Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Kirk Cousins

Monday, September 22, 12:34 PM

Although Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. wasn't all that efficient (3.5 yards per carry) in his 2025 debut in the team's 41-24 blowout win over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, he did lead the team with 11 carries. Rodriguez was a healthy scratch the first two weeks, but he was elevated to the active roster for Week 3 after Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles in Week 2. The 24-year-old ran for 39 yards on his 11 carries and was not utilized in the passing game. Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt was second on the team with eight carries, and he, too, was inefficient with just 26 yards on the ground. Jeremy McNichols and quarterback Marcus Mariota combined for 10 rushing attempts and two touchdowns against the Raiders. Croskey-Merritt has the most upside in the Commanders' backfield moving forward with Ekeler done for the year, but Rodriguez is worth a waiver-wire pickup if you have JCM rostered or are looking for RB depth. Rodriguez is currently rostered in only 5% of Yahoo leagues.

Saturday, December 27, 4:31 PM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins has a 5:1 TD:INT over the last two weeks as he's focused his attention on the team's top playmakers rather than spreading the ball around. The 37-year-old may have to continue to air it out in Week 17 as the Falcons are 7.5-point underdogs for a Monday Night Football showdown against the Rams that has one of the higher expected point totals on the slate (49.5). It has been easier to throw on the Rams than to run it, too, with Los Angeles allowing the second-most yards per game through the air over the last three weeks (277.7) while yielding the fifth-fewest rush yards per game over that span (97.3). No. 1 wide receiver Drake London (knee) heads into the contest with a questionable tag, but if he were to miss the game, those targets would likely be divvied up between Kyle Pitts Sr., David Sills V, and Bijan Robinson. Despite some solid stats over the past couple of weeks, the 4x Pro Bowler shapes up as a low-end QB2 for MNF, albeit with some slight upside with all of the talented weapons at his disposal.