Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard suffered a torn ACL in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
Bernard had 21 yards on seven carries before exiting, adding 40 yards on five catches. Jeremy Hill became the primary runner after the injury and should see a bulk of the workload if Bernard misses extended time.
Hill and Bernard have largely split carries through the last two seasons, seemingly alternating effectiveness. After Hill busted out for a 1,000-yard campaign in 2014, it was Bernard who was the more dangerous per-carry back last season.
This continued throughout the 2016 season with Bernard appearing to take over as a featured running back for part of the year before Hill was ale to wrestle back his starting job.
Bernard has limited the work Hill has done in the passing game to emergency checkdowns. This might change with the injury, as Hill could suddenly become more active as an underneath target. The Bengals could also use Rex Burkhead in the third-down role, so that’s worth monitoring.
Hill is owned in every league, so this isn’t a situation where you’re rushing to the waiver wire. Nor is it especially noteworthy for his value because he’s been starting in most leagues as is. But Hill’s now a must-start in leagues where he wasn’t and should be an RB1 for the duration of Bernard’s absence.
The Bengals have one of the league’s most talented offenses, and Hill is their no-doubt goal-line running back.
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