Is there any end in sight for C.J. Anderson’s slow start?
Last season’s waiver wire darling C.J. Anderson is off to a rough start in 2015. The undrafted free agent out of Cal was remarkable from Week 10 onward last year, accumulating 1,057 yards from scrimmage (767 rushing and 290 receiving) and 10 scores, but he hasn’t looked nearly the same this season.
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The first two weeks of the 2015 season have seen Anderson rack up a pedestrian 56 rushing yards on 24 carries, alongside 21 yards receiving on five catches. These totals lead to a measly average of 2.66 yards per touch. These are extremely low rewards for fantasy owners who invested the late first/early second-round pick necessary to obtain him. Anderson has been unable to make anyone on the defensive side of the ball miss. He has looked slow and been unable to battle through contact, and he has been faced with a lot of it running behind a struggling offensive line.
The Broncos’ offensive line allowed a league low of 17 sacks last season. Through the first two weeks of this season, they have already allowed seven. This is due in large part to the starting O-line being comprised of nearly all-new players. Four of the five starters were not on the roster last season and the only returning starter, Louis Vasquez, has moved from right tackle to right guard. Also, Gary Kubiak has implemented a new offensive system that has Peyton Manning taking a far greater number of snaps under center.
To say the least, the offensive line play has been bad for the Broncos, and that bodes terribly for any running back, even one with Anderson’s skillset. In Thursday night’s game verse the Chiefs, Anderson had nine carries that went for one yard or less. The line was largely at fault for this.
If the struggles with the line and the shift to Kubiak’s offense haven’t been the only thing hindering Anderson’s production, he has also been dealing with a toe injury. An injury that had him listed as questionable leading up to game in Week 2. Also not helping his cause is the fact that the Broncos have faced two stout run defenses: The Ravens who were fourth against the run in 2014 and the Chiefs who are much improved from a season ago.
Coming out of training camp it was no secret that the new coaching regime was fond of Ronnie Hillman, dubbing him “RB 1B.” Through the first two weeks of the season, Anderson owners have seen more of Hillman than they’d like. Hillman has only had eight fewer touches and three fewer carries than Anderson. The silver lining for Anderson is that Hillman hasn’t done much with his touches either, averaging just 3.57 yards per carry. There has not been a changing of the guard here, but Hillman is pushing for more touches, and Anderson could find himself in a running back by committee situation if he doesn’t start to perform.
That being said Anderson has dominated the snap counts between the two, playing 99 of 150 offensive snaps (66%). Hillman has only been on the field for 48 snaps (32%). It’s not yet time to hit the panic button with Anderson. If owners can get equal to draft day value for him, it is worth exploring trade options. Potential targets are teammate Demaryius Thomas, Jeremy Hill or Calvin Johnson. But other than that, the only option is to stay the course. Do not sell low on him.
There are positives going forward. After next week’s matchup against the Lions, Anderson will face four straight run defenses that finished outside the top 20 last year: Vikings, Raiders, Browns and Packers. Also in the game against the Chiefs there was an apparent shift in the offensive dynamic where the Broncos seemingly abandoned Kubiak’s system and let Manning run his style of offense. If that trend continues, which it should, it will do wonders for Anderson. The line should gel and provide better run lanes for Anderson than we’ve seen so far, and with ten days to prepare prior to Week 3, hopefully, his nagging toe injury will subside.
The biggest takeaway here is not to give up on Anderson. A lot of things have gone wrong up to this point, but as mentioned a lot is out of his control, and there are brighter days ahead. He is a solid RB2 with RB1 upside going forward and as the offense develops and the line gels he will perform as such. Don’t panic sell on Anderson, but also don’t go out of your way to buy low. There are still question marks here, but owners who are invested are going to have to ride it out.
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Jon Warner is a correspondent of FantasyPros. He is an analyst at rotorun.com and a primary contributor to @Roto_Run.
