Who Should I Start? Chris Rodriguez Jr. or Robbie Ouzts

Saturday, August 23, 11:19 PM

Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed for 34 yards on five carries in the final preseason game against the Ravens. Rodriguez started the game and consistently picked up big chunks of yards. The 24-year-old finished the preseason averaging nearly seven yards per carry, with 17 rushes for 118 yards. Rodriguez fits the role of a hammer and short-yardage back that can get the tough yards, but also had gaudy production in the SEC at Kentucky. He averaged over 100 rushing yards per game in both of his last two seasons. Additionally, he's showing improved burst and explosiveness in camp this year, saying that he's already hit 20 MPH more times this year than all of last year, according to Hayley Salvatore of Commanders.com. Brian Robinson is now officially dealt to San Francisco, and Rodriguez is set to be in the mix for early down touches in the Washington backfield. Touchdowns will be the path to fantasy value for Rodriguez in what could be a murky backfield.

Sunday, May 4, 1:08 PM

The Seattle Seahawks are converting rookie fifth-round tight end Robbie Ouzts to a 274-pound fullback as part of their vision for a more physical running game under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, according to ESPN's Brady Henderson. Ouzts will be competing with Brady Russell, who is also making the transition from tight end to fullback this offseason. He worked mostly as a blocker during his four-year college career at Alabama, so it should be a pretty natural transition for Ouzts in Seattle. Ouzts obviously won't be on the fantasy radar at all as a blocker if he's on the field regularly, but this news is good news for the Seahawks' ground attack and starting running back Kenneth Walker III and backup Zach Charbonnet. In 17 games last year, Seattle averaged just 95.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked as the fifth-fewest in the NFL.