10 PPR Running Backs to Target in Your 2017 Fantasy Football Draft
Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Standard Running Back Rank: 40
PPR Running Back Rank: 37
Average Draft Position (PPR): 13.12 (RB61)
Considering how widely available he is in fantasy drafts right now, you're perhaps wondering why we'd recommend targeting Charles Sims in any league at all. But specifically in PPR leagues, there's value to be had in Sims.
Despite being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' third option at his position (behind Doug Martin and Jacquizz Rodgers), Sims has been one of the NFL's most efficient pass-catching running backs over the last two seasons. Only three running backs in football ranked in the top 10 in yards per route run among backs in both 2016 and 2015, according to Pro Football Focus: Sims, James White and David Johnson.
Sims caught 24 passes in just seven games last season (while dealing with a knee injury). In 2015, when he played a full 16 games with Tampa Bay, he saw 70 targets and commanded a 13.08% market share of the Bucs' passing offense (70 targets, 51 catches) en route to scoring 11.25 fantasy points per game in PPR formats.
By our proprietary Net Expected Points metric (or NEP, which you can read more about in our glossary), his 2015 Reception NEP per target was 0.48, above the league-average of 0.36 that season and in the top five among running backs with 50 or more targets.
We're projecting Sims for 42.53 receptions in 2017, or 17th-most among running backs. If he can get to that number, he'll far exceed his draft-day price.
