Slowly but surely, Danny Woodhead is earning the respect of fantasy football owners. Through four games, Woodhead has 90 rushing yards, but also has 162 receiving yards off 22 catches for two touchdowns. That places him second-best in the league behind Chiefs running back Jammal Charles. To compare Calvin Johnson has 21 catches on the year. As the season moves forward and San Diego stays hot, Woodhead's role with the offense is only going to increase.
Once again, Chargers running back Ryan Mathews is injured. He suffered a concussion during the team's loss to the Oakland Raiders after getting hit hard in the second quarter. The Chargers are aware they can no longer rely on Mathews being an every-down back, but head coach Mike McCoy believes Woodhead can be.
"He's done that before -- I think he can," McCoy said, via ESPN.com. "We've got him and Ronnie, and Ryan will split the load as time goes on. There's games where guys will get more touches than others, depending on the flow of the game. And you're going to do whatever you think is best to win the game."
Woodhead was an every-down type player during his run with the New England Patriots. In 2010, he carried the ball a career-high 97 times for 547 yards total. He also put up 379 receiving yards. McCoy would love for Woodhead to get that much action as the year goes on. Ideally the head coach would like Woodhead to touch the ball 20 times a game.
Owners should not be discouraged about the idea that Woodhead will split carries with Brown. Out of all three running backs on the roster, Woodhead is the most versatile and gives the Chargers the most options in the playbook. To compare, Woodhead has 103 rushing yards and 220 receiving yards. Mathews has just 66 receiving yards. In PPR leagues, Woodhead should be a starter at this point.
McCoy sounds perfectly fine moving on from Mathews after this recent injury. He says the team has no plans of adding anyone new. Woodhead will be heavily active. Brown will get traditional carries for a running back and fullback Le'Ron McClain will see some playing time. If Woodhead can continue to prove he is an every-down player, fantasy owners should be thrilled.
