The Denver Broncos have Ronnie Hillman and CJ Anderson as their top running back options and fantasy football owners may want to look to Hillman in Week 5 after s strong game Sunday. Peyton Manning has had some good chemistry with Owen Daniels and he is a sleeper option moving forward at tight end this season.
The Broncos pulled out a win against the Vikings to stay undefeated and that was helped along by Ronnie Hillman, who had the longest rushing play in the NFL this season. Hillman and CJ Anderson have been splitting carries the past few weeks, as Anderson has struggled to start the season. According to ESPN.com, head coach Gary Kubiak said after the game in Week 4 that he would continue "to play both" running backs for the Broncos.
Hillman and Anderson had the same amount of carries this week and while that makes it tough for fantasy owners to decide who to start, for now it looks like Hillman has the hot hand. Hillman had 103 yards against the Vikings and while most of that came on one play with a 72-yard touchdown, Hillman showed off some of his explosiveness and that could get him more carries moving forward. Hillman had 31 yards the rest of the way, while Anderson finished the day with 43 yards on the ground.
The two running backs are considered 1A and 1B by the Broncos and they should both be in the mix next week when the team takes on the Raiders in a divisional game. Last season Anderson was a breakout player for the Broncos, but he has been unable to get things going this season while dealing with some minor injuries. Hillman was outrushed by Anderson last season and now the two players could end up with similar stats if Kubiak continues to split carries.
Kubiak said to the Denver Post last week that Anderson needs to prove he can stay healthy to keep his starting job and that the team has to "keep CJ on the field." Anderson had 849 yards last season and that came mostly during the second half of the year and he has not yet been able to carry over that success into this season. Anderson is a better receiver out of the backfield and that could get him on the field in certain situations over Hillman for now. Anderson is only averaging 2.7 yards per carry this season and it comes after he averaged nearly five yards per carry in 15 games last season.
Owen Daniels has been solid to start the season for the Broncos and he has built some nice chemistry with Peyton Manning through four games. Daniels has 12 catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns this season and moving forward he is a solid fantasy option. Daniels comes in after scoring another TD in Week 5. The Broncos remain undefeated and they will look to go 5-0 with a win against the Raiders next.
