Remember Rich Gannon? If you were a football fan in the early 2000s, you certainly do.
But do you remember him as anything other than the Raiders quarterback? You might not because his five years in Minnesota were forgettable years, then he spent four unremarkable seasons in Kansas City, all before finally finding success with the Raiders.
He is a great example of how one person’s trash is someone else’s treasure — an embodiment of Danny DeVito’s Penguin mantra: “You flush it, I flaunt it.”
Others have done something similar. Jerome Bettis didn’t become “The Bus” until he landed with the Steelers after starting with the Rams. No one knew who Peyton Hillis was with the Broncos, but he was a “Madden” cover boy with the Browns.
There was James Stewart going from the Jaguars to the Lions, Charlie Garner with the 49ers after the Eagles, Ricky Williams with the Dolphins after the Saints, Garrison Hearst with the 49ers after the Cardinals, etc.
So this kind of thing has happened before. But this year might be the first time it could happen twice with the same team, with both players arriving from the same former team, and both in the same season.
The Chargers backfield is basically “Ravens West.” New coach Jim Harbaugh tapped into castoffs from his brother John’s Baltimore roster, bringing in running backs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins.
Edwards spent five seasons mostly as a bulldozing backup for Baltimore. Dobbins was in purple for three injury-filled years, playing in just nine games over the past two seasons.
Now look, we’re not ready to recommend acquiring these guys at any cost, or even that you should plan to play them every week. No, nothing like that. But we do think you should play them this week.
Pick one, either one. It doesn’t matter. They split work almost right down the middle last week. Edwards managed just 26 yards on 11 carries, but Dobbins broke out for 135 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries — which included a 61-yard burst. Neither was heavily involved in the passing game.
So why not pick Dobbins? Sure, go ahead, he is more explosive and has the highest upside. But also, Edwards is more likely to get any carries on the goal line, so he has a better TD probability.
We don’t really care which this week because they both could bust out — they get to play the Panthers. The Saints made the Carolina ‘D’ look like a JV team last week, and the Saints don’t exactly have an explosive offense.
Say what you want about the Chargers’ weak receivers, but Justin Herbert at QB gives them more to defend than any offense led by Derek Carr, who torched the Panthers last week. So if Carolina has trouble defending the Saints, it stands to reason the Chargers will be able to move the ball, too.
Plus, did you guys see the Carolina offense? Of course you didn’t because it appears Carolina does not possess an actual offense. Thus, they won’t maintain possession for very long, giving the Chargers more opportunities/plays. And once the Chargers pull ahead, they can lean heavy on the run and beat the Panthers into submission, much like the Saints did.
So we expect plenty for both L.A. backs. The more work Dobbins gets, the higher the chance he breaks a big one. The more scoring situations the Chargers have, the better the chance Edwards plunges into the end zone.
Either makes a fine Flex play this week, and we would put one or the other ahead of guys like Tony Pollard, Zack Moss, Javonte Williams, Zamir White, D’Andre Swift or Najee Harris.
Put your faith in how pathetic the Panthers are. They are headed the wrong direction, which means you should head toward Ravens West.
Baker Mayfield QB, Buccaneers, at Lions (FanDuel $7,400/DraftKings $5,900)
He has been a top-12 QB in nine of his past 15 games. He had 349 passing yards with three TDs (and two INTs) at Detroit in the playoffs last year.
Jaylen Warren RB, Steelers, at Broncos (FD $5,600/DK$5,400)
Everyone is expecting a large dose of Najee Harris after last week. But Warren was dealing with a hamstring issue in the lead-up. And we all know how coordinator Arthur Smith likes to shake things up.
Jordan Mason RB, 49ers, at Viking (FD $5,500/DK $5,200)
It isn’t complicated: Assuming Christian McCaffrey doesn’t play, use Mason. Your roster isn’t good enough to warrant benching him — unless you’re in, like, a four-team league.
Keenan Allen WR, Bears, at Texans (FD $6,500/DK $6,400)
Dealing with a heel issue, but if he plays, worth consideration. He got 11 targets last week, and fellow WR Rome Odunze (knee) is not expected to play.
Rachaad White RB, Buccaneers, at Lions (FD $7,600/DK $6,300)
We have a hard time leaning on such an inefficient RB in a game that could feature a lot of points, even one involved in the passing game.
Rhamondre Stevenson RB, Patriots, vs. Seahawks (FD $6,900/DK $6,200)
He was rocking last week, getting a ton of work while playing with a lead. Not convinced they can do that regularly or, more specifically, this week.
Jayden Reed WR, Packers, vs. Colts (FD $7,900/DK$6,000)
If Malik Willis is the QB, then bail on all Packers this week — bench all the WRs, Josh Jacobs, the tight end, the chain gang, the field crew. If Jordan Love does play, it is unlikely he is the lucky one of the foursome two weeks in a row.
Isaiah Likely TE, Ravens, vs. Raiders (FD $5,800/DK $4,800)
We chalk up the Week 1 breakout to the fact Mark Andrews got very little prep time ahead of the opener. We expect the game plan to be geared more in his direction this week and moving forward.