As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. Sony Michel was one of the least efficient running backs to get a ton of touches last year. But, he did get a ton of touches. What can we expect from Sony Michel in 2020?
Sony Michel ADP and AAV:
Standard Scoring ADP: RB29, 75 overall
PPR Scoring ADP: RB34, 89 overall
Average Auction Value: $3
Sony Michel Statistics:
| Year | 2019 | 2018 |
| G | 16 | 13 |
| GS | 14 | 8 |
| Ru Att | 247 | 209 |
| Ru Yds | 912 | 931 |
| Ru TD | 7 | 6 |
| Tgt | 20 | 11 |
| Rec | 12 | 7 |
| Yards | 94 | 50 |
| TD | 0 | 0 |
| Touches | 259 | 216 |
| Opp | 267 | 220 |
| Total Yards | 1006 | 981 |
| Year | 2019 | 2018 |
| YPC | 3.69 | 4.45 |
| Ru Att/G | 15.4 | 16.1 |
| Ru Yd/G | 57.0 | 71.6 |
| Tgt/G | 1.25 | 0.85 |
| Rec/G | 0.75 | 0.54 |
| Catch% | 60.0% | 63.6% |
| Yds/Tgt | 4.70 | 4.55 |
| Yds/Rec | 7.83 | 7.14 |
| Touches/G | 16.19 | 16.62 |
| Opp/G | 16.69 | 16.92 |
| Yds/G | 62.88 | 75.46 |
| Year | 2019 | 2018 |
| Std Pts | 140.6 | 132.1 |
| HPPR Pts | 146.6 | 135.6 |
| PPR Pts | 152.6 | 139.1 |
| Pts/G | 8.79 | 10.16 |
| HPPR Pts/G | 9.16 | 10.43 |
| PPR Pts/G | 9.54 | 10.7 |
| Pts/Touch | 0.54 | 0.61 |
| Pts/Touch (HPPR) | 0.57 | 0.63 |
| Pts/Touch (PPR) | 0.59 | 0.64 |
Sony Michel Overview:
It’s extremely bizarre to me that Bill Belichick looked at what Sony Michel did on the ground last year and thought to himself, “yeah, let’s go to a ground-and-pound strategy.” Then again, he could have looked at what Jarrett Stidham did at practice and had the same thought. Either way, it makes sense that Cam Newton is the newest New England Patriot.
There are very few ways to chop up Sony Michel’s 2019 season and not see Damien Harris charging hard at him in the rearview mirror. This is especially true when you consider that the incredibly single-faceted and inefficient Michel is currently recovering from foot surgery. It’s increasingly difficult to believe in Sony Michel as anything in fantasy football but low-ceiling roster glue at this point.
Sony Michel Draft Strategy:
Sony Michel Auction Value: $4
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet! (coming late June)
Do I want Sony Michel on my roster? No. Does his price mean that he may end up on some auction rosters? Maybe. Am I happy about this? Absolutely not. Let that be a lesson to you when evaluating players and their auction values. Ask yourself: do I want this player on my team? If not, use these unwanted high-dollar players to dry up the pool in your fantasy football leagues.
While that’s a good lesson, Sony Michel is not one of those players. The best thing you can say about Michel is that he’s a good desperation bye-week fill-in flex player. That’s a lot of modifiers to get the production that you can find off the waiver wire in any sort of PPR or half-PPR league. I’m not a fan of Sony Michel: he’s inefficient, hurt, playing with a new QB, and has a coach notorious for miring running backs in rotations. Hard pass. Which is coincidentally the type he will receive from Cam Newton this season.
Best Case Scenario:
Sony Michel returns to his 2018 form, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and scoring six touchdowns in just 209 carries. He ends up around RB29, his current value.
Worst Case Scenario:
Bill Belichick gets frustrated with Sony Michel’s foot recovery and converts a random linebacker into a running back. This LB goes on to score ten touchdowns in the first half of the season and is the new LeGarrette Blount. He is then benched in the second half for Rex Burkhead.
[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com and airyards.com]
