Buy ‘Em or Deny ‘Em: Has Zach Zenner Thrust Himself Onto Fantasy Radars?

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

When you think of the Detroit Lions’ running backs you immediately come to Joique Bell and Ameer Abdullah, but could a new name be forcing their way into the mix?  Zach Zenner, an undrafted rookie, exploded last night for 85 yards and 1 TD on 8 carries (including a 41 yard run) and suddenly has thrust his name into the conversation.

While there was more attention on him yesterday, coming in the “dress rehearsal” game and seeing him play with the first team offense, but he’s actually been opening eyes all preseason:

• Week 1 – 13 carries for 55 yards
• Week 2 – 4 carries for 22 yards

All told he has 162 yards and 1 TD on 25 carries, good for a 6.5 yards/carry.  Matthew Stafford sung his praise after the game, with the following quote coming courtesy of Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press (click here for the article):

“He’s a guy that doesn’t wow you without pads on, and then you go put the pads on, you play real football and does the right thing in protection, has pretty sure hands and then when he gets the ball in his hand when he’s running the ball he does a great job,” Stafford said. “He has really good patience, good vision and he’s obviously a big kid.”

Zenner is listed at 5’11” and 223 lbs. and it was a bit of a surprise that he went undrafted.  While he played at a small school he did rush for 45 TD over the past two seasons.  NFL.com also projected him to go in the fifth or sixth round, saying:

“When evaluators look at small-school prospects, they want to see them dominate that level of competition and that is exactly what Zenner was able to do. Zenner is more fast than sudden and might be best-suited in a one-cut scheme. His production, size and speed will generate plenty of discussion in draft meetings.”

There’s definitely potential, but how many touches will he really get once Bell is healthy?  Could he share early down work?  Could he be the short yardage/goal line back?  Will he simply be more of a special teamer as Bell/Abdullah dominate the running back touches?

While there appeared to be a split in whether Zenner would even make the Lions heading into this game, that no longer should be a question.  How much he plays, though, remains a mystery.  There’s certainly intriguing upside, given his size and what he’s shown in the preseason.  You could even argue that he’s leapfrogged Theo Riddick and is the third back on the depth chart, but when everyone is healthy that’s not even likely to yield a big role.

However Bell isn’t healthy (and also failed to produce impressive numbers last season, averaging 3.9 YPC) and while the team is hopeful that he will be for Week 1, that’s not a guarantee.  That certainly makes Zenner a sneaky grab late in your drafts (and in all dynasty leagues), as the upside is certainly there and it’s not unthinkable that he quickly steals carries if he continues to impress.

Sources – ESPN, NFL.com, Detroit Free Press, MLive.com

Make sure to check out all of our 2015 Pre-Season Rankings:

• Quarterbacks
• Running Backs 1-20
• Wide Receivers 1-20 | 21-40
• Tight Ends

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