Week 3 at Buffalo Bills
Last Sunday against a Dallas defense that hadn’t allowed a rusher to go over 100 yards since the final game of the 2015 season, C.J. Anderson busted through the Cowboys for 118 yards on 25 carries. Not only did he score on the ground, but he also caught a 16-yard pass for a touchdown. In the first two games of the season, Anderson has 45 rushing attempts compared to Jamaal Charles’ 19. He is clearly the featured back and should be again in Buffalo. The Bills have allowed 58 yards per game on the ground and limited the Panthers' potent ground game to just 77 yards last week. Anderson has to remain in your starting lineup, but a repeat performance may be asking too much.
Week 2 vs. Dallas Cowboys
In the win over the Chargers last Monday night, C.J. Anderson received 20 of Denver’s 36 rushing attempts. He finished with 81 yards on the ground and caught a seven-yard pass. While the Broncos lone running score came from signal-caller Trevor Siemian, fantasy owners should be encouraged by the workload Anderson received. Even though Dallas shut down a short-handed Giants team last Sunday, Anderson should remain a part of your starting lineup.
Week 1 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Due to a knee injury last season, C.J. Anderson was limited to just seven games. He starts the season healthy and will be the No. 1 RB on the Broncos depth chart. At San Diego last October, the Chargers held Anderson in check, as he gained only 37 yards on 10 carries. However, Anderson should be the featured back in Denver’s new offense on Monday night, so go ahead and start him.
Fantasy Upside
Playing in just seven games last season, C.J. Anderson finished with 437 yards on the ground and scored a total of five times. In the past three seasons, he scored 17 times on the ground and has averaged 4.6 yards per carry during his career. His best game in 2016 came in a Monday night affair versus the Texans in which he had his lone 100-yard game and a score.
Fantasy Downside
Anderson missed the final nine games of the season due to surgery to repair a meniscus in his right knee. Despite signing a four-year contract before the 2016 campaign, there is a reason why general manager John Elway signed Jamaal Charles in the offseason. It’ll be no surprise if the veteran takes over the top RB spot.
2017 Bottom Line
While rookie Devontae Booker struggled during his stint as the team's No. 1 RB when Anderson missed time, Anderson will definitely receive competition for the starting position from the proven Charles this year. Expect Anderson and Charles to battle it out during preseason. Once the regular season begins, there’s a possibility the two backs could receive an equal amount of touches, especially during the first month of the regular season, unless one asserts himself as the leader. That second half of 2015 when Anderson burst on the scene out of nowhere seems like a distant memory.
Week 7 vs. Houston
In the loss to the Chargers last Thursday, C.J. Anderson and the Broncos ground game struggled again, even with Donald Stephenson and Virgil Green back. C.J. was held to 37 yards on 10 carries, but also caught four passes for 34 yards. Devontae Booker had some nice runs to spark the Denver offense in the fourth quarter, but Anderson will remain the team’s top back (despite four straight games of under 50 yards rushing). He has a good matchup at home on Monday night against the No. 29 team versus the run, so consider him a low RB1 play.
Week 6 at San Diego
With rookie Paxton Lynch at QB and missing key blockers in Donald Stephenson and Virgil Green on the offensive line, C.J. Anderson had another tough go of it last week in the home loss to Atlanta. He finished with 11 rushes for 41 yards and three receptions for 21 additional yards. In the past three weeks, C.J. is totaling just 52 yards per contest and has scored only one time. It looks like it’ll be Trevor Siemian at QB on Thursday, but look for the Broncos to lean on their RB at San Diego. Anderson should be considered a RB2 against a Chargers team that is No. 8 against the run.
Week 5 vs. Atlanta
With Trevor Siemian out of last week’s contest and rookie Paxton Lynch at the helm, C.J. Anderson had another tough day running the ball. The Bucs held him to 49 yards on 19 carries, although he did have a short TD run. In the past two games, C.J. has totaled just 86 rushing yards on 33 attempts. Either opposing defenses are keying on Anderson and the Denver run game, or the offense is missing some key blockers on the line. The Falcons rank No. 16 against the ground game, so look for a better performance from the Broncos RB at home on Sunday.
Week 4 at Tampa Bay
With the Cincinnati defense crowding the line and forcing QB Trevor Siemian to beat them last week, C.J. Anderson had a tough day. He carried the rock 14 times for just 37 yards. The silver lining is C.J. received the bulk of the rushing attempts and will continue to do so. Consider last week an anomaly as Siemian was able to beat the pressing defense. Go ahead and keep starting Anderson with confidence, even though the Bucs are only allowing 98 rushing yards per game.
Week 3 at Cincinnati
In the win over Indy last Sunday, C.J. Anderson had another solid game, running for 74 yards and a TD on 20 carries. He also caught three passes for 19 yards. While he doesn’t have a 100-yard game yet in ’16, C.J. has three scores and is receiving over 20 touches per contest. The offense will continue to go through Anderson, so be sure he remains in your starting lineup, even facing a pretty good Bengals defense.
Week 2 vs. Indianapolis
What a nice start to the season C.J. Anderson had last Thursday in the win versus the Panthers. The Broncos workhorse rushed 20 times for 92 yards and a score and also caught four passes for 47 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown off of a screen pass. C.J. will continue to be the focus of Denver’s ground game and should remain in your starting lineup against a Colts defense that gave up 448 total yards last Sunday versus the Lions.
