Fantasy Football Week 6: Insider Notebook and Preview

You want to know why running back remains the most pivotal fantasy football position even in a pass-happy era? There is no such thing as a wide receiver that becomes a team's feature player because of injury. Also, waiver replacements are a dime a dozen at the receiver and tight end positions—and elite starting quarterbacks very rarely go down.

Running backs, on the other hand...well, we found some new potential monsters to scoop off waivers heading into Week 6.

This is easily the most intriguing waiver-wire run of the season. It only took until October for one like this to come.

Ronnie Hillman, Branden Oliver and Andre Williams are three must-add running backs off waivers after the likes of Montee Ball (groin), Donald Brown (concussion) and Rashad Jennings (knee) went down. Williams is the superior talent, Oliver is coming off the biggest performance and Hillman is the one taking over in the most potent offense.

All three have their merits to be the first off waivers by Wednesday morning. We handicap this terrific trio on their short-term contributions, but don't be fooled by the order we discuss them in.

RB Ronnie Hillman, Denver Broncos

We have seen enough of the Denver Broncos' Hillman to know we just shouldn't trust him in fantasy, but the fact he is going to take over as the starting running back in arguably the best offense in football certainly gives him a case to be the cream of this crop.

Peyton Manning knows Hillman is capable of solid production and can be a breakaway back until Ball returns in a few weeks.

"When (Hillman) has the ball in his hands, he can make the one cut and burst for that 12- or 15-yard gain. ...It's just a matter of Ronnie being consistent," Manning told Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post.

Grinder C.J. Anderson was a healthy inactive Sunday, but we predict he will be activated to do the short-yardage and goal-line work. Rookie Juwan Thompson has shown some flashes, but he figures to be Hillman insurance more than anything.

Ball told The Denver Post's Mike Klis:

"

They did a lot of great things (Sunday). They showed they're capable of stepping up and taking the reps when needed. And I told them, all of them on Day One, I said, 'We're going to need every single one of you guys.' And that's proven.

"

If not for the Broncos facing the New York Jets run defense—still one to fear for your fantasy running backs after it was ripped by Oliver on Sunday—we would suggest picking up Anderson for his potential to vulture a goal-line touchdown. In fact, the Broncos face three of the NFL's top 10 run defenses the three weeks Ball might miss: the Jets (No. 7), the San Francisco 49ers (No. 5) and the San Diego Chargers (No. 10).

So, if you miss out on Hillman, it might not be such a bad thing.

RB Branden Oliver, San Diego Chargers

Oliver looks like a fantasy revelation, as much as the second coming of former Charger Darren Sproles. He even wears the same number (43) and has a similar squatty build at 5'8". Rip the Sproles name off the back and slap Oliver's on there.

The only difference is Oliver is a little bit bulkier (about 210 pounds), so he's therefore capable of being more a feature back than Sproles ever was.

"He reminds me so much of Sproles," longtime Chargers tight end Antonio Gates told Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego. "And I played with Sproles so many years. It's crazy. He's Sproles, with a little bit more power."

With Ryan Mathews "out probably at least another week and more likely two," per Acee, we should expect Oliver to lead the Chargers' revitalized running game. After all, this undrafted rookie just got done ripping a defense that was No. 1 in the NFL in rushing and No. 1 in fantasy against running backs, as Oliver reminded Acee.

"

I've been running like that my whole life. In the backyard with my brothers, they were always faster than me, so I had to...learn how to cut back, duck underneath people. ... It was against the No. 1 rushing defense in the league.

"

Brown, regardless of whether or not he clears the NFL's concussion protocol, won't be getting in Oliver's way now. Defenses might not either.

Next up on the schedule for Oliver is the Oakland Raiders—i.e., the fourth-worst defense in fantasy against running backs (FFToday.com). Giddy up.

RB Andre Williams, New York Giants

Last but not least—actually, most important—we come to Giants rookie Williams. Here is a budding fantasy monster that might be more than just a replacement option for a few weeks; he has a legit shot at becoming a fantasy monster for years.

Rashad Jennings has a sprained MCL, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, which might be the longest-term injury of the top three waiver backs here. Williams was also someone drafted to be the Giants' running back of the future. That future is now, heading into a pair of pivotal NFC East battles against the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys each of the next two weeks (before a Week 8 bye).

