In your standard fantasy football league draft this year, odds have it, both Jeremy Hill and Jamaal Charles were amongst the Top 15 or so picks made. They looked like strong choices for sure, but heading into the Week 4 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, we're not sure that there is much to compare between these two rushers.
We really wonder if Hill has fallen out of favor in Cincinnati just a bit. Giovani Bernard, the passing down back for the most part, had more rushes than Hill did against Baltimore, and all of that sort of stemmed from a couple fumbles he had the week before against San Diego when he ended up on the bench.
Hill isn't the type of back who is going to do a lot of work out of the backfield like Bernard is. The former didn't have a single target last week against Baltimore, while the latter had four targets and three catches for 34 yards. The end result for Hill was a paltry 4.05 fantasy points, which would get him killed in this matchup against Charles if that's what he musters once again.
It should be noted that the flow of this game should dictate a little more success for Hill. The Chiefs have a much better pass defense than rush defense, and theoretically, this game shouldn't be a tremendous shootout like the second half became against Baltimore last week. That said, he can't expect that Hill is going to get much more than the 12 carries he had against the Ravens, and if that turns out to be the case, only a goal line carry that ends in a touchdown could turn the tide.
That said, we're ready to lay the lumber with Charles in this matchup for a number of reasons. The biggest of these reasons very well could be the fact that Knile Davis has been dealing with an ankle injury, one which could keep him out of this game. If that turns out to be the case, Andy Reid isn't going to trust any other back on the field while he has the opportunity to have Charles out there, and that's only going to make life easier when it comes to betting on this fantasy matchup.
Last week against Green Bay in a game which the Chiefs were blown out, Charles was absolutely still in charge. He had three touchdowns on the ground and was a contributor in the passing game just like he was in the rushing game. He was worth 29.85 fantasy points in that game, and even if he hadn't gotten in the end zone even once, he still would've been worth 11.85 points.
If Charles gets into double-digits in this game, there's a great chance that he is going to end up beating out Hill for fantasy supremacy, knowing that the latter is basically in a timeshare at the moment, one which he doesn't seem like he is going to be breaking out of anytime soon. In fact, we think that things might only get worse for Hill, knowing that Bernard has a unique skill set which gives him the ability to make more things happen in space, something which has plagued Hill through his entire NFL career.
It's going to take laying at least four or five points to get Charles on our side against Hill, but there is no doubt that, even if the Chiefs play this whole game from behind, the former Texas Longhorn is the right man to play.
BookMaker opened the spread for this Sunday soiree at -4.5 in favor of the Cincinnati Bengals. The NFL odds total surfaced at 44.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs is scheduled for Sunday, October 4, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. ET at Paul Brown Stadium. The game will be broadcast regionally on CBS.
