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Preparing for the 2010 season, Mike Tolbert wasn't on anyone's draft board. The Chargers fullback showed some ability in 2009, recording 25 carries and averaging a healthy 5.9 yards per. He also showed some skill as a receiver, catching 17 balls for 192 yards and 3 TD's, but fullbacks simply do not get consistent fantasy work. They aren't supposed to.

When rookie Ryan Mathews went down with injury, Tolbert stepped in and has been doing a heck of a job. Since getting full time work, his worst output has been 90 total yards, not too shabby. His average carry has gone for 5.5 yards and he's found paydirt 3 times in 3 games.

On the flipside, Ryan Mathews never got a chance to really get going, getting knocked out of his second game against Jacksonville. After missing week 3, he returned last week and showed some flashes of speed and notched his first NFL touchdown.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that Tolbert is still likely to get significant work even as Mathews gets himself back to 100%. The emergence of Tolbert has proven really bad news for Mathews' owners who were expecting a 250+ carry season (he's currently on pace for only 132, don't worry that will go up if he stays healthy).

So the question is how many carries will Mathews lose and for how long. Last week Tolbert got 16 touches and Mathews got 9. Keep an eye on the weekly splits to see how the situation changes.

At this point, I wouldn't consider this pair to be an RBBC, at least not permanently. It is only a matter of time before Mathews returns to feature back status. The Chargers moved up in the draft to grab him for a reason.

Sources: San Diego Union-Tribune