It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We continue with the running backs. Today, we take a look at the Jaguars’ usual RB1, who is coming off of an injury, but his would-be usurper is also coming off of an injury. What can we expect from James Robinson in 2022 fantasy football leagues?
James Robinson ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: RB44, 127 overall
Average Auction Value: $1.5
James Robinson Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Rush | Ru Yds | Ru TD | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Touches | Opp | Total Yards |
| 2021 | 14 | 13 | 164 | 767 | 8 | 46 | 31 | 222 | 0 | 195 | 210 | 989 |
| 2020 | 14 | 14 | 240 | 1070 | 7 | 60 | 49 | 344 | 3 | 289 | 300 | 1414 |
| Year | YPC | Rush/G | Ru Yd/G | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Catch% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec | Touches/G | Opp/G | Yds/G |
| 2021 | 4.68 | 11.7 | 54.8 | 3.29 | 2.21 | 67.4% | 4.83 | 7.16 | 13.93 | 15.00 | 70.6 |
| 2020 | 4.46 | 17.1 | 76.4 | 4.29 | 3.50 | 81.7% | 5.73 | 7.02 | 20.64 | 21.43 | 101.00 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tch | HPPR Pts/Tch | PPR Pts/Tch |
| 2021 | 142.9 | 158.4 | 173.9 | 10.21 | 11.31 | 12.4 | 0.73 | 0.81 | 0.89 |
| 2020 | 201.4 | 225.9 | 250.4 | 14.39 | 16.14 | 17.9 | 0.70 | 0.78 | 0.87 |
2022 James Robinson Fantasy Football Overview:
James Robinson is a running back that I have off of my draft board entirely for 2022. He suffered an Achilles tear in week sixteen last year, and that usually does not bode well for running backs returning to full form. The Achilles tear is the same injury suffered by Cam Akers, and if you remember how he looked coming back from that last season, you know exactly why I am concerned about James Robinson’s prospects in 2022.
The most recent reports on Robinson, who averaged 89 yards per game on 18 touches per contest are that he is hoping to be cleared at some point during the July training camp period. That does not bode well for his recovery is a miraculous one, a la Cam Akers’ move from the IR to playing in the Super Bowl in the same season. Traditionally, running backs do not make a great recovery from Achilles’ tears, at least not in the short term. Most recently, Marlon Mack hasn’t made it all the way back, and it took D’Onta Foreman nearly four years to make it all the way back from the tear.
Not only do I not feel bullish about James Robinson’s prospects for healing, we also forget (those who take him) that Travis Etienne, who suffered a Lisfranc injury is far further along in his healing and also… is better than James Robinson in every way? I don’t understand what we are doing, here.
2022 James Robinson Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
James Robinson Salary Cap Value: $2
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet! (coming in early July)
Don’t draft James Robinson. Don’t do it. That’s it, that’s the strategy. He’s RB39, pick 112 overall in snake drafts. That’s one pick after Trey Lance, and three picks before Treylon Burks, Chris Olave, and Drake London start to come off the board. If you want an upside play, go get one of them instead. If you need a running back, Darrell Henderson is pick 125, Ronald Jones pick 118, and Alexander Mattison pick 117. Go get one of those guys, instead.
For salary cap drafts, his price is a bit more rational ($1.4, RB49 by price). But still, I don’t like the pick. I don’t want to have the player on my roster because I want guys that I know will be good or not basically right away. If you have to sit around and wait for him to recover from an Achilles tear, not only will you likely be waiting for him to come back from PUP, but then he’s insanely likely to be underwhelming. Just don’t do it.
Best Case Scenario:
James Robinson comes back around Halloween, is back up to full game speed around Thanksgiving, and you get RB27 in December.
Worst Case Scenario:
James Robinson doesn’t come back at all thanks to an Achilles setback. I know one of these is usually a joke but I need to underscore the seriousness of my conviction in that you don’t draft James Robinson this year.
Check out all our 2022 player profiles, here.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
[By Tennessee Titans – YouTube: Malcolm Butler's Big Plays vs. the Jaguars | Beneath the Surface – View/save archived versions on archive.org and archive.today, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101901713]
