The San Diego Chargers have Ryan Mathews out with an injury and for fantasy football owners that makes Donald Brown and Branden Oliver strong start options at RB for the game this week against the Miami Dolphins for Philip Rivers and at WR, both Malcom Floyd and Eddie Royal have the chance to put up some points for Philip Rivers.
The Chargers have been playing without Mathews and Brown for the past few weeks and with Mathews still dealing with a knee injury, San Diego is hoping Brown can go Sunday. The team has loved what Branden Oliver has done with Mathews and Brown out and he will be the starter when Mathews comes back, at least initially until he is back to regular speed. Brown was dealing with a head injury and Pro Football Talk reports that he is progressing and should play Sunday.
Brown has not been cleared yet, but all signs point to him coming back and that is big, as Mathews could be out until after the bye and Danny Woodhead has already been lost for the season at RB. Oliver has been a huge surprise for the Chargers and for fantasy football owners, as he has stepped in and has been as good as a starter for San Diego and now he should still be in line for RB1 or RB2 touches even when the Chargers get Brown and Mathews back.
Mike McCoy likes the speed that Oliver brings to the offense and his size makes him a very deceptive running back as well. Oliver finished the game against the Broncos with over 50 total yards, rushing for 36 on the ground on 13 carries and also adding seven catches for 27 yards. The seven catches were huge for PPR owners and that made him a solid fantasy starter last week even with him not getting into the endzone. The Dolphins have been solid against the run in spots this season and that could make it tough for Oliver on Sunday, but he is still a worth starter option.
Oliver had back to back 100-yard games earlier in the season and while he has not scored since Week 6, he has been a factor in the passing game. Oliver has at least two catches in every game this season he has played apart from one and in four of the last five games he has had at least four receptions. According to the Union-Tribune San Diego, Mathews will be out through Week 10, which is a bye for the Chargers. Mathews was finally healthy for a full season last year for the first time in his career, but the injury bug has come back on him this season.
Brown has played in five games this season and has rushed for 126 yards on the ground and he has been out the past few weeks with a head injury. Brown and Mathews likely will be worked back into the rotation slowly even when they come back and that is good for Oliver and his fantasy owners. They should feel good with starting him this week and he is a high upside RB2 option for the Chargers.
