Owners who drafted New England Patriots running back Shane Vereen may be regretting their choice this season. It's not that Vereen is a bad fantasy player. On the contrary, he's got the pass-catching skills to thrive in PPR in leagues. In week one, Vereen had 12 touches and a score for a quality fantasy outing to start the year.
But coach Bill Belichick loves to play musical chairs with his running backs. Corey Dillon saw declining carries in each of his three seasons in New England. Kevin Faulk never rushed more than 178 times in a season. Even Stevan Ridley saw his carries nearly cut in half after a breakout season in 2012. You never know who it's going to be in a given week in New England, and uncertainty is a fantasy owner's worst enemy.
Vereen had just six rushing attempts and one reception in week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings, while Ridley, who only rushed eight times in week 1, exploded for 101 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. The inconsistency is maddening.
"Vereen didn't touch the ball between 1:23 left in the first quarter and 6:46 left in the third quarter, and only had seven touches overall," wrote Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
I understand that the Patriots wanted to lean on their power running game against the Vikings. But Vereen was only on the field for 16 snaps. The disparity in workload from week to week makes him a mid-ceiling and low-floored fantasy option at best. Couple that with the fact that Vereen has never appeared in more than 13 games in a season and no amount of talent in the world could entice me to count on him consistently. He's a good player stuck in a puzzling and frustrating situation. With other fantasy alternatives out there, my advice is to sell now on Vereen and let him be someone else's headache.
