Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis has averaged 3.5 yards per rush this season, scored two touchdowns and ranks 32nd in standard scoring for fantasy running backs. Off the field, things haven't gone any better, with his sticky contract situation playing out in public, a controversial missed game on his agent's advice and now a hamstring pull that could keep him from suiting up in Week 7. Needless to say, fantasy owners counting on him haven't been amused.
Meanwhile, there's always the lure and attractiveness of the unknown, in this case second-year runner Montario Hardesty. He was supposed to be the main Browns guy last season after being a second-round pick in the 2010 draft. Then he shredded a knee and missed a year. It's been slow going ever since. He's averaging 3.6 yards on his 40 carries this season.
I'm starting to think fantasy owners won't get much of anything out of Hillis or Hardesty this season. I removed Hillis from Friday's updated rankings, as I don't think he'll play, and marginally pushed Hardesty up a few spots. The Browns are 31st in rushing offense, and I doubt they'll stay ahead of Chris Johnson's 32nd-ranked Tennessee Titans for long.
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Eric Karabell | email
ESPN.com Senior Writer- ESPN contributor on TV, radio, podcasts, blogs, Magazine
- Charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame
- Author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments"
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Eric Karabell
Eric Karabell is an ESPN.com senior writer. He has worked at ESPN since 1997 and covered fantasy sports for ESPN since 2001, specializing in baseball and football. Eric appears several times per week on SportsCenter, NFL Live and other ESPN shows, contributes to ESPN Radio and ESPN The Magazine and is the host of the Baseball Today Podcast. He has been honored twice as fantasy sports writer of the year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, his blog was named best fantasy baseball series for 2007 and he was inducted into the inaugural FSWA Hall of Fame class in 2010.
Eric grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, and accordingly, favors Philly teams first, his fantasy teams second. He previously served as ESPN.com's lead NBA editor, and is a former Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer. Eric is also the author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments," published by Source Books and available in bookstores and online.
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