The Denver Broncos have been rolling without Montee Ball and now Ronnie Hillman may be limited with an injury for fantasy football owners and that means CJ Anderson and Juwan Thompson could be strong fantasy pickups going forward at RB for Peyton Manning in Week 11, as Ball is dealing with a groin injury and Hillman has an ankle issue.
Ball has been out for a number of weeks with a groin injury and that has opened things up for Hillman, who has been performing well for fantasy owners in his place. According to Pro Football Talk, Hillman suffered an ankle injury on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders that forced him out of the matchup and that gave way to Anderson, who had a great game for the Broncos. Hillman is not considered to be seriously injured, but fantasy owners should look at Anderson and Thompson as backups and handcuff options in case he is limited.
The Broncos have been dealing with injuries at the position all season, but so far it has not hurt them much. Hillman has come through big for Ball and both Anderson and Thompson have had solid games in the mix as well. Hillman first injured his ankle against the Patriots and now he has tweaked it again and while he likely will play next week, the Broncos may use more of a three back rotation than they have in the past couple weeks. Ball could be back for Week 11 and that obviously would muddy the water even more for fantasy owners.
This season Hillman has filled in for Ball and now has 378 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 20 catches for 137 yards and another score. Hillman has not done much on the ground in the past two weeks, but he had seven catches for 47 yards and a TD against the Pats and before that he had his best game with 109 yards on the ground against the Chargers. Anderson came in on Sunday and made the most of his chanced, putting up over 150 total yards in the game. Anderson had an impressive receiving TD and he also had 90 yards on 13 carries to go along with four catches for 73 yards and the score. Anderson has 172 yards on the season, but he is a must-add until the Broncos situation settles down.
The Broncos know that Ball will need some time to get back to full strength and that could be the prefect opening for Anderson and Thompson. The Broncos have been getting some strong play from Ronnie Hillman with Montee Ball out of the lineup and in Week 10, Hillman himself was injured and that could give way for Thompson and Anderson in the offense over the next week or two. Anderson looks like he will be the top option if Hillman and Ball are out, while Thompson is another option for fantasy football owners to look at, as Ball is still dealing with a groin injury and Peyton Manning should be able to get both players involved for the next game for the Broncos.