Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Ray Davis

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.

Thursday, September 25, 10:51 AM

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis has opened the season as the team's RB3. Through three games, he has logged just 10 carries for 26 yards, with most of that work coming in the Bills' blowout win over the New York Jets when the backups entered late. James Cook has been outstanding as the lead back, but the bigger issue for Davis is that veteran Ty Johnson has seized the RB2 role. Johnson has played 28% of the team's snaps compared to Davis's 15%, leaving the rookie buried on the depth chart. At this point, Davis's only path to fantasy relevance would be an injury to Cook, and even then, it's unclear if he would handle the majority of touches. He's safe to drop in most fantasy formats.