RosterWatch Nation, the running back situation in the NFL right now is not for the faint of heart. To be perfectly honest, it sucks. Is it worse than any other season by week 9? Probably not. But especially sucky right now is the fact that in week 9, fantasy owners will be without Chris Johnson (I say his name with reluctance), David Johnson, Justin Forsett, Charcandrick West, Beast Mode, and to a much lesser extent Alfred Blue. Did I mention that Le’Veon Bell is out for the year?

Oh, and by the way – the fourth-highest fantasy-scoring running back, Matt Forte, is now out for probably the next two weeks (or more). If you’re an owner of Forte, Forsett, the Johnsons, West, Bell, or Lynch you need a running back for this week … and maybe beyond. Chances are DeAngelo Williams is already owned in your redraft league. Who can you turn to? You need a hidden gem.

Matt Forte has been an absolute monster for the Chicago Bears. I think he is often overlooked as one of the best all-around backs in the NFL who has been consistently productive for a long time. I think he also was part of the revolution of receiving backs. Unfortunately Forte injured his knee and is day-to-day.

So who is the back you should replace him with for now? He’s a 6’0” 210 lbs back out of Michigan State who looks like a natural receiver. No, unfortunately I’m not talking about Le’Veon Bell. The guy slotted to fill in for Forte is Chicago Bears rookie running back Jeremy Langford.

Langford wasn’t my favorite back coming out in the 2015 class. He was a player RosterWatch was thoroughly unimpressed with during its draft-season evaluations. However, it should be noted that I had him ranked higher than Buck Allen but still lower than David Johnson, Ameer Abdullah, and TJ Yeldon.

Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives for Jeremy Langford while considering his fantasy value in Week 9 versus the San Diego Chargers defense.

Positives

– Size/Speed: He’s got the size you want. Though he doesn’t play up to that size a lot of times. He’s got speed when you look at his 40 time (4.42 at the combine). What I don’t like is that his speed doesn’t always show up on tape or in live practice settings.

– Vision/Patience: Similar to his predecessor Le’Veon Bell, Langford has great vision and patience in his running. He’s willing to wait for the blocks to develop.

– Receiving Ability: He’s a natural receiver because he played receiver and cornerback at Michigan State in addition to running back much like David Johnson. Soft hands and can run routes. Could be split out wide on some plays.

– Matchup: The San Diego Chargers run defense is abhorrent. They’ve allowed the fourth most rushing yards (997) in the league. Not only that but they’ve allowed that on only 199 rushing attempts leading to a whopping 5 yards per carry. They’ve also allowed 8 rushing touchdowns which is 5th most in the NFL. That’s one rushing touchdown a game! That could mean very good things for Langford. San Diego is the second-best matchup for opposing runners according to the RosterWatch Matchup Tool.

– Pass Protection: In addition to being an excellent pass catcher, Langford is no slouch in pass protection. That means he’s going to be in for all three downs most of the game. Jay Cutler certainly is going to need some help in pass pro.

Negatives

– Limited agility/burst: He doesn’t hit the hole with enough authority. There’s just not enough explosiveness in his game. He doesn’t have beautiful jump cuts like Le’Veon. His change of direction just isn’t very impressive.

– Offensive line: Kyle Long is an amazing player. Amazing. But one man cannot fix an entire offensive line. Pro Football Focus ranked this line as the 23rd best offensive line in the NFL. Matt Slauson can hold his own but Charles Leno is atrocious and this group is patchwork at best. It’s going to be a battle of terrible o-lines on Monday night between the Bears and the Chargers.

– Not physical enough: He doesn’t run through contact enough. He’ll slip some half-effort arm tackles but his lack of physicality, while not as bad, reminds me of another player that I can’t stand: Bryce Brown. Langford’s not as soft as Brown, but you’d like to see more aggression out of someone his size

DECLASSIFIED: Jeremy Langford Week 9 Fantasy Outlook

He’s worth adding in redraft leagues if you need a streamer for a couple weeks. However, he’s relegated to some sparse snaps again once Forte returns from injury.

I think his floor is absolutely RB2 in Week 9, though, and he could be a Top 10 scorer. He’s $4000 on DraftKings this week which is a dangerously low salary to fade in cash games given the situation Langford is facing. He’s cheaper than Frank Gore who is going up against the Denver Broncos’ bear of a defense. Langford is going for $6400 on FanDuel. Not a massive bargain but still cheaper than Ronnie Hillman and one of the cheapest possible RB1s this week.

I think he could do quite well in the flex and he might even be a solid RB2 at worst while Forte is sidelined. All factors considered, I would expect Langford to run for about 65 yards with three receptions for around 30 yards with a rushing touchdown in Week 9 versus the San Diego Chargers!