The San Diego Chargers welcomed back a key part of their backfield on Sunday, when Danny Woodhead played in his first NFL game since missing all but three outings of the 2014 season with fibula and ankle fractures.
Danny Woodhead scores twice in Week 1, will be snatched from fantasy waiver wires
The Chargers gave their veteran running back quite the workload in the wake of a devastating injury in 2014. We break down the fantasy implications.
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The veteran scat-back made the most of his return, rushing for 42 yards on 12 attempts, finding the end zone twice. Woodhead also added four catches for 20 yards, and got the bulk of the snaps among Chargers running backs.
It had been assumed that first-round pick Melvin Gordon would handle an overwhelming amount of the backfield duties to begin his career, but Woodhead clearly has enough trust of his coaching staff to delay those plans.
Fantasy Spin: It looks like it will be difficult to project who will get the bulk of the Chargers’ touches from week to week, but it’s safe to assume that Woodhead will once again have a significant role in the passing game despite suffering significant injuries.
Going forward, he will be an intriguing flex play in PPR leagues, but it’s difficult to envision him being in line for touchdowns like he was in Week 1.
Gordon is still very much part of the Chargers' game plan and will cap Woodhead's upside as a result of it. Both running backs have a middling matchup for Week 2 against the Bengals and will be in RB3/flex territory.
