Kerryon Johnson Fantasy Value Improves With Big Workload as Lions Lead Back

Kerryon Johnson's fantasy value was seemingly trending upwards after he saw a huge workload against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3, and if his workload against the Kansas City Chiefs this past weekend is any indication, the sky just may be the limit for the 22-year-old.

Johnson garnered a commanding share of Detroit's backfield snaps against Kansas City on Sunday afternoon, seeing action on 70 percent of Detroit's offensive plays. His snap count doubled backfield-mate J.D. McKissic, who saw the second-highest snap count among Detroit running backs.

Week 4 Playtime% Notables (RB)

A. Ekeler - 75%
K. Johnson - 70%
D. Montgomery - 69%
Duke Johnson - 65%
N. Chubb - 64%
R. Freeman - 62%
W. Gallman - 60%
T. Yeldon - 54%
J. Jacobs - 54%
J. White - 52%
R. Jones - 49%
S. Michel - 45%
N. Hines - 45%
J. Wilkins - 21%
— Sports Info Solutions (@SportsInfo_SIS) September 30, 2019

Unlike last week, the sophomore tailback rewarded his fantasy owners, recording his best fantasy performance of the season despite a heartbreaking fumble at the goal line. He racked up 157 yards from scrimmage on 28 total touches, earning 15.7 PPR points despite the lost fumble.

Johnson's fantasy value is now at an all-time high thanks to the uptick in snaps he's seen. Over the past two weeks, he has been on the field for 73 percent of Detroit's offensive plays and accounted for 79 percent of the rushing attempts, averaging 24.5 touches per game in the process.

Kerryon Johnson in two games since the CJA release:

* 73% of the snaps
* 79% of the RB carries
* 24.5 touches per game
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 30, 2019

Based on his numbers in that sample (the only two games he's played since C.J. Anderson was released), it's abundantly clear that the Lions are planning to lean on Johnson going forward. As long as he continues to see this kind of volume, the sophomore tailback will be a rock-solid RB2 (with matchup-dependent RB1 upside) in fantasy football going forward.

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Mike Esposito is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Esposito also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username espo6891. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.