Stop me if you’ve heard this before… Todd Gurley’s knee is acting up again. Meaning, he was ruled out for Week 12 after not practicing the entire week. As a result, Brian Hill will be the man to own in this backfield with a juicy matchup against the Raiders. Gurley, whose knees are made of paper mache, injured his knee last week, but it’s not quite known if it’s linked to his history of knee tendinitis that’s plagued him over the last few years. As of Saturday, Hill is still available in 66 percent of leagues and his fantasy outlook is on the rise as the Falcons’ de-facto RB1.
With only the average Ito Smith and something called Qadree Ollison left in the backfield, Hill should get most of the touches. Hill also has 16 receptions for 111 yards on 20 targets, so he’ll also be involved in the passing game.
Hill’s talent doesn’t make him a must-start by any means, but with COVID and injuries hitting the NFL hard this week, the volume and matchup should make Hill a Flex play if necessary.
The Raiders have allowed a running back to reach the end zone in seven of their 10 games this season and just last week we saw both Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Le’Veon Bell reach the end zone a combined three times. Also, the Raiders DST has given up the third-most fantasy points to the running back spot.
While Hill has yet to have a marquee game this season, he does lead the team with 4.4 yards per carry and has reached the end zone on the ground. Because of this potential usage and a three-down skill-set in a solid offense, Hill is a solid (and chalky) option at $4,000 on DraftKings and he should be in the Flex/RB2 mix in The Wolf’s Week 12 Rankings that will be updated on Sunday morning.
