Who Should I Start? Aaron Jones Sr. or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Tuesday, September 9, 9:21 AM

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr. found the end zone for the Vikings in their comeback win on Monday Night Football over the Bears. He finished with three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown and added 23 rushing yards on his eight carries. While the touchdown and receiving production kept his Week 1 production solid, he ended up with fewer snaps and carries than Jordan Mason. Mason played 30 snaps and took his 15 carries for a team-high 68 rushing yards, while Jones played 28 snaps and ran more routes than Mason. It looks like a fairly even timeshare overall, making both backs usable but also touchdown-dependent moving forward. Jones and Mason's next matchup will be another primetime contest against the Falcons on Sunday Night Football in Week 2.

Wednesday, September 10, 2:49 PM

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt could be in line for more touches in Week 2 against the Packers after an exciting debut. His 82 rushing yards were the most among the rookie running backs in Week 1, and he had the highest PFF rushing grade in the league. The seventh rounder was hyper-efficient on his touches, with a 50% success rate as a runner and ran for over 10 yards on a league high 30% of his touches. His role in the offense should expand a bit as the season goes along, but it will likely look pretty similar to Week 1. Austin Ekeler will continue to handle the majority of the pass-down reps, and a third back in either Jeremy McNichols or Chris Rodriguez Jr., will have complementary roles as well. Croskey-Merritt likely won't catch many passes and will need to find the end zone to have an impactful game for fantasy, putting him in FLEX territory for now.