Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Saquon Barkley

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, November 8, 4:11 PM

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (groin) is off the final injury report and is set to play on Monday night against the Green Bay Packers, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Barkley practiced in full every day this week after tweaking his groin during the Eagles' Week 8 win over the New York Giants, but had the bye week to recover and won't miss any time to the injury. Fantasy managers can exhale with the positive news regarding the Eagles' star running back, who is coming off easily his best performance of the season, rushing for 150 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and adding four catches (five targets) for 24 yards as a receiver. Barkley will look to build on the strong performance in Week 10 against a Green Bay Packers defense that has struggled to defend the run since their Week 5 bye, ranking 25th in rushing success rate. Barkley is a rock-solid RB1 for Monday Night Football.