The Denver Broncos remain without Montee Ball in Week 9 and fantasy football owners should look at Juwan Thompson, Ronnie Hillman and CJ Anderson as solid fantasy pickups and start options for this week, as Ball is still out with an injury and while he could be back soon, those RB options have played well in his absence for Peyton Manning.
Hillman has played very well with Ball out, while Thompson has been getting some extra carries and he could be a sleeper for fantasy owners with other RB injuries. Stevan Ridley and CJ Spiller are out for the season and those owners can look to the Broncos RBs at least for another week or two for some spot starts until Ball returns. Thompson has put himself second on the depth chart with his sold play behind Hillman for the time being and he could be a surprise starter for some fantasy owners this week.
Thompson has 107 yards on the season with three touchdowns and for his touches that is very solid and he comes in after rushing for 24 yards last week in the win against San Diego. Thompson had seven carries in the game and John Fox said he could be in line for more heading into this week against the New England Patriots. Ball may get pushed back into the starting lineup slowly and that is good news for owners of Hillman and Thompson.
The Broncos have been rolling with Hillman playing and they may want to give him an extended look as the starter if Ball remains out. Hillman had 109 yards rushing on 20 carries last week and he also added three catches for 138 total yards and he could be in line for a day like that again this week. Ball is a strong runner, but Hillman gives the team a new look and he comes in with 349 yards this season in just five games and he also has scored two touchdowns.
Ball has only played in four games this season and with him coming back the Broncos are expected to use all three main backs in a rotation. That hurts for Ball owners, but the Broncos are playing so well they feel that is the best way to do things. Ball is a solid option, but he has just 172 yards this season and one touchdown, while he also has added nine catches for 62 yards. Once he gets back into the offense the Broncos could change things up, but for now it's smart to handcuff Ball with one of the other backs for the Broncos. Ball was very solid as a rookie last season and he finished the year with 558 yards while averaging nearly five yards per carry. Ball also had 20 catches and four touchdowns on the ground and he is itching to get back in action.
Anderson is only an option in deeper leagues, as the Broncos have not used him as much as Hillman and Thompson. This season Anderson has 14 carries for 64 yards in six games and he comes in after playing one snap against the Jets two weeks ago. Hillman played in over 50 percent of the snaps in that game and Thompson was second in snaps and that likely will continue with Ball coming back.
