Fantasy Football: 12 Barely-Owned Players to Watch

Wendell Smallwood, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

ESPN Ownership Percentage: 8.4%

When the Philadelphia Eagles signed LeGarrette Blount this offseason, most assumed he'd lead their backfield. A logical assumption, but don't forget about Wendell Smallwood, who had such a strong preseason that some expected him to break camp as the team's lead back.

When asked about how he will use his backs in Week 1, Coach Doug Pederson said a lot while saying nothing, but he did reference Smallwood as a potential three-down back, while referring to Darren Sproles as just a third-down back: "And again, I don’t want to just sit here and say that, ‘Darren, you’re obviously a third down guy’ or ‘Wendell, you’re a first-, second-, and third-down guy’ because we want to get all of these guys involved in the game plan. I think it’s important to what we do. If LeGarrette has the hot hand, he continues to carry the ball. If it’s Wendell, it’s Wendell."

Smallwood was productive in the three games in which he received every-down back usage last year, averaging 76 yards on 15.7 touches (4.8 yard average). Smallwood's low Rushing NEP per play (-0.06) and Success Rate (38.96%) are discouraging, but the fact that he posted a higher Success Rate than Blount (37.46%) is telling. Even more telling is the fact that Blount posted such low efficiency numbers while playing in a New England Patriots offense that saw two other backs (Dion Lewis and James White) post Success Rates north of 50.00%.

What that suggests is, maybe Blount really isn't very good after all and his fantasy numbers were just a product of his environment. If Smallwood's strong offseason leads to a step forward in his sophomore campaign, he could become the starting back for a team that has a strong offensive line and ranked inside the top-10 in rushing attempts (27.4) per game last year.