Another high-end RB1 you can buy who a lot of people aren’t viewing as a high-end RB1: that would be Tony Pollard. He’s currently third in the NFL in expected fantasy points/game based on his opportunity, only behind Austin Ekeler, Christian McCaffrey, and Alvin Kamara. Now, Kamara’s 14 target game this past week skewed things a ton, so I don’t expect him to be up here in a couple of weeks… but the only ones to be up at the top that have also played more than one game this season are Pollard and McCaffrey. That shows you that those two guys are here to stay when it comes to the opportunity they’re getting.
Austin Ekeler had 26.4 fantasy points in Week 1, Christian McCaffrey is averaging 30 fantasy points/game, and Tony Pollard’s averaging 16.6 fantasy points/game. Kyren Williams is next in expected fantasy points - he’s averaging 20.4 fantasy points/game - so something’s gotta give with Pollard here. We know the talent is there, he’s had to deal with a blowout in Week 1, in which he got pulled early, a blowout this past week, in which he got pulled early, only 53% of snaps, but in the two close games against the Jets and Cardinals in Weeks 2 and 3, he’s averaging 29 touches! The fact that he’s still able to maintain himself as the RB12 on the year despite all that is pretty impressive.
I don’t see blowouts on the horizon here with the 49ers, Chargers, Rams, and Eagles coming up over his next four games… if you’re looking for that high-end RB who’s actually affordable, Pollard is the guy you want.