New York Jets

Matt Forte: Week 1 Fantasy Football Rapid Reaction

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:25 p.m. ET

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Sep 11, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Matt Forte (22) runs the ball against Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams (36) during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back NFL! After an exhilarating opening weekend of football, we get to reflect after week 1 and take stock of our fantasy football rosters. Watching football on Sunday, I sat back and got to watch players in real game action and understand how their first real performance on the field matched up with my pre-season expectations. One player that I and may others may have under-valued is New York Jets running back Matt Forte.

Forte came to the Jets in the off-season, replacing the reigning AFC rushing leader Chris Ivory who bolted for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Forte in his final season in Chicago left the Windy City banged up, playing only 13 games in 2015 and rushing for only 898 yards which was his lowest professional total in any season. The question was, how much did the 30-year-old running back have left in the tank?

In the off-season, much of the usual rhetoric could be heard around Forte with people saying he is finally healthy and he has never looked better. Many fantasy experts, including me, shrugged off the hype around Forte which resulted in a pedestrian ADP among running backs at #17 according to Fantasy Pros.

Forte slogged through the preseason with the Jets, amassing only 28 yards on 10 carries in just one game of action and many wondered what to expect of the Jets new running back acquisition. Joining an offense that put up elite passing numbers the previous season and with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick back in the fold, would the Jets continue their offensive evolution towards a spread passing team and how would Forte fit in?

Sep 11, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Matt Forte (22) runs over Cincinnati Bengals strong safety Shawn Williams (36) in the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

In Sunday’s opening game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Matt Forte showed all of us who had over looked him in fantasy football drafts that we may have made a mistake.

Forte looked explosive, showing the burst and power that had made him one of the best running backs in the league in his time with the Bears.

Forte ended the day with 22 carries for 96 yards and hauled in 5 of his 7 targets for an additional 59 yards through the air. Forte dominated the backfield touches and was responsible for 40% of the touches across the entire Jets offense.

Across the entire NFL, Forte had the third most carries and second most targets of any running back and was a clear focal point of the offense.The 4.4 yards per carry Forte amassed showed the burst he had when touching the ball and more importantly to me, it was his key involvement in the passing game that showed how critical Forte would be to this offense going forward.

The Jets passing attack is clearly led by Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, but without a true slot threat and a lack of a receiving tight end, the ability to have a pass-catching running back in Chan Gailey’s system puts Forte in an elite position to dominates touches.

One of the reasons the Jets were comfortable letting Ivory walk away was that they needed a more versatile back that would work in Gailey’s spread offense and catch passes out of the backfield. Forte’s 7 targets were tied with Eric Decker and one behind Brandon Marshall for the team lead which shows just how involved Forte will be week in and week out.

After his week 1 performance and his dominant role in the offense, it appears that Forte was a bit undervalued heading into this season. If Forte can continue to stay healthy, he is part of one of the best offensive units in football and is a clear top-tier running back we can feel comfortable building our rosters around!