Analyze Jerome Ford's matchup for week 7
Even with Miami hemorrhaging 168.5 rushing yards a game, Ford has become an afterthought behind rookie Quinshon Judkins, averaging 3.3 touches and 2.3 fantasy points over his last three outings, making him a clear bench in Week 7.
The Dolphins enter Week 7 dead-last in run defense (168.5 yds/gm, 32nd in DVOA) and just got gashed for 206 yards by Rico Dowdle, yet Ford is no longer the back positioned to exploit it. Rookie Quinshon Judkins has seized early-down and goal-line work, leaving Ford as a passing-down specialist who’s averaged 3.3 touches per game since Week 3. The matchup paper-champ narrative is fool’s gold for a player who hasn’t scored, hasn’t topped 5.4 fantasy points all year, and needs a fluky TD to matter.
A catastrophic collapse from 2024 promise—Ford has fallen from flex consideration to RB55 territory, logging single-digit touches in five straight games and averaging 2.3 PPR PPG with zero touchdowns.
Jerome Ford’s 2025 campaign is a case study in how quickly backfield roles can flip. After flashing usable explosiveness last year, he’s been reduced to a change-of-pace role, ceding the valuable early-down and red-zone work to rookie Quinshon Judkins. The numbers are stark: Ford hasn’t reached double-digit scrimmage yards in three of his last four games and has seen his carry total shrink every week since the opener. Offensive line injuries and a Browns offense scoring a league-worst 13.7 PPG further cap any touchdown upside, so even a historically generous Dolphins front seven can’t elevate his floor.
The macro factor is volume-based irrelevance. Miami’s inability to stop the run theoretically creates a smash spot, but only for the back actually touching the ball. Judkins is projected for 16–18 touches and goal-line looks, while Ford projects for 4–6 touches that rely on negative-game-script dump-offs. In that context, Ford’s 3.5-point fantasy projection feels generous; his median outcome is a handful of yards and no score, with a ceiling that requires a broken-play 40-yard TD or a two-minute-drill passing TD—scenarios that are possible but nowhere near probable enough to chase.
Bench management and roster construction are the final nails. Six teams on bye thin out lineups, yet Ford still isn’t startable in 12-team formats. Ty Chandler, Zamir White, Tyjae Spears and Elijah Mitchell all profile as higher-touch, higher-ceiling streamers who actually project for 10-plus touches. Unless you’re in a 16-team SuperFlex league where every RB touch is gold, Ford belongs on waivers, not in a starting lineup. Keep him glued to the bench and pivot to literally any back with a pulse and a path to 10 touches—your fantasy week will thank you.