Labor Day was supposed to be the day that Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon would put aside their differences, show up in time to prepare for Week 1, and get themselves back in fantasy football owners' good graces. As I type, it's Monday morning, less than a week until the Cowboys and Chargers get their seasons underway, and Elliott and Gordon still haven't come walking through their teams' doors. These potential top-10 fantasy assets are still holding out, shaking up pre-draft and Week 1 rankings.
Things could still change in an instant, but it doesn't seem highly probable that Elliott or Gordon will show up on the day that brought Le'Veon Bell (in 2017) and Aaron Donald ('18) out of their holdouts in recent years. If you haven't drafted yet, these players have become less and less touchable. If you have, and you own one, it's time to really start thinking about alternatives.
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DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2019 Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Ezekiel Elliott fantasy outlook
Over the weekend, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram suggested that Zeke and the Cowboys were "moving toward a deal," and that's after Adam Schefter reported that the sides hoped to close a deal over the weekend.
As of Monday morning, though, Yahoo is reporting that the Cowboys were "frustrated" by their latest exchanges with Elliott, while NFL Network has reported that a deal is "not close." Dallas kicks off its season in six days.
If we assume Zeke still was going to show up this week, the longer he pushes it, the less likely he can handle a full workload in the season's first week. And if the latest reports are the correct indication, we might not see Elliott this week at all.
If you draft or own Elliott, hopefully you can get rookie RB Tony Pollard. He'll start for as long as Elliott is out. Pollard looked very effective in the preseason and earned a lot of praise from Cowboys' personnel, and he'll get to run behind the offensive line we ranked best in football. If you play it right in your drafts, you could have Pollard as a starter until Elliott returns, then plug Zeke right back in. It would be a bizarre fantasy platoon that could equal a combined top-10 RB over the course of the season. If you've drafted, own Zeke, and don't own Pollard, see if either of Frank Gore or Devin Singletary from Buffalo are available or Carlos Hyde from Houston, all of whom saw their roles shift after roster moves this weekend.
2019 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker | Top 200
Melvin Gordon fantasy outlook
Over the weekend, NFL Network reported that the Chargers granted Gordon permission to seek a trade. A day later, The Athletic reported that the Chargers informed Gordon that they're suspending contract negotiations until after the season. That means Gordon's options are to show up and play on his current deal, which earns him $330,000 per week, or continue holding out in hopes of a trade. Either way, Gordon will need to play in six games this season to avoid "tolling" his contract and not becoming a free agent.
2019 PPR RANKINGS:
Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | Top 200
If you're still drafting, it seems wise to just avoid Gordon altogether. Austin Ekeler should get the majority of Chargers' running back touches, making him a solid mid-round target. If you already drafted Gordon, there's a chance Justin Jackson is still available on the waiver wire. Jackson should get some touches in L.A., too, while Gordon's out.
If you need a different stopgap option, check in on Gore, Singletary and Hyde. If your league is too deep for even those players to be available, maybe Houston's Karan Higdon could still be more valuable than Hyde in the long run. You could also target a potential PPR option in the Jets' Ty Montgomery.