PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 21: Head coach Doug Pederson of the Philadelphia Eagles talks with Corey Clement #30 of the Philadelphia Eagles prior to playing against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Fantasy Football 2018: Corey Clement Should be on Your Team

Fantasy Football 2018: Corey Clement Should be on Your Team, here’s why: He’s available — he won’t stay that way. Clement is owned in just 22% of ESPN leagues. Yo need to take that 22% with a grain of salt, its deceiving. This early in the season those ‘percent owned’ statistics are weighed down by uncompetitive leagues and leagues that drafted — then folded. I’d be willing to bet Clement’s availability is closer to 50% in competitive leagues.

Now that James Conner is a bonafide fantasy all-timer and T.J. Yeldon has been scooped up in competitive leagues there’s a vacancy atop the handcuff hierarchy. Who’s the next man up?

Corey Clement. In my opinion it’s a no-brainer.

Clement is now the #1 ranking member of the true handcuffs club. It’s a distinguished club with not as many members as you’d like to think. With the Eagles offensive line being arguably the best in the league and Doug Pederson’s penchant to run, Clement would step right into the Jay Ajayi role if Ajayi were to miss any time.

I began watching game film 5 years ago during the off-season leading up to my first dynasty league’s rookie draft. Watching college players on film tends to stick with you. I remember watching a kid in 2015 out of Northern Iowa that looked like a man among boys on the field. His ability to catch anything near him is what stood out in particular about 2016’s RB1, David Johnson. That same off-season I remember being a huge Zach Zenner fan. Three straight 2000 yard rushing seasons with multiple snow-covered-field game tapes — what’s not to love? Zenner was a South Dakota State legend.

Corey Clement first stood out to me while watching Melvin Gordon tape at Wisconsin before the 2015 draft. Gordon had an amazing 2014 season with close to 2600 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. That didn’t stop Clement from adding just under 1000 rushing yards of his own and 9 scores. Gordon declared for the 2015 NFL draft leaving Clement as the feature back for the Badgers at the beginning of 2015 season. A strained groin prior to Wisconsin’s first game of the year lingered for months making 2015 a lost season.

Clement was back in the same role as starting running back for the 2016 season. This time he played 13 games averaging 105 yards per game and scoring 15 touchdowns. Rumors circled around Madison, Wisconsin of Clement being a bad teammate and a hard to coach player. An incident that ended in Clement on the ground nearly hyperventilating when police arrived on the scene didn’t help his cause. The 21-year-old got into a verbal altercation then punched a man before being knocked to the ground and stomped. The hyperventilation was Clement’s internal struggle manifesting itself on the surface. He knew he had to change.

He entered the 2017 draft as my 6th ranked RB behind Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine. Clement slipped through the cracks before being signed as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2017 by the Philadelphia Eagles.

His performance during OTA’s and the Eagles 2017 training camp solidified his spot on the 53 man roster. He finished the regular season with 321 rushing yards, 123 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. Undrafted Clement’s dream season reached its pinnacle during Super Bowl 52. Clement had 100 yards receiving on 4 catches including a spectacular back of the end zone touchdown reception.

Corey Clement is one unfortunate injury to Jay Ajayi away from a large role in a run heavy, prolific offense with a great offensive line. The Eagles boast a stout defense that complements a running attack perfectly. He’s a no-brainer.

Go add Corey Clement to your team before someone beats you to it.

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