Fantasy Football: One Breakout Candidate From Every NFL Team

C.J. Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos

At this point, it's hard to tell whether C.J. Anderson is an overrated player living off a scorching-hot second half of the season back in 2014 or if he's a legitimately good NFL running back who has caught some bad breaks the last two years.

Count me as part of the group which believes the latter.

During his 2014 eruption, Anderson averaged 108 rushing yards per game over the final six contests, scoring a total of 9 touchdowns (8 rushing) in that span.

He done blowed up.

It hasn't been pretty since then -- he's amassed a total of 1,157 rushing yards and 9 scores on 262 carries over the past two seasons.

But if you dig a little deeper, Anderson's production isn't so bad. He hasn't been healthy, for one, and he hasn't gotten to be the clear-cut lead back since 2014, and those two factors go hand in hand.

The Denver Broncos gave Ronnie Hillman a team-leading 207 carries in 2015 while CJA never had more than 15 attempts in any game. Then, last season, Anderson was off to a decent start, averaging 62.4 rushing yards per game, before suffering a season-ending knee injury seven games in.

In his career, Anderson has either run for 80 yards or scored a touchdown in 14 of the 15 games in which he's gotten at least 13 carries. When he's been fed, he's produced.

Of course, volume is again a question for Anderson, as Denver brought in Jamaal Charles, one of the best running backs in NFL history, this offseason. But entering his age-31 campaign with a mere eight games played across the last two years, Charles is far from a sure thing. After those two, it's third-stringer Devontae Booker -- now recovering from a wrist injury -- who was pretty atrocious last year, putting up -0.10 Rushing NEP per carry, compared to Anderson's league-average clip of -0.02.

Unless Charles bucks his recent trend and stays healthy, Anderson looks like the best back in Denver.

The Broncos upgraded their offensive line in the draft, taking tackle Garett Bolles in the first round, and if Anderson can get a stronghold on the top job -- not a far-fetched idea -- he could be a steal as RB26 (6.02).