Carlos Hyde Fantasy Outlook Should See Increased Upside With Will Fuller Ruled Out of AFC Wild Card Game

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson will now officially be without one of his primary receiving weapons in the AFC Wild Card Game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

Wide receiver Will Fuller was ruled out of the AFC Wild Card Game matchup hours before kickoff, leaving DeAndre Hopkins and Kenny Stills to shoulder the load through the air.

Without Fuller, the Texans could elect to lean more on running back Carlos Hyde and the ground game. The Ohio State product finished the season with 1,070 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 4.4 yards per carry, despite finishing with 538 offensive snaps compared to backup RB Duke Johnson's 531 snaps.

If that timeshare continues into the NFL Playoffs, Hyde's proven he can remain effective in what's essentially been a 50-50 split with Johnson in their regular-season run.

The Bills were somewhat vulnerable against the run this season too, surrendering an average of 103.1 rushing yards per game and the 13th-most fantasy points to running backs this season. Buffalo also ranked just 18th in Football Outsiders' DVOA rushing defense in the regular season.

Hyde currently projects as the RB10 in our Playoff Fantasy Football rankings, behind Seattle Seahawks RB Travis Homer but ahead of Green Bay Packers RB Jamaal Williams.

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