The 2016 season marked Frank Gore’s ninth with over 1,000 rushing yards, moving him to spot No. 8 on the all-time rushing leaders. He has finished with 1,000 rushing yards in all but three of his 12 years in the league. One of those seasons was his rookie year in which he started just one game, and in the other two he finished with 853 yards in 11 games and 967 yards in a full 16. Every year people expect Gore to finally collapse, and every year he proves them wrong. It’s time to accept that Gore is just plain good at football.
Gore’s stats from last year won’t jump off the page at you, but he has produced RB2 numbers reliably for years. The Colts didn’t make any huge moves in free agency or the draft to indicate that Gore’s role in their offense is about to change, and yet Gore’s ADP in fantasy drafts is still hanging around RB27 per our latest expert consensus rankings. Gore finished 2016 as the RB12 overall and with 16 more fantasy points in standard leagues than Todd Gurley, who is currently ranked as the RB10.
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Over the Hill?
The main argument most people present against drafting Gore is his age. He is now 34 years old and has racked up 3,105 career carries in the NFL. Gore is well past the age and number of carries where running backs have historically seen their production fall off a cliff, so the concerns for him in his age-34 season are based in reason. Gore recently addressed the topic of his retirement, telling reporters, “…If I can’t train like I’ve been training before or if I can’t keep up with the guys I train with, younger backs, that’s when I kind of say I won’t be ready. But I’m still looking good.”
Colts coach Chuck Pagano has backed up Gore’s sentiments on the matter, stating, “Frank is another guy that is as tough as they come, as passionate as they come and that guy loves, loves football and he loves to play this game.” The front office’s decision not to draft a running back until the fourth round (Marlon Mack) further demonstrates their faith in Gore in the final year of his contract with them. Mack is in a prime position to take over the backfield if Gore goes down, but until then he should be seen as an upgrade to Robert Turbin, who also recently re-signed with the Colts. Christine Michael’s recent signing makes sense on a team with little depth at the position, but due to his inability to stay with an NFL team, he shouldn’t threaten either Gore or Mack for snaps.
Good at Football
Gore isn’t an athletic freak like Adrian Peterson. Other than his agility (85th percentile per PlayerProfiler.com), he doesn’t stand out for any of his athletic gifts. So how is he still able to perform well enough for the Colts?
Gore’s skill set on the football field has aged well and he plays smart. His upper-percentile body-mass index helps him take hits at the NFL-level, and his vision when playing and decision-making prowess help him avoid major hits. He hasn’t missed a game since 2010, a feat that few running backs (or even NFL players in general) can boast. If you watch him play, Gore has the football awareness to know when he needs to take a hit and when he doesn’t, and he is especially good at minimizing the impact of hits from defenders. He isn’t relying on youthful athleticism, but rather his years of experience, his body control, and his excellent football knowledge.
His ability to stay healthy on the field and relevant to his team is rare at such a volatile position. His production and efficiency are not what they were with the 49ers. The Colts seem to like to take Gore out at the goal line, and the Colts have one of the weakest offensive line units in the league. All these points certainly cap Gore’s upside each week, but he’s still the primary back on a powerful, Andrew Luck-led offense. What this means for fantasy is that as long as Frank Gore is on your roster, you have a virtually guaranteed RB2 each week.
Conclusion
Frank Gore is not a flashy fantasy pick, but he is a stable one. He may not ever win you a week, but you’ll be happy he’s on your roster when your earlier picks are on their byes or if your team catches the injury bug. Pick Gore as a safety net in the late-middle rounds of re-draft leagues and you won’t regret it.
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Aidan Mcgrath is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Aidan, check out his archive and follow him @ffaidanmcgrath.
