Who Should I Start? Alvin Kamara or D'Andre Swift

Friday, January 2, 3:42 PM

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle) has been ruled out for his team's Week 18 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. Kamara suffered a sprained MCL in Week 12 that will ultimately end up causing him to miss New Orleans' final six games of the season. Across 11 contests in 2025, the 30-year-old recorded 657 scrimmage yards and one touchdown on 164 touches. His 3.6 yards per carry and 4.0 yards per touch both represent career lows. With Kamara sidelined and Saints backs Kendre Miller (knee) and Devin Neal (hamstring) on Injured Reserve, New Orleans will likely split backfield work between Audric Estime and Evan Hull in Week 18, with tight end Taysom Hill possibly mixing in as well. Estime functioned as the team's lead back in Week 17, recording 14 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.

Wednesday, January 7, 9:57 AM

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift was one of fantasy football's best running back picks in the mid rounds, as he finished the 2025 season as the RB15, and rushed for 1,087 yards on 223 attempts (4.87 YPC) and added 34 receptions for 299 yards in the receiving game as well. As the season progressed, the Rutgers rookie running back, Kyle Monangai, started to make an impact, and the Bears' backfield became more of a running-back-by-committee approach, leaving Swift managers frustrated. However, in his somewhat limited workload down the stretch, Swift still was averaging closer to 60 percent of the snaps to Monangai's 40, and is still the clear lead back averaging 14.4 fantasy points per game on the season, and with the Bears in their first playoff game with second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, and first time head coach Ben Johnson, it's likely they will make an emphasis to try and run the ball effectively against a depleted Packers defense who last Micah Parson's (knee) for the season. The Bears are underdogs (+1) in this contest, but have shown all season that they can win close games. Although Swift is not one of the top running back options to own in fantasy payoff leagues, he is a solid option and would only become more valuable if the Bears can continue to advance in the playoffs.