Who Should I Start? Ameer Abdullah or Bucky Irving

Friday, August 16, 6:48 PM

The Athletic's Tashan Reed writes that Las Vegas Raiders running backs Ameer Abdullah and rookie sixth-rounder Dylan Laube are in a position battle to determine who will be the third-down running back behind Zamir White and Alexander Mattison. Neither Abdullah nor Laube made much of an impact in the preseason opener last weekend against the Minnesota Vikings, so the competition remains a toss-up as of right now. The 31-year-old Abdullah probably has a leg up just because of his familiarity with the offense after catching 19 of his 24 targets in 2023 for 131 yards in 17 games played. However, unless one of White or Mattison miss time with an injury this year, it's hard to foresee Abdulla or Laube having much fantasy appeal outside of very deep PPR leagues.

Sunday, September 15, 6:24 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving struggled to get much going on the ground during the Week 2 matchup against the Detroit Lions. Irving came out strong in the season opener with 62 yards on nine attempts. He wasn't able to have the same success on Sunday with only 22 yards on seven carries in the win. It was a quiet game for the Bucs rushing attack as lead back Rachaad White finished with 18 yards on the ground. Irving should continue seeing around seven or eight touches a game, but it probably won't be enough to start him in fantasy formats. Although, Irving is worth stashing in most formats due to his upside.