Who Should I Start? Antonio Gibson or Jaleel McLaughlin

Wednesday, September 18, 7:07 PM

New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson has emerged as an intriguing fantasy option ahead of his Week 3 clash against the New York Jets. Gibson was particularly productive last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, rushing for 96 yards on 11 carries. Typically viewed as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, Gibson has been almost exclusively used on the ground with the Patriots this season. He offers great burst and change of pace behind lead back Rhamondre Stevenson. The big concern with Gibson is playing time. He registered a dozen touches last week, but he only played 24 percent of offensive snaps. It's difficult to play less than one-quarter of the snaps and have consistent fantasy relevance. Nevertheless, Gibson proved last week that he's capable of producing fantasy points, putting him on the radar as a fringe top-36 running back this week. Interestingly, for perhaps the first time in his career, he might rank higher in standard leagues than in PPR formats.

Monday, September 16, 12:24 AM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin took a step back from his Week 1 involvement in the Week 2 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Denver on Sunday. After out-touching backfield mate Javonte Williams last week in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks, McLaughlin had only three carries for six yards in the 13-6 loss to the Steelers and wasn't targeted in the passing game. Meanwhile, Williams had 16 touches for 65 scrimmage yards. It was a step back for the 24-year-old second-year back, but he's still the clear RB2 in Denver, with Tyler Badie seeing only one carry for a 16-yard gain. McLaughlin is going to have much better games than this, obviously, but it's hard to justify using a roster spot on him in 12-team fantasy leagues as long as the Broncos' offense continues to struggle so much under rookie quarterback Bo Nix. McLaughlin will have very little standalone value in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.