Andre Williams', Peyton Hillis' Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 7

The brief fantasy auditions for New York Giants running backs Andre Williams and Peyton Hillis seemingly ended with a resounding dud in the team's Week 7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. 

With starter Rashad Jennings out of the picture due to injury, Williams, a rookie out of Boston College, was once again the every-down starter with the veteran Hillis as his spell. The results tell the whole story:

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	REC	YDS	TD	TGTS	Fantasy Pts.
A. Williams	18	51	2.8	0	0	0	0	3	5
P. Hillis	6	29	4.8	0	1	4	0	3	2

Now, this is not the same old Cowboys defense, so do not infer from this outing that both failed to brutalize a weak defense. Dallas quietly entered Sunday surrendering the 12th-fewest points to the position, with only Arian Foster and Houston cracking the 20-point barrier against the unit.

Still, the clear lack of effectiveness on a carry-to-carry basis, as well as wasted opportunities in the passing game, mean both Williams and Hillis are quickly back to fantasy irrelevancy once Jennings is healthy enough to return.

As Rotoworld.com's Adam Levitan points out, Williams as an every-down starter has simply not panned out:

Jennings, who entered the weekend as the 11th-highest-scoring back on the season thanks to his versatility to make plays as a receiver, is expected back in Week 9 after the team's bye.

So what to do with the two now that the team heads into a bye? Hillis remains a non-factor, hence his being owned in 0.7 percent of leagues already. Williams, owned in 79.6 percent of leagues, is more interesting. He has two double-digit outbursts on the season; one came against an elite defense versus running backs (Washington), and one came against the absolute worst (Atlanta). 

The important note about that seemingly very confusing tidbit? Jennings took a minimum of 10 carries in both of those strong performances from Williams. Translation: The rookie is extremely effective as a rotational piece when the staff can play to his strengths.

For this reason, Williams should be owned in all leagues. He is arguably a better flex play with Jennings healthy, as strange as that sounds. The upcoming schedule, for those who care after the revelations above, is a mixed bag, as Indianapolis ranks among the worst against backs—Seattle among the best.

Feel safe with Williams as a flex play if and when Jennings is active. Anything more than that at this point, even with a small sample size, is asking too much of the rookie.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats. Statistics courtesy of ESPN. Philadelphia, Tampa Bay on bye.