Austin Ekeler (ankle) has tested his ankle some in practice, but the Chargers are calling him doubtful. So they’ll likely be going back to Joshua Kelley on Sunday.
Kelley has been underwhelming the last two weeks, carrying 13 times for 39 yards at Tennessee and 11 times for 12 yards at Minnesota. But the Titans have one of the best-run defenses in the league, while the Vikings have played well against the run in two of their games.
The Raiders, on the other hand, definitely have a below-average run defense. Kelley, we’re thinking, is a decent enough Hail Mary option at tailback this week. For those looking on the waiver wire for a fill-in running back for Week 4, he might be the best option. Kelley ran it just fine back in Week 1, carrying 16 times for 91 yards against the Dolphins. He also had a 75-yard touchdown run in the preseason.
He’ll run behind a line, however, that just lost center Corey Linsley to a heart issue that likely will land him on IR. … Defensively, neither Joey Bosa nor Derwin James practiced all week. Bosa is questionable, while James is doubtful.
This report is just a small snippet of the Week 4 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly, part of the In-Season Analyst package. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 20-plus pages of matchup previews, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
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