Week 10 vs. Seattle
James White had two receptions on five targets for 14 yards in a 41-25 win against the Bills in Week 8 before the bye. White has really struggled this season but with Tom Brady under center in 2015 was the leader in yards per touch (7.5). White will likely see a full load of pass-down snaps in Week 10 as a heavy home favorite against the Seahawks. The Patriots will continue to take to the air more often going forward with Tom Brady and White could see some more looks as a result than he has so far in 2016. White who will be a low end RB4 against Seattle.
Week 8 at Buffalo
James White had two receptions on five targets for 32 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers last week in a 27-16 win. White has had an inconsistent season, and the Bills have given up the seventh-least receptions per game to RBs this season (4.12) while ranking towards middle of the pack in aFPA. The Patriots are road favorites against the Bills and will continue to take to the air more often going forward with Tom Brady back. White could see some more looks as a result than he has so far in 2016, which makes him a mid-range RB2 against Buffalo.
Week 7 at Pittsburgh
James White had seven rushes for 19 yards and caught eight passes for 47 yards on 9 targets in a 33-13 win against the Browns. He also added two touchdowns and is looking more like 2015 White every week. White has really struggled this season, but was the leader in yards per touch (7.5) in 2015. With Blount’s snaps on the decline, White has seen 53.5 percent of the snaps over the past two weeks, in contrast to 33.5 percent over the first four weeks. New England is a heavy road favorite against the Steelers, who are near the bottom of the league in RB aFPA. The Patriots will continue to take to the air more often going forward, and White could see some more looks as a result. White will be a low-end RB1 against the Steelers.
Week 6 vs. Cincinnati
James White had five rushes for 12 yards and caught four passes for 63 yards in a 33-13 win against the Browns last week. He has averaged just 6.8 touches per game, but he did out-snap Blount in Brady’s return. White has really struggled this season, but was the leader in yards per touch (7.5) with Tom Brady under center in 2015. The Patriots are heavy home favorites against the Bengals, who are near the middle of the pack in RB aFPA. New England will continue to take to the air more often going forward with Tom Brady back, and White could see some more looks as a result than he has so far in 2016. White will be a low-end RB3 against the Bengals.
James White had four rushes for 12 yards and caught five passes for 50 yards in a shutout loss to Buffalo in Week 4. White has really struggled this season but with Tom Brady under center in 2015 was the leader in yards per touch (7.5). The hope is that he can get back to where he was last year and take over for Lewis in a pass-catching role for the Patriots yet again. He’s averaged 4.5 targets per game — a 15.79 percent target share overall — but he has just twelve carries on the season. The Browns are between the bottoms and the middle of the pack in RB aFPA. White isn’t really used as a runner, so he is almost entirely dependent on the passing game for production where he could see some checkdowns from his quarterback. The Patriots finally get Tom Brady back this week and the Patriots will take to the air again more often going forward. White who will be a low end RB2 against the Browns.
Week 4 vs. Buffalo
James White had three rushes for 12 yards and caught one pass for just two yards in a 27-0 win over the Texans in Week 3. White isn’t really used as a runner, so he is almost entirely dependent on the passing game for production where he could see some check-downs from his inexperienced quarterback.The Patriots will be without starting quarterback Tom Brady (suspension) for one more week, so the Patriots could lean on Blount and not White if they get a lead. White will be a low-end RB3 against the Bills.
Week 3 vs. Houston
James White had four rushes for 19 yards and caught two passes for 10 yards in a 31-24 win over the Dolphins, while playing just 35 percent of the snaps. White thrived in absence of Lewis last year, averaging 12.77 PPR points per game after Lewis was hurt, but he has been given just five carries and averaged 5.5 targets per game (16.18 target share) in 2016. He will continue to take over for Lewis in a pass-catching role for the Patriots, who may not throw much with Jacoby Brissett at QB. The Texans are near the bottom of the league in RB aFPA. White isn’t really used as a runner, so he is almost entirely dependent on the passing game for production.The Patriots could lean on LaGarrette Blount, and not White, if they get a lead, so White will be a low-end RB3 against the Texans.
Week 2 vs. Miami
James White had just one rush for four yards in Week one, but did catch five passes for 40 yards in a 23-21 win over the Cardinals, while playing just 37 percent of the snaps. White thrived in absence of Lewis last year, averaging 12.77 PPR points per game after his injury. He will continue to take over for Lewis in a pass-catching role for the Patriots, who may not have to throw much against a Dolphins team they are projected by Vegas to beat handedly. The Dolphins are near the bottom of the league in RB aFPA. White isn’t really used as a runner, so he is almost entirely dependent on the passing game for production.The Patriots will be without starting QB Tom Brady (suspension) again this week, so the Patriots could lean on Blount and not White once they get a lead. White will be a RB3 against the Dolphins.
Week 1 at Arizona
The 2015 leader in yards per touch (7.5), James White will take over for Lewis in a pass-catching role in the Patriots backfield. White thrived in absence of Lewis last year averaging 12.77 PPR points per game after his injury. He is a road underdog against the Cardinals, who are near the bottom of the league in RB aFPA. White received 12.1 percent of the carries and 10.8 percent of the targets inside the 10-yard line for the Patriots in 2015. The Patriots will be without starting QB Tom Brady (suspension), but the Patriots could be behind in this game and will have to pass. White will be a weak RB2 against the Cardinals.
Fantasy Upside
James White showed relevance in PPR leagues last season from Week 8 on after Dion Lewis went down to injury. Including playoffs, in his past eight games he averaged 7.4 targets per game including whopping 16 targets against Denver in the AFC Championship Game.
Fantasy Downside
He is squarely behind Dion Lewis for passing down work and there was even talk he may lose his roster spot to an UDFA earlier this offseason. His value in fantasy is purely dependent on if Lewis can stay healthy.
2016 Bottom Line
In PPR leagues he flashed relevance in 2015 but this year he is buried on a depth chart filled with talented receiving options. He is not worth drafting in standard leagues.
