Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
With Ryan Mathews (knee) expected to be out a few more weeks and Danny Woodhead (fractured fibula and ankle) out for the season, Donald Brown is the proverbial “next man up” at running back for the San Diego Chargers. Brown wound up with 62 yards on 31 carries and five catches for 27 yards last week against the Buffalo Bills, and fantasy football owners need to pay attention to him heading into a Week 4 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars have been very nice to opposing running backs so far this season, allowing the second-most rushing yards (419) and the most fantasy points (28.7 per game, ESPN scoring) to the position. Add in 19 receptions and two receiving touchdowns allowed to the position thus far, and any running back facing Jacksonville deserves to be bumped up a few spots in weekly rankings.
Brown got eight of his carries last week in the fourth quarter, and the Chargers may be nursing a comfortable lead again on Sunday. Rookie Branden Oliver may see more playing time after getting just three carries against the Bills, but not enough to significantly deplete Brown’s fantasy potential this week.
With some notable running backs (Marshawn Lynch, Giovani Bernard, Montee Ball, Andre Ellington) on a bye, Brown could finish among the highest-scoring fantasy running backs in Week 4 with a big workload in store. Anyone that has added Brown (72 percent ownership in Yahoo! leagues) would need a compelling reason, or a ridiculous amount of roster depth, not to start him this week.
Brown is not quite a high-end RB1 this week, even with a lot of fantasy owners in a situation where they’ll be relying on him as just that. But as a RB2 or flex Brown has as much upside as anyone, along with minimal downside as the clear-cut No. 1 running back for San Diego.
Brad Berreman is a Columnist at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
