Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
When the Indianapolis Colts traded a first round pick to acquire RB Trent Richardson from the Cleveland Browns, fantasy football owners instantly thought the young back’s value was on the rise. He was headed to a better team that seemingly was only missing a downhill back.
However, over the last month, his backup, Donald Brown, has quietly outperformed Richardson. The veteran has looked much better hitting the holes and has honestly been putting up better fantasy numbers for over a month. Richardson has not rushed for over 40 yards in the last six games and seems to be losing more touches to Brown with each passing week.
In Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals, though, Brown wasn’t much of a factor. He only rushed the ball two times for one yard and received just three total touches. It is hard to put together a strong fantasy performance after getting just three touches, but considering how much Indy struggled last week, the game seemed like a wash for everyone involved.
Indy faces the Tennessee Titans this weekend, and despite his poor showing last Sunday, Brown is someone worth taking a shot on this week. He faces a Tennessee run-defense that is surrendering 19.8 points to opposing fantasy running backs this season and is the fifth-worst unit in football.
Even more promising is that Brown had a huge game against the Titans in Week 11. The back ripped off 80 yards on just 14 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns in the Thursday night game. He showed that he can carry the full load and can be a decent weekly flex option.
Brown has now scored three touchdowns over his last three games and has seemingly taken over as the primary fantasy option in Indianapolis. He will be a great sleeper to plug in this week and should have another decent outing against the Titans.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
