Lamar Miller is one of those running backs who are kind of just “there.” He isn't an elite rusher like Todd Gurley or Ezekiel Elliott, and he isn't a versatile, do-it-all back like Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey. He also is hardly a bum. Miller finds himself right smack dab in the middle, a running back who is absolutely good enough to be a featured back on an NFL team but also not good enough to be a very high pick in Fantasy Football.
So, that begs the question: just where should you target Miller in your Fantasy draft heading into 2019?
Miller is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he rushed for 973 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. That's solid. However, he caught just 25 passes for 163 yards and a score, which is pretty lousy.
The 28-year-old says he is committed to becoming a better receiver out of the backfield, but it's hard to see Miller suddenly developing into a premier pass-catching threat.
To be fair, Miller did catch 47 passes during his final season with the Miami Dolphins back in 2015, but he totaled just 397 yards and a couple of touchdowns, so his impact, for the most part, was relatively minimal.
It's hard to recommend taking Miller as a No. 1 back in Fantasy.
He has rushed for over 1,000 yards twice in his NFL career, most recently doing it in 2016 when he accumulated 1,073 yards during his first season with the Texans, but he has never reached 1,100 yards.
Miller has also never totaled more than eight touchdowns on the ground in a single season, and he hasn't even done that since 2015. As a matter of fact, he has recorded just 13 rushing scores combined over the last three years.
As you can see, Miller has not really put forth elite production throughout his NFL career.
It's also important to remember that the Texans will be getting fellow running back D'Onta Foreman back from injury this season, so if Foreman can stay healthy, Miller's carries will get trimmed, and given that Foreman is a 6-foot-1, 236-pound bruiser, he will likely steal away some touchdown opportunities from Miller at the goal line.
One positive that Miller does have in his corner is that he has been able to stay on the field throughout most of his career, as he has missed just seven games over seven NFL seasons. So, at the very least, you have a guy who is going to be reliable.
But reliability does not always equal success.
Because Miller does not have a very extensive track record of racking up a whole lot of rushing statistics and also isn't much of a receiver out of the backfield, you shouldn't be looking to take Miller any earlier than the fifth round, and even that might be a stretch.
Miller is really a No. 2 running back in Fantasy and is certainly not someone who should be targeting going into the draft. He is the type of guy who could be a steal in the later rounds, but early in the draft, you're much better off looking at other options.
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