NFC North: Top Five fantasy sleepers

THEO RIDDICK

As a pure running back, Riddick is sort of an outlier in that he carried the ball a mere 43 times and scored a total of only three touchdowns, but still ranked 19th among his ball-toting peers in PPR (point-per-reception) leagues.

Catching balls is the name of the game for the 201-pound backfield dynamo, as he co-led in receptions (80) along with being on the receiving end of the second-most targets (99) at his position.

Ameer Abdullah will be limited to being an early-down back as long as Riddick remains the third-down backfield option of choice. In fact, the converted college receiver could very well see more carries in 2016 if offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter’s offensive designs go according to plan.

The 25-year-old pro was given the opportunity to take handoffs during OTAs in Abdullah’s absence. When asked about carry distribution, Cooter indicated that Riddick would indeed become a bigger part of the running attack.

It’s no coincidence that the New Jersey-native saw more carries last season once Cooter was promoted to offensive coordinator during the second-half of the year (17 versus 26).

All told, Riddick lacks the vision as an inside runner to earn more than a handful of carries each week, but any extra touches will only add to his value…particularly if they get him out in space.

This Motor City scat back is typically being drafted at least two rounds after Danny Woodhead and could post similar numbers to the San Diego Charger, who isn’t much of a pure runner these days, as evidenced by his league-worst 0.9 yards after contact.

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