Getty New York Jets RB Elijah McGuire
Elijah McGuire is eligible to return from the injured reserve in Week 9, not long after his fellow New York Jets running back Bilal Powell went on injured reserve with a neck injury sustained in a Week 7 loss.
McGuire returned to practice on October 17.
Though the team will likely lean heavily upon Isaiah Crowell in Powell’s absence, McGuire’s ability as a pass catcher makes him an intriguing fantasy football option for the rest of the season, particularly in PPR leagues.
The running back out of UL Lafayette broke his foot in July and underwent surgery. He missed all four preseason games before the team placed him on injured reserve.
Should You Pick Up Elijah McGuire?
As a rookie in 2017, McGuire was on the field for just 25.7 percent of New York’s offensive snaps, behind Powell and Matt Forte. He did a lot of his damage through the air, catching 17 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. McGuire also carried 88 times for 315 yards and a score, playing in all 16 of the Jets’ games.
The 24-year-old was adept in the passing game in college, too, snagging 130 passes for 1,394 yards and 10 touchdowns in his four years. He also finished his college career with three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, averaging 6.1 yards per carry across all four years.
Crowell and Powell almost perfectly split touches across the team’s first seven games — 91 for Powell and 90 for Crowell. Because of McGuire’s similar skill set as a smaller, quicker back with more receiving skills, there’s a good chance the team will hand Powell’s role, and all the touches that go with it, to the second-year pro with no increase in Crowell’s usage.
Plus, due to McGuire’s age and New York’s 3-4 record, the sixth-round pick offers more upside than Powell. Should the running back perform well with fresh legs and an increased role, Jets head coach Todd Bowles could opt to feed McGuire more to see what the team has in him.
Also in McGuire’s favor — should he return for Week 9, three of his first five games will come against some of the softest defenses for fantasy running backs. In that first game back, he’d take on a Miami Dolphins squad that’s surrendered the third-most fantasy points per game to running backs in standard leagues, and he has matchups with the Buffalo Bills (10th-most fantasy points per game to RBs) in Weeks 10 and 14.
McGuire’s only owned in 0.5 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues and 2 percent of Yahoo leagues. If you don’t need a back for the coming weekend, other hot Week 8 pickups — like Jalen Richard and Marlon Mack — have already been scooped, and you have a drop candidate, McGuire is a solid option with some upside.