Kelley L. Cox – USA TODAY Sports
Last week I discussed the opportunity presented by Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings. With Darren McFadden out with a hamstring injury and the San Diego Chargers defense being slightly better than Casper the friendly ghost at stopping the run, it looked like a great opportunity. Unfortunately the injury bug bit Jennings deep in the hamstring, forcing him to miss the second half.
With McFadden and Jennings both likely to miss this week’s tilt against the division rival Kansas City Chiefs it falls to the next man up, Marcel Reece, to carry the load.
Let’s be honest here; if you’re digging for the third string running back on a team with an anemic offense, you’re already in desperation mode. Your competition smells your blood in the water and your opponent this week is licking his chops. I think it’s also a salient truth that by this point in the season the fantasy free agent bone has been picked pretty clean of any running back talent.
If you go out there and grab Reece this week, what you’ll get is a player who’s been converted into playing the fullback position. He’s not a natural fullback. It just happens to be a position where he showed the most aptitude as the Raiders have moved him around. He’s got fleet feet with 4.4 speed in his 40 yard dash time, and he’s known for having soft hands.
Normally I wouldn’t advocate a player who is this deep on a backfield depth chart. However, it stands to reason that he will start at halfback this week while the Raiders rest Jennings and McFadden through Week 6 and the Week 7 bye.
Considering that the Chiefs’ defense is currently ranked 23rd against the run and averages giving up 5.3 yards per carry, I think if you are in a desperate place this week, Reece is lesser of all the other evils available to you!
Eric Beuning is a Fantasy Football writer for www.RantSports.com.
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