College Fantasy Football: Who picks up slack for OU's Anderson?

Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out a changing running back situation and Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell offers his opinion on the player from a fantasy perspective.

THE SITUATION

Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson is out for the season with another injury, this one to his knee, and now the Sooners have to figure out their running attack for another push toward the College Football Playoff. First, for Iowa State this weekend.

It looks and sounds like it will be a by-committee approach but the first player to have an opportunity to get major carries is Trey Sermon, who is second on the team behind Anderson with 16 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown in two games.

Marcelias Sutton has two scores and T.J. Pledger is third on the team (behind Anderson and quarterback Kyler Murray) with 83 rushing yards but he did not score against either Florida Atlantic or UCLA. Anderson got injured against the Bruins and had 119 rushing yards and three scores in the two games.

The question is now who picks up that slack and is that a valuable option to pick up in fantasy leagues?

Murray has fantastic running ability but Oklahoma’s running backs should not be dismissed. Not by a long stretch. It’s expected Sermon will get the first chance to really show his stuff and he has the talent to do so but needs to deliver early against the Cyclones.

Sutton seems like the wild card, someone who can deliver big runs but can he be counted on to be Oklahoma’s full-time running back? Pledger is talented but young so steadily bringing him into the offense is more expected. Kennedy Brooks is another option but he only has four carries through two games.

There are plenty of outstanding options at running backs for your fantasy leagues but if you want to stick with Oklahoma’s dynamic offense and you don’t have Murray as a passing and running threat, Sermon would be your best bet now that Anderson is done for the season but be careful - Sutton and Pledger are going to get more carries and Murray can do quite a bit of running himself.

FARRELL'S TAKE

“Sermon is a quality backup. I don’t think he’s Rodney Anderson because he can’t catch the ball the same way but if you’re looking for somebody who is going to get some carries, who’s going to be their No. 1 guy and who’s going to be their red-zone guy as well, Sermon is not a bad pickup. The problem is Kyler Murray because he calls his own number quite a bit and that’s going to take away from your touchdowns. I don’t think he’s a bad backup at all but the drop-off from Rodney Anderson to Trey Sermon is fairly substantial. Oklahoma scores so much it’s not a bad call to have the RB1 from Oklahoma to be your guy.

“It will slow down the offense a little bit but with Murray’s ability to run, the way they’re throwing the ball with CeeDee Lamb, Marquise Brown and that receiving corps. They’re going to put up big points but the thing in fantasy is that the passing game might be a little more predominant with Anderson out. Last year, Anderson ran for 1,100 yards and caught a ton of passes so they like using their running backs out of the backfield. The probably is Trey Sermon doesn’t have the same skill set as Rodney Anderson. He’s going to get carries but if you have a better option it’s not a bad idea. It’s one of things - are you going to start a running back on a 40-plus point team hoping he gets one or two touchdowns even though he’s not Rodney Anderson? It’s a little shaky with Trey Sermon even though I like him a lot.”