Who Should I Start? Carson Steele or Audric Estimé

Monday, January 6, 4:42 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Carson Steele handled eight carries for 25 yards and two catches for two yards in the 0-38 loss to the Denver Broncos. Steele was the clear lead back for the Chiefs, but he could not do much with his opportunities. The rookie out of UCLA stepped into the lead role with Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt ruled out for this game. Steele averaged just 3.1 yards per carry, but no other Chief carried the ball multiple times in this contest. The next time the Chiefs suit up will be against the winner of the wild card matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans. Steele will likely be relegated to his RB3 role when the Chiefs play their next game.

Saturday, January 11, 10:48 AM

Denver Broncos rookie running back Audric Estime is hard to recommend for fantasy lineups against the Buffalo Bills on wild-card weekend this Sunday as part of a three-man RB committee in Denver that also includes Jaleel McLaughlin and Javonte Williams. Estime did have 12 carries in the Week 18 win over the Kansas City Chiefs -- his second-highest total of the year -- but most of his work came in garbage time in a 38-0 blowout. In his first 13 NFL games in 2024, Estime averaged 4.1 yards per carry and only 5.8 rushing attempts per game. Opportunities are surely to be limited again this weekend in a game the Broncos are nearly 10-point underdogs on the road. The 21-year-old will probably only pay off as a flex play for fantasy managers if he finds the end zone, which he was only able to do twice this year. Estime has little upside as long as he's sharing touches with McLaughlin and Williams.