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The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have their backfield set for the rest of the season with rookie Le’Veon Bell. Since getting over his injury and starting his first NFL game, Bell has never looked back from his primary running back spot on the team.
In the fantasy football world, it is hard to come by a running back who doesn’t share at least some of his workload with another player. Some of the top running backs in the league have the backfield to themselves including Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles. Running backs that do get the vast majority of carries are huge for fantasy owners, and Bell looks to be a fantastic start week in and week out on your fantasy team.
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Bell has played in three NFL games this season and has had two games with 16 carries. In last week’s game, he actually amassed 19 touches. Backups Felix Jones and Jonathan Dwyer combined for just six carries last week, showing us that the Steelers are committed to letting Bell do the work.
Stat wise, Bell’s 3.6 yards per carry aren’t the greatest, but with each game he’s gaining more and more yards per carry with a 4.9 average last week. As far as his rushing yardage goes, those totals haven’t been stellar either, gaining 57, 34 and then 93 yards last week. His sub 100 yard games can be partly due to playing against some tough defensive fronts in the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens.
Entering Week 8, things may change as Bell finds himself matched up against an Oakland Raiders defense that has given up five touchdowns to opposing running backs over the last four games. Bell will once again see plenty of carries and opportunities to run the ball, and the Raiders look to be the first great matchup for Bell to see over 100 yards rushing.
Bell makes for at least a nice flex-option player if not an RB2 in Week 8. He’s sure to get a respectable workload amount and has the potential to find the end zone again for the first time since his two touchdown debut against the Minnesota Vikings.
Tristen Challe is a Fantasy Football Writer for Rantsports. Follow him on Twitter @TristenChalle or on Google
