Who Should I Start? Chuba Hubbard or Breece Hall

Saturday, August 9, 3:50 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard opened the preseason with three rushes for 10 yards in Friday's 30-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. While his stats were light, the 26-year-old is expected to resume his role as the team's lead back after an impressive 2024 campaign. Last year, Hubbard emerged as a bell-cow, capitalizing on injuries to Miles Sanders and Jonathon Brooks (knee) to post a stat line of 250 rushes for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, along with 43 receptions for 171 yards and one touchdown through the air in 15 games. He signed a four-year, $33.2 million contract extension in the middle of the season. RotoBaller projects Hubbard as RB17 heading into the regular season, reflecting his expected workload as the top option in the Carolina backfield and a steady, high-end RB2.

Sunday, August 17, 2:46 AM

New York Jets running back Breece Hall rushed for 26 yards on seven carries in his team's 31-12 loss to the New York Giants on Saturday. He failed to bring in his only target. Hall saw the team's first carry two plays into their opening possession, but was immediately relieved for backfield mate Braelon Allen on the next play from scrimmage. Allen was promptly stuffed for no gain on third-and-short, but remained on the field as the offense went for it on fourth down. The duo split pretty evenly for the next two series, with Hall out-touching him 7-to-4, though Allen notably operated in short-yardage situations. Whether that was the plan or a coincidence is unclear, but it's undoubtedly concerning for Hall's touchdown upside, as it leaves the door open for Allen to vulture him in those instances. Whatever the split, it seems these two are fated to cannibalize each other this season in the Jets' rushing attack. With the added threat of quarterback Justin Fields around the goal line, this backfield could be a source of headaches for fantasy managers. The Iowa State product will get one more preseason opportunity to make his case to be the lead back when New York squares off against the Philadelphia Eagles next Friday.