Through the first three weeks of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back situation reminds me of Roger from the television show Sister, Sister. It’s annoying, hardly brings anything to the table and tends to drive fantasy owners mad.
Finally, we may have seen the end of this atrocious three-headed monster.
After missing the first three games with a foot injury, rookie running back Le’Veon Bell is expected to start for the Steelers on Sunday, according to Jay Glazer. Considering the running back position has been pretty ugly thus far, this is exciting news for fantasy football owners. For a certain period of time, many pegged Bell as the top fantasy rookie to own this year, but after going down with an injury, he fell off the radar a bit. It’s interesting that Bell is slated to play already, considering he wasn’t originally expected to be ready by now. The Steelers running backs have been ugly this season. Guys like Issac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer and Felix Jones have combined for a meager 124 yards on 40 carries, ranking as league’s 31st rushing offense. They need Bell to spice things up because this offense has been flat out horrible.
From a fantasy perspective, it may be a bit risky immediately inserting Bell into your starting lineup, but unless you have better options, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it. I’d imagine he’d get the most carries out of the Pittsburgh backfield, but I’m sure the other guys will see some work, as Bell works his way back to 100 percent. The matchup is a favorable one, as the Vikings have surrendered the 3rd-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this year, allowing 18.1 fantasy points per contest to rushers. The offensive line is still a concern, but Bell should be considered flex-worthy for Week 4 in a strong matchup. The Steelers, despite their lack of talent at the position, still want to pound the rock, and with a skilled runner like Bell in the backfield, I think they’ll do well in that department come Sunday.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
Related:
Pittsburgh Steelers Will Reportedly Start Le’Veon Bell In Week 4
