Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Rhamondre Stevenson

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.

Sunday, January 18, 10:00 AM

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson has been playing some of the best football of his career lately, and he'll look to carry that momentum into Sunday's Divisional Round contest against the Houston Texans. Stevenson has scored double-digit fantasy points (full-PPR) in each of his last six games, re-establishing himself as the primary running back in New England. His last four games have been particularly dominant, as he has tallied 461 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns in that short window. His efficiency has been the most impressive part of his success, as Stevenson posted those absurd numbers while handling 13 or fewer touches in each of the four games. He should handle a similar workload on Sunday afternoon, but he'll admittedly face a tougher test in the form of the Houston Texans' elite defense. Houston's defense has allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards and eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs in 2025. We still believe that Stevenson's pure talent could allow him to overcome this difficult matchup, but managers should have lower expectations than they did in the last few weeks. As it stands, Stevenson ranks as the overall RB8 in RotoBaller's fantasy rankings for the Divisional Round, putting him one spot ahead of teammate TreVeyon Henderson.