Vox Talks: Kareem Hunt

Matt Price

Welcome back to another edition of Vox Talks; the series that peels back the curtain on the private DLF writer Voxer chat.

With Spencer Ware now out for the season and possibly his career, rookie Kareem Hunt has been thrust into the spotlight. We are at a juncture in his value, and if you are a Hunt owner it’s imperative you have clarity on both his value to your team and his market value within your league.

If you selected Hunt in your rookie draft then it’s likely you are a contender, so he may not be a vital part of your roster and you may consider selling. With this in mind, this voxer discussion centered around what to do with Kareem Hunt on a playoff caliber contending team; buy, sell, or hold.

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TheFFGhost is holding. “I’ve spent most of the off-season acquiring him, so now is my chance to see my efforts pay off. Hunt finds himself in a position to potentially be the most productive rookie running back this season, a pleasant surprise for most of his dynasty owners who were middle of the pack teams when they pulled the trigger on him in rookie drafts.”

Senior Partner Ken Moody is in agreement. “On a contender, I’m absolutely holding. Unless you can somehow package and/or flip him for a more valuable asset that can contribute this year as well as have long term value, he provides exactly what you are looking for on a contending team. He may not be your #1 running back, and if he is, you’re probably not a contender, but at worst he’s a solid flex play.”

Peter Howard recently published an article on DLF looking at the Hunt situation and is generally fading Hunt, but had this to say: “On a contender, he’s a hold so long as you drafted him but I’d listen to offers and see if I got one for a more established top 15 RB.

Brian Malone is buying. “His price has not caught up to his situation. I prefer him to Joe Mixon in redraft, and if he meets expectations in 2017, he’ll be way, way more valuable next off-season than he is now.” Jeff Miller agrees: “I am with Brian. Hunt is still too cheap considering the workload in that offense. He lacks the theoretical ceiling of the four backs taken in front of him, but his floor this year and probably for his career is higher than all of them. He doesn’t carry the injury concerns of Cook or Fournette or the workload/transition/concerns of Christian McCaffrey, and, of course, he doesn’t have the off-field baggage of Mixon.”

screen shot 2017 09 07 at 08.29.08 The Kansas City rookie’s ADP has been steadily rising since April to 81 overall in August mocks. These were completed well in advance of Ware’s knee injury, however, and it will certainly rise this month. I asked Ryan McDowell, compiler of dynasty ADP how high he thinks Hunt’s ADP could rise from August to September and he believes the 40s and possibly high 30s is in the conversation. “Dynasty owners want to be the guy that takes players like Hunt. It’s almost like a race to see who can take them first.”

I can definitely see that happening. In August ADP, the running backs coming off the board in the 40s were DeMarco Murray (RB14, 43.83 overall), Lamar Miller (RB15, 44.13 overall), Derrick Henry (RB16, 45.17 overall), and Ty Montgomery (RB17, 48.67 overall). I think it’s likely Hunt passes all of those backs and comes in at the RB12-14 range, the same area where fellow rookie Dalvin Cook (RB13, 35.33 overall). Personally, I’ve moved him up to RB13 just behind Cook.

So, what are you doing with Kareem Hunt?

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matt price