Fantasy Football Week 6: Which Backup RB Will Become the Best Starter?

Week 5 may have been a great week for quarterbacks named Manning and pass-catchers named Thomas, but it was not a great week for running backs.

The injury mosquito stung many starting running backs this past weekend, including the New York Giants' Rashad Jennings, Denver Broncos' Montee Ball, Detroit Lions' Reggie Bush, St. Louis Rams' Zac Stacy and San Diego Chargers' Donald Brown. All left their games early with injuries, and at least a couple could miss a few weeks.

This pile of injured running backs goes on top of a previously injured heap highlighted by every running back the Carolina Panthers thought would get touches in 2014. And even though the NFL revolves around passing the ball in this day and age, fantasy football still revolves around running backs.

So which backup running backs have the best fantasy futures heading into Week 6? Here is a look at three guys whose names are probably popping up a lot in fantasy leagues this week:

Andre Williams, New York Giants

I keep hearing about how New York Jets battering ram Chris Ivory runs harder and angrier than any running back in the NFL from several experts this season. Well, Ivory might not be the hardest-running tailback in his own stadium!

Williams was on many fantasy radars after a stellar college career at Boston College, with plenty of pundits thinking he could prosper in the NFL if he had the chance for carries. His combination of powerful between-the-tackles running and solid speed once he breaks into the secondary made him a popular late-round pick in fantasy drafts, especially as a handcuff to the aforementioned Jennings.

The Giants are mixing the run and the pass as well as a veteran bartender mixes rum and coke. The pressure is not on Williams to carry the offense while Jennings misses time with a sprained knee. Eli Manning and his newly revitalized passing attack will keep defenses off-balance and afford Williams running room and scoring opportunities.

Williams is coming off back-to-back games with 60-plus yards and a touchdown. His next two games come against division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, two defenses ranked 24th and 20th, respectively, against the run. Get your hands on Williams and enjoy him violently gashing those defenses while he has a short stint as a starter.

Ronnie Hillman, Denver Broncos

Not many running backs are in the perfect position Hillman is in. While Ball is out with his groin injury, Hillman will get to face seven-man fronts as safeties back off waiting for Peyton Manning to rip them apart with his wobbly yet accurate darts, and Hillman will have just as many scoring chances inside the red zone as any running back in the league.

The problem is Hillman literally fumbled away his opportunity to be the lead back last year when his giveaways got him benched in favor of Knowshon Moreno and Ball. Hillman never touched the ball during a five-week stretch and had a fantasy value of nil by season’s end.

Just like I have never been a Megadeth or Motorhead fan, I am not a Hillman fan. He has never shown a knack for finding the end zone (two TDs in 26 games), catching passes out of the backfield (23 career receptions) or breaking tackles (3.9 lifetime yards per carry).

The jury is out on how often Hillman will be on the field. While he is first in the pecking order on Denver’s depth chart while Ball is sidelined, one fumble or lackluster series could change everything. C.J. Anderson is ready to pull a Mike Anderson and come out of left field to become Denver’s best back if Hillman fails.
Hillman is the high-risk/high-reward running back of this lot.

If Hillman gets off to a great, clean start, he will rack plenty of yards and touchdowns while Ball is absent and could gain playing time for the future once Ball returns. But it will not take much to get Hillman pulled, either.

Branden Oliver, San Diego Chargers

San Diego is going through running backs the same way Spinal Tap goes through drummers. Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead and now Brown are all injured. Yet the Chargers may have the best No. 4 running back in the NFL.

Oliver is a hybrid mix of Darren Sproles and Maurice Jones-Drew. He is stocky and built low to the ground, but he has he has surprising quickness and can make plays outside as easily as he can run inside.

Oliver shocked the fantasy football world by stacking up 182 combined yards and two touchdowns against a New York Jets defense known for being stout against the run. He excelled in all facets of fantasy, including catching passes and getting into the end zone. Oliver is not a one-dimensional back.

Another superb Oliver outing this week against the lowly Oakland Raiders’ 31st-ranked run defense could keep the injury-prone Mathews and the concussed Brown from being asked to return too quickly. And if Oliver is lucky enough to start a second game, it would be against Kansas City, the 23rd-best run defense.

It is unknown how long both Mathews and Brown are out, so Oliver has a chance of auditioning for the starting spot for several games or for just one. If you picked him up, you will probably get an above-average fantasy performance from him this week and next, but after that, his fantasy future is murky.

Conclusion

If I had to rate each back’s short-term and long-term fantasy value, I would take Oliver as my guy in the short term. He appears more multi-talented than Williams and Hillman are and has the easier schedule the next two games.

If I had to take one back for the long term, it would be risky, but I would take Williams. Oliver is going to face a carries crunch when Mathews and Brown come back, and unless Hillman runs like Terrell Davis, he is not going to prevent Ball from reclaiming his starting spot in two to three weeks.

While Jennings was one of the leading rushers in the NFL at the time of his knee injury, Williams has shown too many flashes of brilliance to keep him off the field when Jennings makes his way back. Williams would be the one out of this trio that I would want in dynasty leagues.