Rashaad Penny Fantasy Outlook & Injury Update 2022 (Can Penny Finally Be a Legitimate Starting RB?)

A former 2018 first-round draft pick, Rashaad Penny has had trouble living up to lofty expectations. Injuries and inconsistent play limited his productivity in his first three campaigns, however, his success as a starter down the stretch last season has fantasy managers jumping back on the hype train.

With Chris Carson retiring this offseason, Penny has now been given the keys to the Seattle Seahawks backfield. He finished as the RB42 in PPR formats last season, but does he have what it takes to finish among the best this fall?

Rashaad Penny Fantasy Football Outlook

Injuries and coaching decisions sidelined Penny for seven of the Seahawks' 11 games last season. However, he was finally allowed to be the lead rusher in Week 14, resulting in his recording 92 carries for 671 yards and six touchdowns over his final game.

The fact that Penny rushed for at least 135 yards four times in his last five games highlights why expectations are higher than ever in 2022. The main competition in this backfield is rookie Kenneth Walker III. But, considering the Seahawks signed Penny to a one-year, $5 million deal, don't be surprised if they go to him early and often to start the year.

Unfortunately, the Seahawks own the 10th-toughest upcoming schedule, according to ESPN's Mike Clay. That means that game scripts might not necessarily favor Penny if Seattle trails often, so keep that in mind if you plan to draft the veteran rusher.

Rashaad Penny Injury Update

Given Penny's injury history, it's understandable that managers are wondering about his health ahead of the 2022 NFL season. He was sidelined during May's organized team activities with a hamstring injury, an injury that continues to pop up. Fortunately it hasn't prevented him from partaking in training camp.

There have been no negative updates since then, so it's clear that Penny is in good shape. Unless he suffers any setbacks in the coming weeks, there's no need to be concerned about his playing status to start the year. Staying healthy could be a different story.

Rashaad Penny Projections

Projections from the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook are fairly mixed for Penny. On one hand, he's in a four-way tie for the fifth-best odds (+1600) to lead the league in rushing yards this year. On the other, he's only available at +6000 (T-No. 35) to pace the NFL in TDs on the ground.

FanDuel has listed Penny's projected rushing yards total at 799.5 with -108 odds on the over while the under is favored at -118. He averaged 6.3 yards per carry in 2021, meaning he'd need to see about 127 carries to hit the over. Considering that it's hard to imagine him maintaining that level of production, it's understandable why the under is being favored.

Is Rashaad Penny a Good Fantasy Football Pick?

It's normally a good thing if you can get the clear-cut starting RB in most offenses. Penny definitely has the potential to do some damage during this fantasy campaign, however, you can't expect him to perform every week as he did in the last five games of 2021. Nevertheless, I'd expect him to be an RB2/3 when all is said and done.

The Duel's PPR position rankings aren't too high on Penny as he clocks in as the RB39 ahead of the campaign. He carries an average draft position of 80.8 on Fantasy Pros, meaning it's likely that he'll be off the board before the end of Round 7 in 12-team leagues.

If you've drafted Penny, then check out the best Seattle Seahawks fantasy football team names for your squad.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. 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.