On Sunday, the New York Jets lost promising rookie RB Breece Hall to what turned out to be a torn ACL. On Monday, they worked out a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire RB James Robinson in exchange for a 6th-round pick that can become a 5th-round pick.
Robinson heads to New York (New Jersey), where he’ll presumably share the backfield with Michael Carter. In Jacksonville, second-year RB Travis Etienne Jr., who had already been taking over as the primary back, should continue to see the majority of the snaps and touches. Robinson did not receive a single carry in Sunday’s loss to the Giants.
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Fantasy Football Takeaways & Implications
The Jets, trying not to let Breece Hall’s season-ending knee injury torpedo a fine start to their season, beefed up their RB stable with James Robinson. It’s a logical move. The 5-8, 201-pound Michael Carter isn’t built to carry a backfield by himself but is a good rotational back. Robinson has carried the Jaguars backfield in the past. He can handle as much work as the Jets want to give him, and the Jets are no longer one RB injury away from turning their backfield over to the pedestrian Ty Johnson and undrafted free agent Zonovan Knight.
Carter investors can no longer dream of him having RB2 value, but Carter is certainly more valuable now than he would have been as Hall’s caddie. Robinson stakeholders have to be pleased that Robinson escapes Jacksonville, where he was quickly becoming marginalized, and will work his way into what’s probably going to be a near-50/50 workload split with Carter.
In my rest-of-season rankings. I have Carter ranked RB27 and Robinson RB29. I favor Carter because he’s the better pass catcher, and pass-catching could provide an important value boost, since opponents have little reason to respect QB Zach Wilson and can creep up safeties in an effort to stop the Jets’ running game. (Robinson is a decent pass catcher himself.)
Meanwhile, the outlook keeps getting better and better for the Jaguars’ Travis Etienne, who’s going to dominate snaps and touches in the Jacksonville backfield. JaMycal Hasty will provide occasional relief. Fifth-round rookie Snoop Conner, who has been a healthy inactive in every Jaguars game so far, will get some work, too. But this is the Etienne show. My rest-of-season ranking for him is RB15.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
The MRI on Breece Hall’s injured knee revealed an ACL tear, according to Tom Pelissero. (Source: Tom Pelissero on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The news is a significant blow to fantasy managers who roster the rookie RB. Through five games, Hall had rushed 56 times for 275 yards and two touchdowns and caught 17 of 29 targets for 213 yards and one TD. In dynasty leagues, he is a must-keep, but in redraft leagues, he is droppable as he will presumably be out for the remainder of the 2022 season. Michael Carter and Ty Johnson will each see increased opportunities, with Carter being the preferred pickup of the two.
James Robinson is being traded to the Jets in exchange for draft pick compensation. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: In wake of the devastating Breece Hall injury, the Jets strengthen their running back room by acquiring Robinson. This move has big implications for Travis Etienne Jr, Michael Carter, and of course Robinson. It is now officially Etienne Jr’s show in Jacksonville as the Jaguars clearly trust him as their lead back. The Clemson product had a career-best game in Week 7 rushing for 114 yards and one touchdown. As for Carter, he will now split work with Robinson and will not be the workhorse running back managers were hoping for after the Hall injury. Lastly Robinson, who saw his snaps decrease from 123 in Weeks 1-3 to 80 in Weeks 4-6, will be entering a new situation that can’t possibly be worse than how his usage was trending on the Jaguars.
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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.