Being brutally honest with all fantasy owners, Marshawn Lynch is not what he used to be. We have seen it all fantasy season and it has left many Lynch owners baffled as of to why. Lynch has went from a 13 touchdown season to now having 0 through his first four games. Lynch picked up 1300+ yards on the ground last season. This season he has gotten to 128. Owners all over are now questioning the pick since Lynch had to be taken early as opposed to later.
Early Pick, Brick
Lynch has literally been a brick so far this season and is costing fantasy teams wins each week. Lynch’s fantasy points have went like this: 12,6,1,0. Literally his fantasy production has dwindled each of the weeks and many owners are often confused by his high projections yet low output. Daily fantasy players all over are losing money because Marshawn Lynch fails to show up and will only show up “so he won’t get fined”. On average, Lynch was taken in the early first round. Teams were putting their entire season on the shoulders of the Seahawks running back which seemed like a decent idea. This totally backfired and most teams by now are either 1-3 or 0-4. Owners are rapidly selling off Marshawn Lynch for significantly worse players because the faith in Lynch is now gone.
Max Unger Out, Jimmy Graham In
The Max Unger-Jimmy Graham trade looked great on paper right? The Seahawks get a top tight end and can easily fill in for Unger right? Totally wrong absolutely wrong. In my preseason rankings I predicted the Unger deal would affect Lynch to some degree but I never visualized it being this catastrophic. One thing that is never looked at by fantasy owners is the offensive line. For example we have seen DeMarco Murray go from the Cowboys #1 offensive line to the Eagles arguably #32 offensive line. Murray has went from the Golden Cowboy to now whining to Chip Kelly for more touches. Offensive line’s will win games in the NFL (or in Philly’s case lose them). Max Unger departed this offseason and was often regarded as the NFL’s best center or certainly in the top 2. Running backs everywhere know that they need the center to get yards and will go no where if the holes do not open or the line can not shift. Marshawn Lynch is now seeing the catastrophic effects of getting rid of a pro bowl center and the Seahawks are feeling the heat for it.
Not Time to Sell
Lynch is still “Beast Mode” for a reason. He has not looked like it this season but could easily turn it around it he plays. Lynch missed week 4 with an injury and I personally believe the time off was a much needed break for the ailing Lynch. Chicago banged up Lynch early in the game and he did not look the same as he did early on. Ultimately Lynch had to come out of the game and was not expected to play week 4. Week 5 will be the make or break week for Lynch simply because the wait is up. Lynch needs to step it up soon or I will no longer fault owners for dropping him. The best thing to do with Marshawn right now is hold him on your bench until he regains his top running back status. If he never regains his top form I would look to trade him for a younger, more versatile running back, or trade him for a decent wide receiver. Lynch’s name carries far too much value to be dropped so under no circumstances would I ever drop him.
Verdict
Marshawn Lynch still has some in the tank in my opinion. The loss of Pro Bowl center Max Unger is now being felt in Seattle and can be linked to Lynch’s struggles early on. If any owners are willing to trade a top back and they believe in Lynch I would certainly pull the trigger. However living in a realistic world, if you are offered any current top 15 running backs: pull the trigger. It may be time to look for alternatives to Lynch and the longer you hold onto him, the less value he will hold. Marshawn it is time to show up and not make more fantasy owners have nightmares about your stats.