Branden Oliver Will Maintain Fantasy Football Value Throughout 2014 NFL Season

Despite being a long shot to make the San Diego Chargers' roster out of training camp, running back Branden Oliver has emerged as a fantasy football star.

As unlikely as it may seem, that won't be changing any time soon.

Aside from western New Yorkers and Middle Atlantic Conference football connoisseurs, it is fair to say that most people had never heard of the undrafted rookie out of the University at Buffalo prior to the Bolts' Week 5 game against the New York Jets.

Following a dominant relief outing in that game and a 100-yard rushing effort in his first career NFL start against the Oakland Raiders in Week 6, Oliver is suddenly the hottest commodity in fantasy and a shocking Offensive Rookie of the Year contender.

Oliver's hard work during the preseason earned him a roster spot, but it took a chain of events to thrust him into this position.

Starting running back Ryan Mathews went down with a sprained MCL. Backup Danny Woodhead was lost for the season after breaking his fibula. Just when it seemed like the worst was over, Donald Brown was forced to leave the Jets game due to a concussion.

With essentially no other options for the Chargers to turn to, the 5'7", 208-pound Oliver took the reins. He proceeded to rack up 182 total yards and two touchdowns against the Jets before following that up with 101 rushing yards and a score in a win over Oakland.

As pointed out by NFL.com's Gil Brandt, that gives Oliver ridiculous two-game totals since taking over the lead rushing duties:

The most impressive thing about Oliver's emergence has been his ability to make an impact seemingly out of nowhere. Even though the 23-year-old back had just 12 carries in the Chargers' first four games, he is easily the team's leading rusher, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk:

Oliver has taken a lot of the pressure off quarterback Philip Rivers' shoulders over the past couple of games and added balance to the offense against all odds.

Most probably figured that San Diego would abandon the run completely with so many backs on the shelf, but the running game has actually gotten stronger.

Even though Mathews and Brown are due back at some point, head coach Mike McCoy has no choice but to continue utilizing Oliver within the offense. His dynamism adds a different dimension to the team, and he has already earned the respect of his teammates as well.

Even veteran Ronnie Brown, who was recently signed in the wake of San Diego's rash of running back injuries, has already taken a liking to his diminutive backfield mate, according to Ricky Henne of Chargers.com.

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The game is just not too big for him. This is two games in a row he's doing a great job running the football. The team pretty much put the game on his back, and he's doing a great job responding. I think he expects to do great, and that's just a part of being a young guy coming in.

"

It is easy to see why so many people are already lauding Oliver for his level of play, and conventional wisdom suggests that he will only continue to get better.

Oliver will likely remain San Diego's No. 1 back for the foreseeable future, as Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego reports Mathews still isn't running and Brown has yet to return to practice. Even when they do come back, though, there will be a huge role still available for Oliver.

One of the biggest things working in his favor is the fact that he has proven to be a competent pass-catcher. He has four receptions in each of San Diego's past three games and is the logical choice as the Chargers' third-down back regardless of who else is healthy.

In fact, due to Oliver's great hands and electrifying speed, ESPN's Andrew Brandt is one of many who have compared him to former Charger Darren Sproles:

Oliver is different from Sproles in that he is a tougher runner who is better between the tackles, but there are definite parallels. McCoy likes to use receiving backs, as evidenced by Woodhead's 76 catches last year, so Oliver should be used in that manner at the very least.

Even though the rookie's carries are bound to go down when Mathews is healthy, there are plenty of teams that have more than one productive fantasy back.

San Diego has one of the NFL's best offenses, and it can definitely support multiple fantasy commodities in the backfield.

Oliver was a relative unknown just a few weeks ago, but he is the real deal and should be owned in each and every fantasy league at this point.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.