Who Should I Start? Alvin Kamara or Antonio Gibson

Tuesday, July 23, 2:45 PM

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has reported for training camp despite leaving the team's minicamp early. Kamara's agent confirmed at the time that the running back's departure from minicamp was contract-related. Kamara's deal runs through 2025, and his appearance at camp should quell any speculation among fantasy managers that he was preparing for some kind of holdout. The five-time Pro Bowler caught a career-high 87.2% of his passes in 2023, but he's entering his age-29 season and has watched his rushing efficiency dip in each of the past three years. Despite having to share touches with Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller, however, Kamara still projects as a fine RB2 in PPR setups after closing as the overall RB3 in full-PPR points per game over 13 contests last year.

Tuesday, July 23, 7:04 PM

New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson (undisclosed) was placed on the active/NFI list to start training camp. The 26-year-old was added to the Patriots backfield as a depth piece and potential third-down running back. Gibson has been relatively durable throughout his career. He has played in at least 15 games in three straight seasons. Players are often placed on the NFI list during training camp, so this could turn out to be nothing, but it is worth monitoring. Gibson had a career-low in carries (65), rushing yards (265), and rushing touchdowns (1) in 2023 as he ceded the starting running back job to Brian Robinson Jr. Gibson is joining a Patriots team amid a considerable rebuild, especially on offense. Gibson's skills as a pass-catcher should come in handy in 2024, but the presence of incumbent Rhamondre Stevenson will likely once again limit Gibson's rushing upside. Generally, running backs on bad offense perform poorly for fantasy, so it may be best to look in another direction as you build out RB depth during your draft.