The football world got a glimpse of what the San Diego Chargers have been seeing from Branden Oliver for the past several months.
The dynamic running back gashed the New York Jets for 114 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and added four receptions for 68 yards and another score. We should note that this was against a Jets defense giving up just 63 rushing yards per game coming into Sunday.
"Whenever you can have a coming-out party for somebody, it's a great thing," linebacker Dwight Freeney said, per ESPN.com. "He's a rookie, and we see it all the time in practice. It's crazy. So we kind of expected it.
"You can't teach that lean, that leverage, that movement and that height. You can't see him."
Listed at 5-foot-7, the man wearing No. 43 for the Chargers and making the shifty moves in space immediately calls to mind Darren Sproles (it's an odd sort of mind warp that is next to impossible not to get caught in).
"That's high praise," safety Eric Weddle said, cautioning not to make too much of one game. "Sproles has done it for a long time at a high level. I'm sure Bo (Oliver) would say the same thing -- give him a few years before we start putting him in that conversation.
"But he's one of the greatest kids I've ever been around. For such a young guy, he just comes to work every day, and you can't not pull for a guy like that."
With Donald Brown exiting Sunday's game with a concussion and Ryan Mathews still dealing with a sprained MCL, it could be the Oliver show in San Diego. (Now every fantasy footballer rush to the waiver wire!).
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