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Fantasy Football: 7 Players to Avoid in Week 4

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Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

One thing that film-watchers and number-crunchers can agree on is that Jeremy Hill has not been the same back as he was last year.

Last year, Hill ranked fourth out of 42 running backs with 100-plus carries in cumulative Rushing NEP, and fifth in Rush NEP per attempt. This year, his numbers rank 45th and 44th among running backs with 20 or more carries, respectively.

On a per-play basis, the only running backs who have fared worse than Hill are DeMarco Murray, C.J. Anderson, and Joique Bell. Combine that with Giovani Bernard’s increasing role a the expense of Hill’s, and this looks like it could become tough to trust Hill as an every-week fantasy starter barring a rebound to 2014 form.

On the other end, Kansas City ranks behind only the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Washington Redskins (barely) in Adjusted Defensive Rush NEP per play. While they have played Houston without Arian Foster, Denver without good C.J. Anderson, and Green Bay without healthy Eddie Lacy, it's still a strong defensive front. We project Hill for 12.80 carries, 62.63 rushing yards, and 0.39 rushing touchdowns.