Alex Collins Continues Cementing Case for Workhorse Duties

Getting a workhorse at 40 overall should be considered theft.

Through both his own impressive play and injuries around him, Alex Collins is putting a stranglehold on a workhorse role for Baltimore. Kenneth Dixon has already suffered his second injury of the preseason, which has Ravens writers placing him on the early roster bubble. Meanwhile, Collins looked as impressive as ever in his Preseason Debut, rumbling for 26 yards on just 2 carries (while also having an 8 yarder negated by penalty). Simply put, Collins has continually thrived when provided the opportunity, and appears set for the most work of his early career.

Earlier this offseason, after the Ravens added zero RBs to their stable, we labeled Dixon’s return as the “only possible roadblock” between Collins and another high-end RB2 campaign. Consider this obstacle all but removed at this point, which locks Collins into a potentially massive 2018 workload. The Ravens shockingly scored the 9th most points in 2017, largely in-part to Collins’ impressive play, and now seem primed to be even more effective with improved WR weaponry and a more-motivated Joe Flacco having “far and away” his best camp yet. Collins already flashed high-end TD upside, scoring 6 times in the team’s final 7 weeks, and may find himself at the stripe far more often in 2018.

In fact, from Week 8 on after Collins truly secured the early-down back role, he ranked as the PPR RB8 in Fantasy. Moreover, his Pro Football Focus rushing grade was 89.7, the best mark in the entire league. The tape matched all the “Advance Analytics,” with Collins knifing through defenses with equal power and elusiveness, and feet that fired at a mile a minute despite his sturdy, large frame. Clearly, a quality “Individual Talent” is locked into serious “Usage” in a team with ascending “Surrounding Talent” and an ideal “Coaching Scheme” with OC Greg Roman‘s run-obsessed attack. All the Fantasy Value Indicators grade out highly here, suggesting Collins could be a major RB-steal at his 40 overall ADP.

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Author

  • Founder of Roto Street Journal. Lover of workhorse backs, target hog wideouts, and Game of Thrones. Aspiring to be the "Brady" and "Leo" of the fantasy universe.

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