Fantasy Football Dark Horse: C.J. Anderson

Is C.J. Anderson someone to target in fantasy?

As we all know by now, the Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 30-24. I am a New England Patriots fan and could not care less about that game. The Pats will make the playoffs and secure a first round bye. What made me sick to my stomach was watching Rob Gronkowski get carted off the field. Reports say he is fine. We will see how his MRI goes. Anyway, I guess C.J. Anderson is a thing again. If Peyton Manning stays on the sidelines, the running game of the Broncos is exponentially better. Let’s just hope Brock Osweiler can continue to hold it down.

Take a look at C.J. Anderson’s Week 11 stats: He had 12 rushes for 59 yards. A 59 yard performance is usually terrible, but comparatively speaking, it was one of Anderson’s best games of the year. For some reason, his output snuck by everybody. It should have been a pleasant surprise to see Anderson run well. We were all fascinated with the debut of Brock Osweiler. It is pretty obvious as to why Anderson carried the ball with success in Week 11. Peyton Manning was on the sidelines. (Side note: do you think Peyton hums that NationWide jingle all the time? Maybe he hums stuff like “Hope Osweiler throws a pick”…) Manning was taking almost all of the snaps out of the shotgun. It is difficult for a running back to get their momentum going downhill when they take the handoff in the shotgun. With Osweiler in the game, all options are back on the table.

Listen, I am not saying Brock Osweiler is a better quarterback then Peyton Manning. He is, however, a better option for the Broncos at this very moment. Gary Kubiak has access to his enter playbook with a healthy quarterback at the helm. With all of this talk about Osweiler, I would not suggest adding him to your fantasy football team. I do condone a C.J. Anderson add. There is a great possibility that he is available in your league. With the Denver Broncos’ offense playing at decent clip, their running backs hold value. C.J. Anderson and possibly Ronnie Hillman might be the pieces you need to win a fantasy football championship. Add the Bronco backs and see if this success continues. As of now, I would expect Anderson to revert to his old self and become a top 10 running back, once again.

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