Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Chuba Hubbard

Thursday, June 27, 4:25 PM

Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler was an elite fantasy football producer for a few of his seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, but last year was disappointing for the veteran and fantasy managers. Ekeler posted 179 attempts for 628 yards and five touchdowns and caught 51 passes for 436 yards and one touchdown en route to an RB26 finish in PPR leagues. He was selected as a top-three running back in PPR formats, so it was far from ideal. However, the former undrafted free agent is confident he will bounce back in 2024. "You're going to get the best version of myself always, no matter what," Ekeler told NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero. "There's been this controversy out there, like, 'Oh Austin said he doesn't want 300 carries, 'cause that's what the Chargers said.' I've never had that many carries ever. So, I don't know why everybody's in an uproar. It's not that I don't want to touch the ball. It's the way that I've had the most production is when I'm able to split between catching and running the ball. If I'm healthy, I'm going to be on the field and I'm going to be producing." The 29-year-old is slated to share the backfield with Brian Robinson this season, but as long as he maintains the clear pass-catching role out of the backfield, he should be a weekly flex option in PPR and half-PPR setups. He is usually available after the top 25 running backs are selected.

Sunday, January 7, 5:22 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard carried the ball 23 times for 83 yards and added two catches for nine yards in a 9-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18. Hubbard easily led the team in rushing in the regular-season finale as Miles Sanders saw just three touches in the loss. Hubbard ultimately turned in a successful season as he wrestled the starting role away from Sanders mid-season and never looked back. His role heading into next season remains up in the air, however, as the Panthers are likely to have a new head coach and general manager in place.