Running Back 29 – Breece Hall NYJ
Breece Hall was THE MAN at this point last year. More hype and buyer craze than a 2010 sale the Friday after Thanksgiving. He was one of the most hyped running backs (RB) since S. Barkley NYG. This applies to dynasty, redraft, bestball, and other formats. He was playing well, and looked to deliver as promised. In 7 games, he started 2 and had 681 scrimmage yards, 5 touchdowns, and 19 receptions. He was on pace to double if not triple some of those numbers. He did suffer a gruesome injury to his knee, a torn ACL. The Jets have openly declared they will not rush him back from the injury, and have been seeking RBs on the open market.
Breece is still hyped up this year, but the RB room for the New York Jets is a crowded one, and the Jets have playoff aspirations. This could be seen from Robert Saleh in the opening team scene of Hard Knocks on HBOMAX. Hall will be a critical part of their success but he could experience load management during the season. He still is a fringe RB 2/3 and could improve on those numbers once healthy. His ADP is currently at 31 but higher in certain formats. Just temper expectations on the hyped RB.

Linebacker 29 – Shaquille Leonard IND
Oh how the mighty have falling. The perennial All-Pro experienced by far the worst season of his career. He has had several injuries, two back surgeries, a broken nose, and a concussion. He has returned to 11-on-11 full practice with pads during the early part of training camp. This is a great sign for Leonard, but he could miss some snaps or share some snaps to begin the season. He is without question one of the best linebackers (LB) in the league when healthy and it reflects with his four All-Pro seasons. He has never had less than 121 tackles when playing more than 13 games.
His furious style and high football awareness leads to several plays more valuable than tackles. He has 31 passes defended, 12 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, and 15 sacks in only 59 started games. Should he return to All-Pro form he would be considered a steal at his current double-digit ADP. Draft Leonard and hope that he is back to 100% healthy.

Thank you for reading Mano y Mano. Check in tomorrow for RB & LB #28.
Bet Smart, Be Lucky – Iggy

*Stats come from FantasyPros, Pro Football Reference, Sleeper, and NFL/Next Gen.
*Rankings are based on .5 PPR format and FF7s.