Despite lukewarm endorsements from John Harbaugh earlier this offseason, Alex Collins (RB – BAL) now remains in the driver’s seat for early down duties in Greg Roman’s run-obsessed attack, as the Ravens didn’t take a single back in the 2018 Draft. This should preserve the high-upside RB2 value Collins delivered to Waiver Wolves during 2017’s second half… if he can clear one final hurdle.
Perhaps Collins is one of those, “you had to own him to understand him” type of players. Otherwise, I can’t understand why he’s falling so far under fantasy radars.
From Week 8 on, when 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. In fact, according to PFF, “only his relative struggles as a receiver kept him from leading all running backs in overall grades.” The tape matched all the stats, with Collins knifing through defenses with equal power and elusiveness, and feet that fired at a mile a minute despite his sturdy, large frame.
Moreover, Collins benefits tremendously from receiving this featured work in Greg Roman‘s run-centric attack that features plenty of creative pulling concepts.
Yet, he’s ranked as a fringe fourth rounder according to the “experts.”
Truly, the only roadblock would be Kenneth Dixon‘s return. The team reportedly remains high on Dixon, who admittedly flashed well in his few healthy contests. Yet, Dixon’s durability is a major question mark, and Collins flashed far more as a rusher than anything Dixon put on tape in 2016.
All-in-all, Collins’ Volume now appears far more cemented in the same role that yielded low-end RB1 outputs. Thus, his ranking as a low-end RB2 is criminal, and true wolves will feast upon this sheepish nonsense.
