The Denver Broncos might be fantasy's best bad real-life football team, save for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
The Broncos finally have a strong ground game, even if it appears they don't know fully know what they have yet, and offense capable of generating explosive gains. Case Keenum flashed some nice garbage-time productivity a week ago. Emmanuel Sanders is WR21 overall, with more total yards than all but 12 wideouts. And the defense ... never mind, the defense stinks in fantasy and reality, probably a bad sign for defensive-minded head coach Vance Joseph, but that's a different column for a different day.
Let's focus instead for a minute on Denver's run game (these are PFW's Week 6 RB rankings, after all), where rookies Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman comprise fantasy's only top-20 tandem outside of the electrifying Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler combo.
Lindsay (RB18 overall) and Freeman (RB20) have combined for five scores and 664 yards from scrimmage, which is particularly impressive when considering they're ceding third-down duties to Devontae Booker, whose 109 snaps on offense are only nine fewer than Lindsay (118) and 11 less than Freeman (120). Sure, Lindsay's Week 2 ejection before halftime skews the usage numbers a tad, but the point remains. The question is whether the trend will remain too.
When the Los Angeles Rams touch down at Mile High on Sunday, they could be without two of their top three receivers, Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp, both of whom remain in concussion protocol. We're not quite on upset alert, but it wouldn't be stunning if those absences contributed to Sean McVay's offense at least coming down to earth a bit. Moreover, the Rams defense is a lot stouter against the pass than the run, where they had trouble with Seattle's own two-headed backfield of Chris Carson and Mike Davis on Sunday.
Lindsay and Freeman could both be in line for big days Sunday, when Denver likely will again provide more hope to fantasy owners than Broncos fans.
1. Todd Gurley, Rams at Broncos
2. James Conner, Steelers at Bengals
3. Melvin Gordon, Chargers at Browns
4. Saquon Barkley, Giants vs. Eagles
5. Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys vs. Jaguars
6. Christian McCaffrey, Panthers at Washington
7. David Johnson, Cardinals at Vikings
8. Joe Mixon, Bengals vs. Steelers
9. Sony Michel, Patriots vs. Chiefs
10. Kareem Hunt, Chiefs at Patriots
11. James White, Patriots vs. Chiefs
12. Tevin Coleman, Falcons at Buccaneers
13. Carlos Hyde, Browns vs. Chargers
14. Lamar Miller, Texans vs. Bills
15. T.J. Yeldon, Jaguars at Cowboys
16. Adrian Peterson, Washington vs. Panthers
17. Chris Carson, Seahawks at Raiders
18. Marshawn Lynch, Raiders vs. Seahawks
19. Phillip Lindsay, Broncos vs. Rams
20. Alex Collins, Ravens at Titans
21. Dion Lewis, Titans vs. Ravens
22. Royce Freeman, Broncos vs. Rams
23. Isaiah Crowell, Jets vs. Colts
24. Jordan Howard, Bears at Dolphins
25. Austin Ekeler, Chargers at Browns
26. Nyheim Hines, Colts at Jets
27. LeSean McCoy, Bills at Texans
28. Aaron Jones, Packers vs. 49ers
29. Latavius Murray, Vikings vs. Cardinals
30. Javorius Allen, Ravens at Titans
31. Corey Clement, Eagles at Giants
32. Wendell Smallwood, Eagles at Giants
33. Peyton Barber, Bucs at Falcons
34. Kenyan Drake, Dolphins vs. Bears
35. Tarik Cohen, Bears at Dolphins
36. Derrick Henry, Titans vs. Ravens
37. Chris Thompson, Washington vs. Panthers
38. Alfred Morris, 49ers at Packers
39. Duke Johnson, Browns vs. Chargers
40. Mike Davis, Seahawks
41. Ito Smith, Falcons vs. Bucs
42. Ronald Jones, Bucs at Falcons
43. Alfred Blue, Texans vs. Bills
44. Jamaal Williams, Packers vs. 49ers
45. Frank Gore, Dolphins vs. Bears
46. Kyle Juszczyk, 49ers at Packers
47. Jordan Wilkins, Colts at Jets
48. Devontae Booker, Broncos vs. Rams
49. Mark Walton, Bengals vs. Steelers
50. Jalen Richard, Raiders vs. Seahawks
Not listed because of injuries: Devonta Freeman, Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Marlon Mack, Darren Sproles
