Fantasy Football leagues.
If you haven’t already done so, make sure to check out the article to see my conclusion on Elliott’s opportunities and obstacles for the 2016 NFL season.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut today (Sunday), I wanted to touch more on Ezekiel Elliott’s schedule.
Ezekiel Elliott’s 2016 Fantasy Football Schedule
Courtesy of ESPN
SCOUT recently released its 2016 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SoS) tool, which is really helpful when you’re trying to decide between two players. And since we only have Elliott’s college stats to judge his future success, using SoS helps provide an additional source of information for you to make a final decision on your 2016 Fantasy Football draft day.
Embed from Getty ImagesAccording to the SoS tool, Elliott has the fourth-easiest schedule for running backs in 2016 Fantasy Football leagues. Does that mean Elliott will automatically be one of the top backs in Fantasy leagues? No, but you would rather see him have an easy schedule than a difficult schedule if you plan on drafting him.
I would also recommend looking at SCOUT’s 2015 Fantasy Points Allowed page to give you an idea of how friendly a specific defense was to a running back.
But to save you time, I decided to break it all down right here.
Week 1-New York Giants: 8th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 2-Washington Redskins: 12th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 3-Chicago Bears: 11th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 4-San Francisco 49ers: most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 5-Cincinnati Bengals: 14th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 6-Green Bay Packers: 21st-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 7-Bye
Week 8-Philadelphia Eagles: 5th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 9-Cleveland Browns: 18th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 10-Pittsburgh Steelers: 5th-fewest Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 11-Baltimore Ravens: 6th-fewest Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 12-Washington Redskins: 12th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 13-Minnesota Vikings: 7th- fewest Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 14-New York Giants: 8th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 15-Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 16th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 16-Detroit Lions: 17th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
Week 17-Philadelphia Eagles: 5th-most Fantasy points allowed per game to running backs
To make Elliott’s transition to the NFL easier, he will have six friendly matchups against NFC East opponents, according to the data from last year.
His toughest stretch appears to be between Weeks 10-13. Elliott will face the Pittsburgh Steelers (5th-fewest Fantasy points) in Week 10, the Baltimore Ravens (6th-fewest Fantasy points) in Week 11, and the Minnesota Vikings (7th-fewest Fantasy points).
Again, Elliott’s talent and workload will ultimately determine his success. But it’s nice to know his schedule should be friendly to the rookie.
Ezekiel Elliot’s Fantasy Football schedule is friendly, but is that enough to make him Fantasy relevant next season? Let me know what you think on Facebook and Twitter.
Categories: 2016 Fantasy Football Running Backs, Fantasy Football
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