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Should you trust these 5 Injury-prone RBs that include CMC and Cook? The Counselor lays out the facts and if you should draft them in 2022 fantasy football.
- Christian McCaffrey
- Saquon Barkley
- Dalvin Cook
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire
- Cam Akers
We’re talking about five injury-prone players that have been crippled over the past several years that are very hard to trust. Should you trust them? Should you not trust them? That’s what we’re going to talk about right here, right now. I’m ready and excited to dive into this with you guys. If you are new to the channel, make sure you guys hit the smash thumbs up button right here. Turn on notifications and subscribe. It really helps the channel. It’s going to help you guys win your lease. And of course, get the 16 round draft solution you can pre-order right now for the lowest prices season, I’ve linked it here below. It’s video training, with all the optimal players. It’s like having me at the draft with you. Forget the draft kits. Forget the cheat sheets. 16 round draft solution is the game-changer, link here below.
1. Christian McCaffrey
All right, let’s dive into this guys. Christian McCaffrey is the first person I want to talk about that is injury prone. Let’s talk about him. Now, I just did a post on him on Instagram where he was like, I don’t know what he was doing, he was scuba diving or something. He had these weights underwater. He was underwater with weights, which in fact, I think is cheating because weights are technically lighter underwater. So I don’t even know what kind of workout he was getting, but he had his shirt off with his buddy, they’re down there. I don’t know where they are. Probably out in Cuba or Mexico or some ocean somewhere having a fun old time, just having fun and not focusing on football. So guys listen, Christian McCaffrey has had years to wow me as of late and I’m not wowed.
His last good season was 2019. He had a good season, but in 2020 and 2021, he’s done absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. In 2020, he played three games. In 2021 he played seven games. And if you looked at the extent of his injury and the injury that happened with his hamstring, it was like, I don’t know what week it was, it was early in the season, he just ran normally and he just tweaked his hamstring. He was gone for like ever. Anyway, the guy has sucked over the past couple of years. Now, he is 25. He is a prototypical running back 5’11”, 205 lbs, strong, durable. He was around one pick in 2017 out of Stanford. The guy is a good player. Don’t get me wrong, but he’s such a high draft capital running back. And he has busted two years in a row. So it’s very hard for me to trust Christian McCaffrey this upcoming season yet again.
And it seems like things have changed since the quarterback situation has been suspect. You’re not getting you… Who is the quarterback? I mean, this is going back. Let’s go back to 2016 here. I just want to see who the exact quarterback is, when did he have his good year? Let’s say 2017. It was Cam Newton that was really delivering it to him. And then if you look at basically 2020, and you look at the quarterback then, like has Teddy Bridgewater got it done for him? Absolutely not. And he’s been hurt the entire time. So I’m looking at Christian McCaffrey thinking, no, one’s getting it done for him. Sam Darnold didn’t do it. Kim Newton, he played what? Eight games the past season.
So, Christian McCaffrey hasn’t been the same person that he’s been over the past, the years he was crushing like three years ago. So I’m going to definitely dodge him and stay away from this upcoming season yet again. And at the end of the day, man, I will not be investing an early draft capital on a guy that’s just not getting it done, period. It’s just not going to happen.
2. Saquon Barkley
Let’s move on here. Saquon Barkley is the second guy I’m talking about. Now, Saquon Barkley’s a guy I was high on last year, but another guy that just can’t get it done. Now we go back to Christian McCaffrey here, he’s played 10 games in the past two seasons. That is absolutely ridiculous. When you look at Saquon Barkley, it’s almost as bad. Now he did play 13 games in 2021.
But what really disgusts me is that Devontae Booker was outperforming him in attempts. He had 162 attempts, 3.7 yards per carry, played 13 games. That is ugly. That is ridiculous. That is disgusting. The year before he played two games. The year before that he played 13 games. His best season was 2018. Saquon Barkley has been injury-prone, and I can’t trust him. And as you saw the cover artwork here on his YouTube video, the thing about it is these guys literally started modeling. They literally crap the bed. They haven’t done anything since. They did their modeling photos, and then that was it. And the problem I have with it’s not so much the modeling is the fact that it’s distracting them from what they really should be doing, is playing football. So the modeling, I mean do it after you’ve cemented your legacy, but don’t do it, and then crap the bed and bust.
That’s what’s killing me with these players. So Saquon Barkley is another injury-prone player who I won’t trust this season at all. I don’t care if Christian McCaffery and Saquon come back at one and two in fantasy points this year, I personally don’t trust them. And I personally won’t be drafting him.
3. Dalvin Cook
Number three, you guys know it. The guy busted finish what? 16th amongst running backs, Dalvin Cook. Absolutely busted again. This year was a first-round pick, busted. All three of these busted. Mind you, I thought Saquon had the highest ceiling because he was due. He crapped the bed as well. Saquon, Christian McCaffery, and Dalvin Cook are all busting. Now Dalvin Cook also has not finished a season and that’s the problem with this guy. He just doesn’t finish seasons. Very, very hard to trust. Played 13 games this past season.
