Denver Broncos: What’s C.J. Anderson’s fantasy football value?

Can Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson finish the 2017 season as one of the best at his position in fantasy football?

At one time, Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson was considered one of the top running backs in fantasy football. A few years ago, he was being touted as a first-round pick by many for redraft leagues.

In 2014, he rushed for 648 yards and eight touchdowns during the last five games of the season, making him a hot commodity in fantasy leagues the following year. His 211.30 PPR points and 177.3 points in standard scoring leagues helped a lot of fantasy owners get into the playoffs and quite possibly win their leagues.

The following year was a different story, as he started in just five games, rushing for 720 yards and five touchdowns. That was while catching 25 passes for 183 yards and also accumulating just 145.30 points in PPR leagues. He spent most of the season injured, killing his chances at finishing the season as one of the league’s top running backs.

The injury bug reared its ugly head again last year, causing him to only start seven games. In those contests, he managed to rush for 437 yards and four touchdowns. Again, his performance wasn’t enough to help fantasy owners on a weekly basis. He did however, scored 10 PPR fantasy points in four of the seven games that he played in.

More from NFL Spin Zone

If it wasn’t for the injuries he might have finished the last two seasons as one of the top running backs in fantasy. It’s quite simple, players who are not on the field can’t score points, making them useless in fantasy football.

2017 will be a new year, and there will be new challenges that must be hurdled in order for the 26-year old running back to have a top-10 fantasy season.

The team signed Jamaal Charles to a one-year, $2.5 million deal during the off-season, due to this signing, Anderson will experience more competition out of the backfield for touches, especially on passing downs. Devontae Booker rushed for 612 yards and four touchdowns last year and he too will be battling for touches out of the backfield. He’s a solid receiving option out of the backfield with 31 receptions for 265 yards last year. Booker’s influence on the team should only increase as he develops.

Here’s a look at the Broncos’ 2017 schedule with a listing of where the teams ranked in run defense last year.

Week 1: LA Chargers – Ranked 10th
Week 2: Dallas Cowboys – Ranked first
Week 3: At Buffalo Bills – Ranked 29th
Week 4: Oakland Raiders – Ranked 23rd
Week 6: New York Giants – Ranked third
Week 7: At LA Chargers – Ranked 10th
Week 8: At Kansas City Chiefs – Ranked 26th
Week 9: At Philadelphia Eagles – Ranked 15th
Week 10: New England Patriots – Ranked third
Week 11: Cincinnati Bengals – Ranked 21st
Week 12: At Oakland Raiders – Ranked 23rd
Week 13: At Miami Dolphins – Ranked 30th
Week 14: New York Jets – Ranked 11th
Week 15: At Indianapolis Colts – Ranked 25th
Week 16: At Washington Redskins – Ranked 24th
Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs – Ranked 26th

Before I deep dive into the schedule, I must add that defensive rankings are very fluid from year to year, and a lot of these defenses will change in talent level and rank by the end of the 2017 season. The Broncos play five teams that finished last season in the top 10 in run defense and they will play five games against teams ranked 25th or worse in run defense.

More from Denver Broncos

The schedule isn’t super easy, but it does lend itself to some favorable matchups. The run game for Denver could potentially start off slow, considering they will be facing their toughest competition in the beginning of the season. On the contrary, Anderson could be a buy in the latter half of the season due to some of the favorable matchups that will be presented, especially in the fantasy playoffs (Weeks 15-17).

His build is very compact as he stands at 5-8 and weighs 224 pounds. His 4.6-second 40-yard dash is fast enough to get the job done at the NFL level while his 7.15-second three-cone suggests he has limited short area quickness. Anderson isn’t a “super athlete”, but he’s athletic enough grind out the tough yards between the tackles. He’s a one-cut, downhill banger who doesn’t hesitate before hitting the hole. Therefore, he’s not going to dazzle you with athleticism; it’s just not a part of his game and doesn’t need to be.

Anderson should get the first crack at the lead role in the backfield and it will be up to him whether he keeps the job or not. Like previous years, injuries could derail his fantasy production, but he could also be one of the top backs in the league if he can regain his 2014 form.

Per Myfantasyleague.com, he currently has an ADP of 80.65 and is usually on average the 24th running back being selected off the board in fantasy drafts. He’s being drafted around the eighth round in redraft leagues, which is a tremendous discount considering his talent level. He will defiantly outplay his draft position if he remains healthy. There’s very little risk at his current price and he has enough upside to certainly provide more value then what you initially pay for him.

Next: NFL 2017: The 50 most untradeable players

He’s a very good running back who should get the opportunity to see a large workload within the offense. Opportunity is everything when it comes to fantasy value, because if you’re not getting touches then you’re not scoring fantasy points. Anderson’s price tag is more than palatable and he has the talent to finish as one of the top running backs in the league.