Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Najee Harris

Sunday, January 26, 6:46 PM

Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler tallied just 32 all-purpose yards during their loss in the NFC Championship game to the Philadelphia Eagles. Ekeler also lost a fumble. The Commanders were playing from behind throughout most of the contest, putting their rushing attack out of the game plan. However, even when Ekeler was given the ball through the air, he could not perform. He caught five of his seven targets but tallied just 17 yards. His seven targets tied him the second-most on the team, only behind tight end Zach Ertz. Throughout the season, the 29-year-old operated primarily as a change-of-pace option in the Washington backfield. Entering Sunday, Ekeler posted a strong 10.3 yards per catch and a 4.8 yards per carry. Ekeler will likely remain in this role next season as he enters the final year of his contract.

Friday, August 15, 10:48 AM

Los Angeles Chargers beat writer Daniel Popper of The Athletic projects Chargers running back Najee Harris (eye) to open the season on the non-football injury list, which means he would be forced to miss the first four games of the season. Popper writes that he has "not seen nearly enough progress at this point to think (Harris) will be ready for Week 1." Harris suffered an eye injury on July 4 and just recently returned to practice in a very limited capacity this week. If Harris does indeed miss a chunk of the regular season, rookie running back Omarion Hampton would have a major opportunity to seize the lead role in the Los Angeles backfield. Hampton is a steady riser in fantasy and profiles as a high-end RB2, while Harris has fallen to RB49 in RotoBaller's half-PPR rankings.