Ronnie Hillman's Updated Fantasy Outlook After Montee Ball's Injury

Updates from Tuesday, Oct. 7

Cecil Lammey of ESPN Denver broke down the Broncos' offensive line and Hillman's performance so far this year:

Updates from Monday, Oct. 6

Mike Klis of The Denver Post reported the latest on Montee Ball's status:

Matthew Berry of ESPN weighed in on fantasy options in Ball's absence:

Original Text

Denver Broncos running back Montee Ball left Sunday's contest against the Arizona Cardinals with an apparent groin injury, and according to the team's official Twitter account, his return was deemed questionable:

Following the game, Mike Klis of The Denver Post reported Ball could be "out for a while."

Ronnie Hillman entered the game as Ball's replacement. The starter continued to struggle during the game, carrying the ball six times for just seven yards before exiting.     

Immediately, Hillman looked more explosive than his backfield counterpart, rattling off a 16-yard scamper out of the gate. Chris Wesseling of Around The NFL tweeted his early fantasy take:

Hillman finished the game with this stat line:

Player	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
Ronnie Hillman	15	64	4.3	0

Those aren't bad numbers, but still, fantasy owners should keep expectations tempered.

Should Ball miss a significant amount of time, Hillman will certainly be worth a waiver-wire addition in all fantasy formats despite Denver's lack of a running game. Although, Denver only averaged 23.7 rushes per game through three contests this season, via TeamRankings.com. And considering Hillman's career average of 3.9 yards per rush, he shouldn't be expected to put up big numbers on a regular basis.

Adding to Hillman's limited ceiling was running back Juwan Thompson. Although he only rushed three times for 15 yards against the Cardinals, he received a carry inside the 10-yard line which resulted in a touchdown.

Hillman should be considered a low-end RB2 or FLEX going forward. The Broncos feature a pass-first offense and, while the third-year running back should expect to see the bulk of the workload, he will be a risky option against better run defenses.