*The following data is from ACTA Sports.

When you look at a runner you usually think one of a few things.

You might think he’s fast.

Perhaps shifty.

Perhaps rugged.

So when we think broken tackles we think Earl Campbell.

Mabey Larry Csonka.

Perhaps Walter Peyton.

Maybe we can add the name of Theo Riddick to the list?

Obviously that is a laughable position to take, but according to ACTA Riddick has broken 13 tackles on 44 touches (he’s still not a good ball carrier. Get him in the open field, OK. Give him the ball on a handcuff on a first and 10, not so much). That’s a broken tackled percentage of 30 percent. There are only two men amongst the top-11 in broken tackles that have a higher percentage: David Johnson 37 percent (21 broken tackles in 57 touches) and Charles Sims 34 percent (13/38). That’s a massive number for Johnson who has been everything that his owners were hoping for. He’s averaging 4.6 YPC this season and through 172 career carries. He’s also caught 10-of-17 targets for 169 yards while averaging 13.4 yards after the catch.

DeAngelo Williams heads to the bench with the second most broken tackles in the game (18 on 79 touches). He becomes a weekly afterthought starting right now with the return of Le’Veon Bell, but if Bell were to come down with an injury DWill would immediately ascend to RB1 status.

Todd Gurley scored twice last week to ease some nerves. People forget that the Rams were awful in Week 1, they just didn’t show up against the Niners, and in Week 2 they faced the Seahawks. Note that Gurley is still doing his thing, even if his line isn’t opening up lanes, as Gurley is third in the league with 17 broken tackles, one less than Williams on 13 fewer touches.

Matt Forte is tied with Carlos Hyde with 14 broken tackles, but since Forte has a whopping 76 touches in three games his 18 percent broken tackle mark is merely half that of David Johnson.

Speaking of volume… Ezekiel Elliot has broken 11 tackles in three games, enough to get him on the leaderboard. Alas, he’s also touched the ball 76 times leading to a moderate broken tackle mark of 14 percent.

Charles Sims and Doug Martin are teammates in the top-10 in broken tackle percentage if we drop the threshold to 10 touches. As pointed out in the piece, both Sims and Martin were in the top-3 in football last season in broken tackle percentage (minimum 150 touches). Sounds like the Bucs have themselves a couple of good runners.

ARTICLE LINKS

Week 4 Game Previews 

Matchup Report

Red Zone Report

WR/CB Matchup Report

A Week 4 IDP Breakdown

Why The Hate for Matt Ryan

 

VIDEO LINKS

Cam Newton is turning over the ball a lot already this season. Dak Prescott has performed well and should have a good week once again against the 49ers. The Raiders defense is atrocious so look for Joe Flacco to capitalize. - VIDEO

Jeremy Hill is still game flow dependent. Duke Johnson is doing very nice things in limited work. Matt Jones is starting to establish himself for Washington. - VIDEO 

Do not Brandin Cooks. You must start Jarvis Landry every week, no matter what. Tyrell Williams of the Chargers has some intriguing upside this week against the Saints. - VIDEO

Julius Thomas is not as good as everybody thinks. Shocker alert… Gary Barnidge is unlikely to repeat his 2015 production. Hunter Henry is worth a look week 4 against a soft Saints defense. - VIDEO

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).