I have in the past had some not-so-flattering things to say about Zach Charbonnet. I'll stand by them, but I'll also give the man props so far this year. Seattle is 3-0, and their 2-3 yards and a cloud of dust fill-in running back is part of the reason why.
Backing up Kenneth Walker, Charbonnet carried 8 times for just 12 yards in the opener against Denver, but he took a pass down the sidelines 30 yards for a touchdown in the team's 6-point win. Starting for an injured Walker in Week 2, Charbonnet carried 14 times for just 38 yards, but made a couple of plays in overtime to set up the winning field goal.
Last week against Miami, Charbonnet had his best game as a pro: 18 carries, 91 yards and a touchdown. I may not think he's very good, but opportunity and volume count for a lot. He's been a nice fantasy option.
This week, Charbonnet may start again (no word when Walker, dealing with an oblique injury, will return). And the bad news is it's another week where his Week 1 or 2 stat lines are more likely than Week 3. Seattle is in Detroit, and the Lions have really been stoning opposing run games so far.
Here's how the involved running backs have fared against Detroit the first three weeks of the season.
| RUNNING BACKS VS DETROIT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Williams, LAR | 18 | 50 | 2.8 | 1 |
| White, T.B. | 10 | 19 | 1.9 | 0 |
| Irving, T.B. | 7 | 22 | 3.1 | 0 |
| Conner, Ariz. | 9 | 17 | 1.9 | 0 |
Charbonnet is also a receiver, catching 10 passes for 76 yards and the aforementioned touchdown the first three games. If I had him anywhere, I'd be starting, hoping he either catches a score, or the ball winds up near the goal line at some point, and he punches it in with a couple of tries.
But not a great matchup. Charbonnet deserves credit for his work to this point, but it will be tough for him to put up good numbers in Week 4.
--Andy Richardson