The contributor comes from Brandan Verm. Check him out on twitter @PastorThor.
NFL Blitz is probably my favorite video game of all time. The bone crushing hits, the extracurricular activity after the play, and of course Da Bomb. For a kid in the 90’s what was not to love? A cherished part of this video game for me was frantically hitting the buttons before the game started, hoping to land a cheat code that would give me an advantage over my opponent. I feel sometimes the running back market in dynasty can be treated the same way. We see backs rise to prominence, only to quickly fall. Tre Mason, Zac Stacy, and Jeremy Hill come to mind. We also see backs rise to near untouchable status. Ezekiel Elliot, David Johnson, and LeVeon Bell are almost impossible to acquire. So we spend our time frantically trying to hit on an RB1 to give us that advantage. May I put your mind at ease with an RB1 cheat code…Isaiah Crowell.
I know what you are thinking, but here me out. He is a former 5-star recruit and 4-year letterman in football and track. He signed to play football at the University of Georgia, where he was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2011. However, he was jettisoned from Georgia after failing a drug test and being arrested for three weapons charges. He transferred to Alabama State and was the SWAC Newcomer of the Year. Coming into the 2014 draft, he was heralded by CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler as the most talented running back in the class. In terms of the projection model, no back had a higher score than Crowell in 2014.
Crowell had a semi-breakout last year no one seemed to notice. He finished as the RB14 in PPR with 952 yards and 7 TDs. In fact, he was the only running back in the top-20 in rushing yards last year to have fewer than 205 attempts. He proved to be a bruiser, as only Jay Ajayi (3.46) averaged more yards after contact per attempt than Crowell (3.18) in 2016. He had the highest breakaway percentage of any running back at 47.5%, slightly ahead of LeSean McCoy at 44.5%. A very underrated receiver, Crowell was the 9th-most targeted running back after Week 8. He even out-targeted Duke Johnson 31-24 during that stretch. He quietly finished the year with 40 receptions; that is more than Ezekiel Elliott, Jay Ajayi, Jordan Howard, and Lamar Miller.
Coach Hue Jackson recently came out and said the Browns “have got to run the ball more,”. He even went as far to say that Crowell “is poised for a big year” and “the guy had almost 1000 yards a year ago when I did not hand him the ball. What can he do when I do hand him the ball?”. I know we have to be careful with coach speak this time of year. I believe the Browns have told us way more through team speak. They put a 2nd rounder tender on Crowell this offseason almost guaranteeing they wouldn’t lose him. They also spent the entire off-season locking down what projects to be the best offensive line in the league this side of Dallas. Returning All-Pro Joe Thomas, signing Joel Bitonio to a 5-year extension, and signing big name free agents Kevin Zeitler and JC Tretter. The proof is in the pudding the Browns are going to be a run-heavy team.
Crowell’s ADP has slowly started to rise. In January he was being drafted 93rd overall as the RB28. In May he has risen to 63rd overall as the RB19. The secret is slowly starting to get out. I believe the dynasty community as a whole has yet to catch up, as I was able to acquire him for 2.04/2.12 in my recent rookie draft. Try throwing out a 2nd rounder or two to see if you can land him, while the rest of the community frantically hits the buttons trying to land the next churn and burn back, or pay the farm for one of the studs, we here at UTH can quietly enter our RB1 cheat code.