I mean, he had a couple of good seasons in 2019, 2020. In 2019 he didn’t make your fantasy football playoffs. He wasn’t there. And again, 2021, crap the bed again for you guys in your fantasy football leagues. A huge disappointment. Can’t finish seasons. If you guys remember this guy played four games in season one and 11 games in season two of his career in 2017, 2018. That’s not good. So he just can’t finish a season if his life depended on it. I think he’s blown his load now. He had his best career year in 2019 and in 2020. He’s not going to happen again. I personally do not see it. I personally don’t trust him and Dalvin Cook is injury own and he just can’t be trusted.
4. Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Next guy. And I should have just made it all running backs to this episode. And I know the running back position is the most prone to injuries, but the other guy I’m talking about is Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Another guy I cannot trust. Now I remember when he came out in his rookie season, couple of years ago, everyone was like Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the bowling ball, Mr 2020, 1st round pick at the end of the first round 32nd overall, everyone was excited except for me. Because I knew the volume wasn’t going to be there. And I said, “If you draft him in the first round, understand there’s a huge risk there. The volume won’t be there.” Sure enough in his 2020 season, he played 13 games. Didn’t even finish the season and absolutely crapped the bed.
803 yards, four touchdowns, not worth his first-round draft capital for sure. And in 2021 couldn’t stay healthy. He couldn’t even be there in the playoffs for his team. It was just totally disgusting the way he played, just couldn’t get it going. 10 games, what? 517 yards, four touchdowns, ridiculous, disgusting performance at Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and a guy who cannot on the field.
I think he’s injury-prone, he hasn’t finished a season. 10 games in the second season. This is a young guy. He’s 22 years old and he is short. He’s got a low center of gravity, right? It’s not a big lanky tall guy with long limbs that could snap with these. He’s a short stalky dude. Five-seven, packed well, 207 pounds. He just can’t get it done, period. I don’t trust him. He’s injury-prone and I don’t trust him.
5. Cam Akers
Next guy here, you may disagree, and I definitely see this ceiling this upcoming year, but how do I trust him if he hasn’t even been on the field and stayed on the field? The guy I’m talking about is Cam Akers. And there’s an honorable mention here at the end here I want to mention, but Cam Akers’ a guy, he played one game this past season, one game, one game.
So he’s always injured. This guy’s got shoulders injuries. He had a rib injury the year before. I don’t know if I trust Cam Akers. I just don’t know if I’m sold on Cam Akers. If the right ADP is there, I might grab him. But I think he’s going to have a super high ADP based on the offense that he’s on and the volume that he could get. Sony Michel’s there, there are other options. Darrell Henderson, I knew he wasn’t the solution. I know that jumped on Darrell Henderson, but Cam Akers is a guy that has to prove to me that he could do it. Now, you could roll the dice and say, “Hey, this is the gear. There’s a ton of upside.” Kind of like the way I rolled the dice with Saquon and say, this is his bounce-back year, and he crapped the bed.
If Cam Akers plays a full season against the volume, he could be the guy. This could be a special connection, but that is a big question mark. That is something that I’m a little suspect about. Am I investing a first-round pick? No. A second-round? Maybe as part of a robust three-headed RB monster situation. And I got to see what happens with Darrell Henderson. What the situation is in the off-season. But when I’m looking at a guy like Cam Akers, I’m looking at a guy that hasn’t finished the season. Again, one game in 2021, 13 games in 2020. He had the rib injury, it was nagging him. And again, 2020 good season, 145 attempts, 625 yards, 4.3 yards per carry, and two touchdowns. Very, very safe, very mediocre. I didn’t see anything outstanding. It was good. But again, we need to see more volume. We need to see more opportunities and we need to see him stay on the field.
And JK Dobbins again, the same thing. And the reason I dodged JK Dobbins… I know a lot of people were excited about him in 2021. The reason I dodged him and I haven’t drafted him and I’m not going to be drafting him again in 2022, is Lamar Jackson runs the ball. When you have a quarterback that runs more than top 10 running backs, you got an issue there with your running back getting volume. So JK Dobbins was the guy I avoided. Sure enough, I was lucky he got hurt. I think in the, what is it? The pre-season finale prior to the season didn’t play in 2021. So it’s like, okay, yeah I dodged JK Dobbins but it wasn’t because of the talent, and it wasn’t because I thought he’d be injury-prone, it was because of the volume.
So JK Dobbins is my honorable mention here for you guys. So Christian McCaffrey, Saquon, Dalvin, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Cam Akers, honorable mention JK Dobbins, our guys are just injury-prone. And again Christian McCaffrey, Saquon, you shouldn’t be modeling. Go leave your legacy, leave it on the field and then you can model, but you haven’t done anything. So, Saquon Barkley, I don’t think he should even be renewed. I don’t think any team should deserve it… I mean, I don’t think any team should sign him. I don’t think he deserves a big contract because he hasn’t proven it. He can’t get it done.
And you can say, “Well, it’s the old lines of giants. It’s Daniel Jones.” Yes, it is a part of it, but he’s got to stay on the field. He’s got to stay healthy. He can’t come out with injuries like Devontae Booker beat him in attempts. That is ridiculous. All right guys. So five injury-prone players for you guys. Fantasy football injuries 2022, we discussed. If you were on this channel as well, make sure you guys subscribe, thumbs up, and leave a comment below, who is injury prone. Love to hear your feedback. Are you staying away from these guys? Love to get your feedback in the comments below. If you are new to the channel, subscribe, thumbs up and I am out, talk soon.
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