Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or Tyler Allgeier

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 15, 1:27 PM

Atlanta Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier continues to put himself in the Flex conversation after scoring his fifth and sixth rushing touchdowns of the season last week. In games where Atlanta remains competitive, the 25-year-old tends to stay involved, and Week 11's matchup against the Panthers should be one of those games despite losing to Carolina 30-0 back in Week 3. Carolina has allowed 157 yards rushing per game over the last three weeks, which is the fourth-highest total in the league, and has been stingy against the pass, so Atlanta may prefer to stick to the ground in this one as much as possible. The BYU product has been getting a healthy number of attempts inside the red zone, including five last week compared to just one for Bijan Robinson, so he could be in line for a score this week, too. Averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, though, makes him a touchdown-dependent RB4/Flex option, who has put up just a total of 5.0 fantasy points in the games in which he failed to score.