In a fill-in start for Maurice Jones-Drew in Week 15, second-year running back Jordan Todman did everything fantasy owners could have hoped for against the Buffalo Bills except get in the end zone. Todman toted the rock 25 times for 109 yards and also had four catches for 44 yards on a team-high eight targets. Even better news for his fantasy stock, third-string back Denard Robinson carried the ball only twice.
After the game, one of the guys blocking for him, guard Uche Nwaneri, said he wasn’t surprised by what Todman was able to accomplish. “Yeah, I kind of saw it coming. The guy’s got great speed, and he’s a young player who’s learning the game,” Nwaneri said. “He’s obviously learning it from one of the best, and he’s trying to emulate some of the things he does. It was good to see (Todman) out there running the ball. We didn’t miss a beat.”
Todman had similar sentiments. “I’ve been putting in the work through preseason and throughout the season…You kind of say that the sky is the limit and you try not to give yourself a set goal and let the chips fall as the go.”
If Jones-Drew is out again in Week 16 (and as of Thursday it seems like that will be the case), the sky will indeed be the limit in a dream matchup against the Swiss-cheese run defense of the Tennessee Titans.
On the season, the Titans have give up almost 90 yards and more than a touchdown per game to opposing running backs and there have been seven weeks where they have given up two scores. In the past two weeks, they’ve been even worse than usual and surrendered 301 rushing yards and four TDs to the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos.
It’s worth noting that the Jags were trying to get Todman some touches as part of a committee even before MJD was injured, so clearly they have some interest in seeing what he can do as a feature back. Considering that he could have touched the ball more than 30 times if he had caught all his passes in Week 15, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect that he will get the ball at least 25 times in Week 16 especially because the Jaguars receiving corps is incredibly thin due to injuries and suspensions.
If MJD is in fact out, Todman’s anticipated usage and cushy matchup should make him a better play than guys like Bobby Rainey, Giovani Bernard, Shane Vereen, Ray Rice, DeAngelo Williams or either of the Buffalo backs.
Evan Bleier is a freelance writer based out of wherever he can plug in his laptop. You can send him questions, comments and Buffalo wing suggestions @itishowitis or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
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