Fantasy Football: 5 Late-Round Running Backs With Early-Season Roles
Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals
There are very few circumstances in which you'll want to draft Jeremy Hill this year. With rookie Joe Mixon on the roster, Hill's days as the early-down running back are likely numbered, and Giovani Bernard is still there to sap away passing-down usage. But we need players who will be on the field, and Hill has at least done that this preseason.
In 38 snaps Andy Dalton has been under center for so far in the preseason, Jeremy Hill has played 24; Mixon has played just 14.
— Chris Towers (@CTowersCBS) August 24, 2017
Those contests have come with Bernard on the sidelines, but having Hill run ahead of Mixon is interesting, if nothing else. It means we should probably be giving Hill a sniff in the 12th round (as the RB51), and it makes Mixon's fourth-round cost harder to justify.
We know what Hill is, and that doesn't figure to improve much after the offensive line's mass exodus in the offseason. But if we're scrambling for volume this late, we don't have the leeway to be picky. It certainly looks now as if Hill is going to have an early-season role in this Cincinnati Bengals offense, and that alone merits drafting when the situation calls for it.
