Going into the 2014 season, you would have been hard pressed to find a single person who saw Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson's breakout coming. In fact, halfway through last season you still wouldn't have guessed that Anderson was about to sway the fates of fantasy leagues across the world. But following injuries to Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman, Anderson was inserted into the starting lineup and immediately made his presence felt, leading some to believe that a true breakout is on the horizon.
Starting with an early November game against the Oakland Raiders, Anderson carried the ball 162 times for 767 yards (4.7 YPC) and eight touchdowns. He also hauled in 30 passes for 290 yards and two additional scores in that time frame. As a result, ESPN NFL Insider KC Joyner thinks Anderson could end 2015 as fantasy's top RB.
"A case can be made that Anderson could end the season first in running back scoring," Joyner wrote. "No back tallied more points in Weeks 10-17 last year (158). Anderson's 9.9-yard mark in my good blocking yards per attempts (GBYPA) metric ranked tied for second in the league last season. The only running back to do better in this statistic was Justin Forsett, who posted an 11.4 GBYPA.
"This is important, because Forsett achieved this while playing in Gary Kubiak's offense, which is the system Anderson will be operating in now that Kubiak has taken over as the Broncos head coach. Anderson will also benefit from Denver turning into more of a run-first offense. The main concern in drafting Anderson is whether he can hold up to a full season's worth of bell-cow carries, but that issue is easily worked around by drafting his backup (either Montee Ball or Ronnie Hillman) as a low-cost handcuff."
Peyton Manning began to show his age down the stretch last season and the Broncos compensated by leaning on the running game. Expect that trend to continue this season as Denver tries to keep their 29-year-old quarterback fresh for the post-season. That means plenty of opportunities for Anderson to shine once again.
