Carlos Hyde, T.J. Yeldon Fantasy Outlook After Leonard Fournette's Suspension

Leonard Fournette will not be on the field for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, leaving the Jacksonville Jaguars to once again turn to the backfield duo of Carlos Hyde and T.J. Yeldon. 

The question for fantasy players is which player holds more value going forward after Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Fournette was "suspended one game for violations of unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness" during Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The answer should be Hyde. He played well for the Cleveland Browns to start the season, rushing for 382 yards and five touchdowns in six games. He was then traded to the Jags, and he struggled to make any sort of impact in the team's matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in London, rushing just six times for 11 yards when Fournette was out with injury.

He has just 93 rushing yards and zero touchdowns through four games in Jacksonville.

Hyde's addition didn't really affect Yeldon, meanwhile, as he remains locked and loaded as the team's top receiving option out of the backfield. While he only received two carries against the Eagles, going for seven yards, he maintained his flex value by catching seven passes for 83 yards. 

With Fournette again sidelined, Yeldon's role with the Jaguars won't change. He's the team third-down back and change-of-pace option. He's a low-ceiling flex option.

Hyde, however, is far trickier to project. If the Jaguars dedicate themselves to the run, he has RB1 upside given his production in Cleveland. But if the team abandons the run, as it did against the Eagles, he barely holds any value at all.

For that reason, consider him a Week 13 flex option with far more upside than Yeldon but a less predictable role. And once Fournette returns, Hyde's value once again nosedives to fantasy irrelevance.