After his junior year at LSU, Spencer Ware declared for the 2013 NFL draft and was selected in the 6th round by the Seattle Seahawks. Ware was only active for 2 games with the Seahawks before being released in August of 2014. Four months later, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Ware to a 2-year futures contract through 2016. Ware has since signed another 2-year deal with Kansas City that will keep him in red through the 2018 season.

Ware spent the 2015 season as the backup to the backup, Charcandrick West. West took over the lead back role after Jamaal Charles tore his ACL in week 5 of the season. While West took on the role of lead back, Ware found himself getting more playing time and seeing more carries in the red zone. Ware ended 2015 with just 88 rushing attempts but found the end zone 7 of those 88 carries. Those numbers can’t be sustained by a RB but would surely make Matt Asiata blush.

2016 Value

Going into the 2016 season, most fantasy players expected Charles to recover from another knee injury and take control of the running game. West also seemed to be the backup while Ware might see some goal line carries. Goal line guys don’t get drafted early in drafts especially in heavy yardage or PPR leagues, thus Ware slipped down draft boards. However, it became evident early in training camp that Jamaal Charles wasn’t right and wasn’t going to contribute early in the year. Also evident was the fact that Ware had become the lead back in this offense after seeing preseason carries in all 4 games and West just in the opener.

During the regular season opener, Ware proved that he was much more than just a goal line back. Rushing for 70 yards on 11 attempts and catching another 7 passes for 129 yards. Ware has had an up and down year, having huge games followed by very pedestrian games against teams you wouldn’t expect pedestrian rushing lines. Ware has had 4 monster games, scoring 20 or more points in those games. On the flip side, he’s also had 4 games in single digits, including one against the Colts 21st ranked rush defense and another against the 25th ranked Raiders. The Colts game can be attributed to lack of touches, just 9, but the Raiders game was a poorly played game. Of the 12 games he has played this year, he’s scored 11.6 or under in 75% of those games. This puts him as RB16 in PPR format and just outside an RB1.

Dynasty Value

In my 14-team empire league, I witnessed a Spencer Ware for Dion Lewis and Brandin Cooks trade just this week. I’m still trying to wrap my head around Ware’s long-term value but feel that I would take the Lewis/Cooks side without hesitation.

Questions remain about the dynasty value of Spencer Ware. Will Jamaal Charles be back next year in Kansas City? He has a $7 million dollar cap hit but no dead money and he’ll be 30 years old at the start of next season and 31 by the end of it. Will West get a shot at the lead back role if Charles isn’t there? I highly doubt that, as he has shown nothing this year that would lead me to that conclusion. In the running-back-by-committee league we all play in, Ware appears to be the lead dog for the foreseeable future in KC.

Ware just turned 25 years old, leaving him a solid 3-4 years of productivity before the dreaded 30-year mark for running backs. I fully expect him to be at least RB16 next year and most likely in the top 12. I would feel confident in making a trade for Ware for the right price, I’d gladly trade a late first round pick for him.

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