Let's get back to running backs.
We're mixing it up this year over here at the Next Gen Advantage, looking at different spots deep in the player tracking data for fantasy managers to find small edges to wield over their opponents.
We've focused on wide receivers the past couple of weeks -- and we'll come back to them again in the future -- but today we're looking at running back matchups to exploit. Both as receivers and via matchup advantages in the trenches. As always, we'll be relying on metrics from ESPN Analytics using NFL Next Gen Stats data.
Receiving vs. Man or Zone
There's a massive split between the likelihood of a running back reception against man and zone coverage. If we look at the 34 running backs who have run at least 75 routes this season, they are recording receptions on 11% of routes run against man coverage and 19% against zone. That's huge!
Why the difference? As my colleague Matt Bowen once taught me: