Robert Kelley continues to be the Redskins’ bell-cow RB
Washington Redskins running back Rob Kelley has a total of seven games under his professional belt. After the first two games as a starter, he might want to get a bigger waistband because the Redskins are going to continue to feed him the rock.
The success Kelley has achieved isn’t a surprise. Despite not being drafted, Kelley impressed back in training camp as well as during the preseason. He had the third most rushing yards in the NFL in exhibition games. Of course (then) teammate Mack Brown was first. So much for that one. As for the incumbent starter?
Import your team for free to get waiver wire advice 
One of the reasons why Matt Jones lost his hold on the starting job was because he couldn’t hold onto the football. Over his two-year career, Jones has a total of eight fumbles, with six resulting in turnovers. Three of those came this season, with two resulting in turnovers.
This isn’t simply a situation that can be taught in the same way Darnell Jefferson was taught in The Program. Jones isn’t contributing on special teams either and head coach Jay Gruden has made a point to reference this very fact as to why he’s been a healthy scratch.
Gruden hasn’t exactly lit the league on fire with his play calling in the past. His offenses have only been in the top 10 in rushing attempts once. This is the first of his offenses to be in the top 10 in rushing yards per attempt. Kelley is a breath of fresh air. He might not have the physical upside of Jones, but he does all the little things correctly.
At the end of the day, it’s productivity that wins or loses jobs in the NFL. As a starter, Kelley is producing. He’s averaging 4.28 yards per attempt on 43 carries. Of his 60 total carries, Kelley has lost yards only twice. He’s been tackled in the backfield just one time.
Rob Kelley has broken as many tackles (12) during his two games starting (43 carries) as Matt Jones has all year on 100 handoffs.
— Pat Thorman (@Pat_Thorman) November 14, 2016
While each opponent the Redskins face for the remainder of the season is in the bottom third for fantasy points allowed to running backs, Kelley has already shown that New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was right when he said that statistics are for losers. After all, a waiver wire rookie running back can make a difference in the stretch run of the fantasy football regular season.
With trade deadlines in a majority of re-draft leagues already gone, the time to acquire Kelley is likely past it’s point. Then again, he is still a free agent in nearly 40% of Yahoo leagues and 28% of ESPN leagues. In the event your league is about as competitive as the local stamp collecting group down the road, go acquire Kelley.
If you’re in a dynasty league, the cost to acquire Kelley might still be reasonably affordable as well. You might be able to acquire him for a third-round rookie pick. I’d gladly pull the trigger at that price. Having said that, if the Jones owner in your league is willing to give up a second-round pick (or more) Pierre Garcon shouldn’t be the only French spoken. Au revoir would permanently translate to Fat Rob.
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
Matt Giraldi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive or follow him @Mgiraldi.
