Who Should I Start? Antonio Gibson or Tank Bigsby

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.

Tuesday, July 2, 2:27 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars running backs coach Jerry Mack has seen some improvement from second-year back Tank Bigsby this offseason after a disappointing rookie campaign in 2023. "I think now things are starting to slow down for him. He understands his role in this offense. He's understanding the ins and outs of the offense a lot better as well," Mack said. Bigsby had only 132 yards and two touchdowns on 50 carries in 2023 behind bell-cow Travis Etienne Jr. The 22-year-old lost some confidence during his tough rookie season, but Mack says Bigsby came in this offseason "with a revitalized type of attitude." The Jaguars continue to say they want to get Bigsby more involved on offense this year, too, as a way to lighten the load on Etienne. Even if Bigsby sees more touches in his sophomore season, he's going to need to improve his 2.6 yard-per-carry average to be more than just a deep-league handcuff to Etienne.