Who Should I Start? Ashton Jeanty or RJ Harvey

Monday, September 8, 3:52 AM

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty's NFL career started with a victory, though his efforts had little to do with the outcome. The Boise State product had 38 rushing yards on 19 carries and two receiving yards on two catches in the Raiders' 20-13 win over the Patriots in their 2025 season opener. Despite the disappointing stat line, fantasy managers should be encouraged by Jeanty's usage. The highly-touted rookie dominated the backfield opportunities, not only taking the lion's share of rushing attempts but finishing with an 86% snap share. Fantasy managers who took a chance on the sixth-overall pick from the NFL Draft might have to wait a bit longer before their investment pays off. Jeanty has a challenging matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2.

Friday, September 5, 12:37 AM

Although Denver Broncos rookie running back RJ Harvey was drafted in the second round in April and impressed during training camp, he was listed as the RB2 behind J.K. Dobbins on the team's initial 2025 depth chart. Dobbins is expected to "start" the Week 1 season opener on Sunday against the Titans, but fantasy managers shouldn't read too much into that and should still consider the 24-year-old Harvey worth starting as an RB3/flex in his first NFL regular-season game. Denver is currently eight-point favorites at home against Tenneessee, a team that allowed 133.9 rushing yards per game (seventh-most) and 22.1 half-PPR points to RBs (10th-most) in 2024. Dobbins' presence surely lowers Harvey's fantasy ceiling, but the Central Florida product is younger, healthier, and has more home run potential. By season's end, Harvey is expected to take over the "starting" role from Dobbins.