Those are two bottom-10 teams against the run, mind you. Williams is ready to step forward, head coach Tom Coughlin told the Post's Lewis:

"

I’m very confident [in him]. The other thing that he did that was great was the third-and-7 first-down run. A lot of that was on his own, outside the flank of our blockers. He was able to pick up that first down. When you have a young guy, you really get into great detail even more about pass protection. He's done a good job when he's been in there. He's going to have to do even better.

"

Williams won't be a pass receiver, but he will get a lot of snaps for the Giants in favorable fantasy matchups. Peyton Hillis is the only other running back on the Giants' active roster coming out of Week 5.

Sunday's 65 yards rushing, 18 receiving (two catches) and a touchdown in each of the past two games is just a start for Williams, veteran Jennings told Kieran Darcy of ESPNNewYork.com.

"

He's a guy that came in and kind of has been under my wing as soon as he stepped in the door, so I'm happy to see him get his feet wet and continue to grow. He's going to be a dominant player in this league.

"

With Bishop Sankey, Jeremy Hill and Carlos Hyde—not to mention the Cleveland Browns' Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell behind Ben Tate—squarely in timeshares right now, Williams has emerged as the No. 1 rookie back in fantasy.

And, yes, that means Williams is superior to even Oliver in the short and long term.

Waiver-Wire Favorites

Just the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs are on bye this week, but that does sap us of regular starters Jamaal Charles, Jimmy Graham, Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Khiry Robinson and Travis Kelce. We do get the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins off bye, including Knowshon Moreno, who was a surprise participant in practice Monday, according to Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The waiver wire this week isn't about solving bye weeks as much as finding injury replacements. There are a lot of real promising options to pick through, even after Williams, Oliver and Hillman. We present FantasyPros.com's weekly consensus rankings of the top options off waivers:

RK	Player	POS	TM	Consensus	Best RK	Worst RK
1	Ronnie Hillman	RB	DEN	1	1	1
2	Andre Williams	RB	NYG	3.3	2	12
3	Branden Oliver	RB	SD	3.9	3	7
4	Justin Hunter	WR	TEN	4.6	4	8
5	Benny Cunningham	RB	STL	5.8	3	7
6	Davante Adams	WR	GB	6.2	2	12
7	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	NYG	6.4	3	10
8	Marvin Jones	WR	CIN	7.4	5	9
9	Allen Robinson	WR	JAC	9.8	8	13
10	Tim Wright	TE	NE	11.4	6	15
11	C.J. Anderson	RB	DEN	13	8	19
12	Antone Smith	RB	ATL	13.2	4	19
13	Darrin Reaves	RB	CAR	13.6	10	19
14	Storm Johnson	RB	JAC	14.4	12	20
15	Jared Cook	TE	STL	14.4	9	18
16	Malcom Floyd	WR	SD	15	7	21
17	Mohamed Sanu	WR	CIN	16	13	19
18	Andre Holmes	WR	OAK	16.2	13	20
19	Jarius Wright	WR	MIN	17.8	11	21
20	Louis Murphy	WR	TB	18	15	20
21	George Winn	RB	DET	18.4	14	21

Thursday Night Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Indianapolis Colts

Start: Andrew Luck, Ahmad Bradshaw, T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, Adam Vinatieri

Sit: Trent Richardson, Hakeem Nicks, Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Colts D/ST

The Houston Texans are mostly in the middle of the pack of fantasy as an opposition, although they are in the bottom 10 against fantasy receivers. The tight ends, Allen before Fleener, and Nicks can start, as necessary. This game should be closer to the Baltimore Ravens one last week for the Colts statistically.

Houston Texans

Start: Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins

Sit: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Alfred Blue, Garrett Graham, Randy Bullock, Texans D/ST

Foster proved healthy and productive, so you have to keep him active in all leagues, particularly against a defense that has given up the second-most rushing touchdowns to date (tied), per FFToday.com. The Colts are a bit surprisingly fourth best against fantasy wideouts, but we have to figure the Texans will be playing catch-up with Luck and the Colts, forcing Johnson and Hopkins to be productive late.

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Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.