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Fantasy football week 9 sleepers: 5 running back sleepers

By Zachary Thompson

Sep 3, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford (36) rushes the ball against Cleveland Browns inside linebacker Craig Robertson (53) during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford (36) rushes the ball against Cleveland Browns inside linebacker Craig Robertson (53) during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 1, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Antonio Andrews (26) runs with the ball during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Antonio Andrews (26) runs with the ball during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Antonio Andrews-Tennessee Titans

Another back stepping into a bigger role this week is Antonio Andrews of the Titans although there hasn’t been an injury in Tennessee to necessitate the change.  The big change came this week as Ken Whisenhunt was relieved of head coaching duties and replaced with interim option Mike Mularkey.  Mularkey referred to Andrews as a “workhorse” at running back and is ready to reemphasize the running game.

Andrews numbers this season haven’t been great, and he’s averaging just 3.7 yards per carry totaling 202 yards on his 54 rushes.  He is coming off of back-to-back games with over 50 yards rushing but the 65 he had last week against the Titans set a new career high. Andrews is a solid option near the goal line and ran for touchdowns in weeks three and five although he hasn’t returned to the end zone since.

Andrews had been part of a dreaded three-way timeshare with Bishop Sankey and Dexter McCluster with Terrence West even working in every once in a while.  With his new coach’s confidence, though, it looks like Tennessee is ready to rely heavily on Andrews to carry the ball.

On DraftKings, Andrews is only 3,600 while he’s a very affordable 5,700 on FanDuel.  He is definitely also worth considering as a flex play in your season-long leagues as the Titans take on the Saints in week 9. Right now, Andrews is owned in just 64% of ESPN leagues, but if he stakes his claim to an expanded role look for that number to quickly climb in the coming weeks.

Next: A bigger role for a dynamic RB

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