Ronald Jones II Week 15 Outlook -

By Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros), Thu, Dec 12th 2019, 10:45am EST

"Jones is still our starter," says Bruce Arians. Well, if that amounts to a 30/27/23 snap split, who cares? It wasn't even Jones who tallied the 30 snaps! Over the last three games, while Jones has been the "starter," Barber has tallied 41 touches while Jones has 36 touches. This is a backfield to avoid whenever possible. After getting crushed over the first seven weeks of the season, the Lions run defense has not allowed a team of running backs to average more than 4.42 yards per carry. When you know that the running backs have been capped at around 10-12 carries apiece, you lose all sorts of hope, as none of them have been heavily involved in the passing game, either. Here's a fun fact that the Jones haters will just love. He's averaged 1.88 yards per route run, which ranks as the sixth-best mark among running backs, but sure, let's give him just 31 targets all season. Many suggested his hands were what would keep him off the field. Barber's 3.2 yards per carry and 3.7 yards per target is not deserving of a roster spot. If you can't guarantee more than a dozen carries or a few targets, these running backs are stuck in mediocrity. Jones would be the running back of choice this week due to what he offers in the passing game (not guaranteed usage, of course), as the Lions have allowed a league-high 2.09 PPR points per target to running backs, including eight receiving touchdowns through the air. Still, Jones is nothing more than a low-end RB3 with Arians risk built in.