The St. Louis Rams have not done a good job rushing the ball this season and that is an understatement, as they rank last in the league with less than 50 yards per game and with Daryl Richardson struggling, a nice fantasy option in deeper leagues could be running back Benny Cunningham.
Richardson has not been productive at all this season for fantasy owners and while they may be ready to pull the plug on him, so could the Rams, as he had just 16 yards in the loss on Thursday night against the 49ers. Richardson has already missed time with an injury and while dealing with a foot injury, Cunningham showed some hard running in the Thursday game, even though he didn't get much production either.
Richardson should be a START since the Rams are playing the Jaguars, but Cunningham could be an interesting START in deeper leagues with the way St. Louis is rushing the ball, as Jeff Fisher appears ready to change things up. Isaiah Pead is shaping up to be a bust, but if the Rams decide to play him more, he actually could end up taking over the starting job, but that doesn't appear to be happening this week.
Richardson is ranked first on the team with 114 yards and a 2.7 yards per carry average, but he has zero touchdowns and 42 carries and if he is not effective against the worst team in the league, the Rams could be in for big changes. Richardson has played in three games this season and he reached 20 touches just once and the past two weeks he has just 22 carries and just over 50 yards and the team needs more production from him and the position.
Cunningham isn't a top line starter by any stretch, but in deeper leagues he is worth a look, as he had four carries and one reception in the loss against the 49ers, gaining over 20 yards total in the game. With Pead being inactive in that game, he could be in line to get more carries, especially if Richardson continues to struggle with his injury. Pead has been a huge disappointment this season with just seven carries for 21 yards and while he was inactive, the one silver lining for him is the seven catches for 43 yards against the Cowboys, but since he was inactive last week, owners beware.
