Mikel Leshoure: Insane Performance Makes RB Fantasy Must-Start Moving Forward

After a thrilling, three-touchdown performance in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, go ahead and move stud Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure into your every-week starter's role in fantasy football.

It's a no-brainer.

We saw earlier in the season what Leshoure can do when he gets enough carries—100 yards and a score on 26 carries against the Titans in Week 3—and he showed us once again versus another AFC South team.

Leshoure took three of his 16 carries into the end zone, adding 70 yards in what ended up as a 25-point fantasy performance, according to ESPN Fantasy Football. 

If you're worried about Leshoure getting enough attention from this pass-happy Lions offense, throw away your worries. The man has averaged more than 15 carries per game in his last six games. 

The 22-year-old from Illinois has notched at least 10 carries each game since his breakout performance against the Titans, but struggled to find the end zone, going scoreless in each of his last four games. That was until Sunday, when he showed us that he's obviously been working in practice toward becoming a goal-line threat. 

Racking up yards is crucial to any fantasy running back, but nothing can be regarded as more important than scoring touchdowns.

Leshoure showed this week that he's capable of getting into the end zone, which was perhaps the only knock on his fantasy value previously.

Since he certainly has the body type to punch it in, all we needed to see was some evidence, and a three-touchdown performance speaks volumes in that department. The Lions have had tons of trouble scoring touchdowns this season, and finally having a goal-line threat in the backfield will help their offense as well as Leshoure's numbers.

Leshoure quickly shifted from a player who barely made the roster to a nearly every-down back for the Lions, and that type of improvement should translate to your fantasy roster.

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