Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or David Montgomery

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 21, 6:33 PM

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery rushed ten times for 33 yards and caught three passes for 14 yards in the 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His final stats in the NFC Divisional Round were far from impressive, but he remains a key piece of the team's offense despite the emergence of rookie Jahmyr Gibbs. The 49ers allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs during the regular season, so Montgomery could be in for another hard-fought day in the NFC Championship Game. That said, he scored 14 touchdowns in the regular season and Wild Card Rounds combined, so he remains a DFS consideration.