Ben Tate's Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 5

The 2014 fantasy football season passed quickly by Cleveland Browns running back Ben Tate, perhaps faster than any owner who took the gamble on him could have ever imagined.

One of last offseason's breakout darlings thanks to decent production as a backup to Arian Foster before finally landing a starting gig, Tate's injury history seemed to be a non-conversation.

He made it all of six carries into his new job before departing with another issue.

Tate is back practicing with the team after missing two games and resting on a bye week. As a brief refresher, let's take a look at his numbers that made him a top-30 drafted fantasy back after landing in Cleveland:

Year	G	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
2011	15	175	942	5.4	4
2012	11	65	279	4.3	2
2013	14	181	771	4.3	4

Obviously, the problem there is the string of missed games thanks to ankle, back, hip, shoulder, head, hamstring and foot issues, among other things.

Things are more convoluted than ever surrounding Tate now, whereas it was cut and dry in Houston—Foster was the starter unless hurt, hands down. A pair of rookies—Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell—have since taken the proverbial bull by the horns:

NAME	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	Fantasy Points (RB Rank)
Terrance West	47	204	4.3	2	33 (22)
Isaiah Crowell	27	141	5.2	3	31 (23)

Alas, coach Mike Pettine says Tate will most certainly see action in Week 5 against Tennessee, barring a health setback. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com has the scoop:

That said, a mere week and change ago, the staff sounded as if the effectiveness of the rookies would leave the door open for a committee approach, per Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com:

The point is, Cleveland is no longer Tate's backfield, a situation most owners drafted him for to begin with despite the red flags. ESPN.com's Tony Grossi goes as far as to guess that Tate will receive all of 15 totes, while the rookies will combine for 10.

Which is a shame, too, at least for owners. The Week 5 matchup is a great one against a Titans defense that currently surrenders the ninth-most points to running backs this season.

Let's look through a more long-term lens for a moment, because the overarching outlook certainly applies to this week's game as well as the rest of the season. To say a decent chunk of the remaining Cleveland schedule is conductive to massive running back fantasy production would be an understatement:

WK	OPP	Rank vs. RBs (Avg. points surrendered)
5	@Ten	24 (20.0)
6	Pit	14 (15.5)
7	@Jac	30 (23.8)
8	Oak	27 (21.3)
9	TB	12 (14.3)
10	@Cin	10 (12.3)
11	Hou	18 (18.3)
12	@Atl	32 (29.5)
13	@Buf	6 (10.3)
14	Ind	20 (19.3)
15	Cin	10 (12.3)
16	@Car	25 (20.8)
17	@Bal	7 (11.0)

While Tate has past production to justify a start and averaged 6.8 yards per carry on his six attempts against Pittsburgh, it is quite clear that his situation, injury history and upcoming schedule very much make him a week-to-week fantasy commodity.

It makes sense to give Tate the nod in games against weak opponents such as Tennessee, Jacksonville and Atlanta, but there is little reason to have him in the lineup for a pair of games against Cincinnati or in Buffalo later in the season.

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What is happening here is a good problem to have for the coaching staff. Fresh, effective legs three spots deep on the depth chart take pressure off quarterbacks. For owners, though, it is a nightmare situation. 

A committee approach is the last thing owners who drafted Tate needed. Really, shipping Tate off via trade now that he is healthy would be a sly maneuver.

For those who choose to stick with Tate, the formula this week against Tennessee is the same as each the rest of the year—monitor injury talk closely, which goes double for practice usage rates for each back.

Most of all, pray that when Tate is in lineups, a bad fumble (six lost in his career) or downright ineffectiveness does not see his usage dramatically dip. The talent is there, but the ideal situation is not, so proceed with caution beginning right now.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com. All average draft positions courtesy of FantasyFootballCalculator.com.