James Conner's Updated Fantasy Impact with Le'Veon Bell out vs. Chiefs

Fantasy players who handcuffed Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell with James Conner are looking smarter and smarter by the day.

Bell's holdout has continued for a second week, with the superstar running back out for the matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com:

That leaves Conner as Pittsburgh's featured back for a second straight week and leaves him as an RB1 for fantasy players who snagged him this summer. 

In the team's Week 1 tie against the Cleveland Browns, Conner rushed 31 times for 135 yards and two scores while adding five catches for 57 yards. Conner might not have Bell's overall talent, but it's clear the Steelers plan on relying on their No. 1 back—whoever it might be—and Conner answered the call in a big way last week.

Fantasy players should expect Conner to get a major workload while Bell continues his holdout, and a matchup against the Chiefs is very favorable. In Week 1, the Chiefs gave up 104 rushing yards, 14 catches and 189 receiving yards and a touchdown to Los Angeles Chargers running backs, per ESPN.com.

Melvin Gordon alone accumulated 166 yards from scrimmage on 24 touches. Conner could see even more touches than that, based on his Week 1 usage.

Expect the Steelers to attack the Chiefs with their running backs based on the Chargers' success doing so. Conner looks poised for a dominant showing and can be started with confidence in all formats.

He may not be Bell, but for fantasy owners, Conner may provide similar results.