The Denver Broncos have CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman as start options heading into Week 4 and fantasy football owners should eye the injury report heading into Sunday to see who will be the lead back. Anderson has struggled to stay healthy this season and players like Hillman, Demaryius Thomas and Owen Daniels could be better options this week for Peyton Manning.
The Broncos come in after winning over the Lions and that game saw Anderson deal with another injury. Anderson was forced to leave the game and while he has been able to play all three weeks this season, head coach Gary Kubiak told the Denver Post that Anderson needs to prove he can stay healthy. According to the Post Kubiak said that "we have to keep CJ on the field" and that Hillman could continue getting carries if Anderson can't stay healthy.
Anderson had a breakout season last year and the team came into 2015 with him as the main starter at RB for Peyton Manning. This season Anderson has been off to a slow start, putting up just 74 yards in three games and he has yet to score a touchdown. ESPN Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold reports that Hillman and Anderson could continue to split carries even if Anderson stays healthy, as Hillman has been looking good in practice and in spurts on offense.
Hillman did not get to do much last week, but he has been more effective overall than Anderson and could start taking more carries away from him. Hillman scored the TD in the game between the two RBs and he comes in with 88 yards this season on 28 carries. Last season Hillman had 434 yards in eight games, while Anderson was great in the back stretch and ended up with 849 yards on the season for the Broncos. Moving forward fantasy owners should keep an eye on the splits, as they could get more pronounced as time goes on.
Peyton Manning has been off to a sluggish start this season, but he comes into Week 4 after his best game of the season and could be poised for another big one. The Vikings secondary is mediocre and Manning could carve the team up this week after going for 324 yards and two touchdowns in the game over the Lions last week. Manning has five TDs this season and those have all come in the past two weeks.
Owen Daniels is the best tight end option for the Broncos this season and he comes in after making five catches last week on nine targets. Daniels could be a sleeper moving forward, while Thomas is a hard start option in all leagues this week. Thomas was targeted 13 times last week and he had 92 yards and a TD on nine catches and is expected to have another big game in Week 4.
