Jonathan Taylor (ankle) has been placed on IR, sticking a fork in his season (after his one-touch Week 15 stuck a fork in the fantasy seasons of many of us, sorry to be selfish). But his absence creates an opportunity for others, including Zack Moss.
The Colts also have Deon Jackson, who had 13 carries and a short touchdown reception while the team was busy frittering away a 33-0 lead at Minnesota. But Moss carried 24 times for 81 yards, looking like he'll be their main ballcarrier in these final three games. He, I think, is one of the top waiver pickups of the week, for those still alive in the playoffs.
As it happens, the Colts host the Chargers, who are ranked just 28th in run defense this season. Assuming Indianapolis can get it together after last week's unprecedented collapse, Moss (and probably Jackson, too) should be pretty good in this matchup.
Things didn't work out for Moss in Buffalo, but I've always kind of liked the guy. He flashed some talent, at times, when given an opportunity, running hard and breaking tackles. Kind of a destitute man's Marshawn Lynch, if you will. He ain't Beast Mode, but maybe he can be, I don't know, Labrador Mode or something.
Over the past three seasons, Moss has had at least 6 carries in a game 20 times. He's finished with double-digit fantasy points in half of those games, 8-plus in five others. That's PPR scoring. Aside from perhaps Gardner Minshew, there probably aren't many other serviceable options on waivers for Week 17.
| ZACK MOSS WITH 6+ ATTEMPTS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Att | Run | No | Rec | TD | PPR |
| 2020 | N.E. | 14 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20.1 |
| 2021 | Was. | 13 | 60 | 3 | 31 | 1 | 18.1 |
| 2021 | at Mia. | 8 | 26 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 17.4 |
| 2020 | Sea. | 9 | 18 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 12.8 |
| 2020 | at N.E. | 12 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12.7 |
| 2021 | at K.C. | 11 | 37 | 3 | 55 | 0 | 12.2 |
| 2021 | Hou. | 14 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12.1 |
| 2021 | Mia. | 8 | 19 | 6 | 39 | 0 | 11.8 |
| 2020 | NYJ | 9 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 11.7 |
| 2020 | at NYJ | 7 | 47 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 10.2 |
| 2022 | at LAR | 6 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 9.6 |
| 2020 | LAC | 9 | 59 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 8.8 |
| 2021 | at NYJ | 7 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.7 |
| 2022 | at Min. | 24 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 |
| 2020 | at Den. | 13 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 |
| 2021 | at Ten. | 8 | 24 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 5.9 |
| 2021 | N.E. | 8 | 21 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 5.3 |
| 2020 | Pit. | 13 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 |
| 2020 | at Mia. | 8 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 |
| 2020 | at Ariz. | 7 | 20 | 1 | -3 | 0 | 2.7 |
All of those games were with Buffalo except for the one against Minnesota last week (in bold).
Moss will probably play in a committee with Jackson, so he's also a viable pickup. But seems like the team will want to see what Moss can do as it limps to the finish line.
--Andy Richardson