Who Should I Start? Chuba Hubbard or Tyjae Spears

Wednesday, October 15, 3:46 PM

Updating a previous report, Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (calf) was officially a limited participant in his return to practice on Wednesday, according to David Newton of ESPN. This is the first time that Hubbard has practiced since injuring his calf in Week 4. The 26-year-old missed Weeks 5 and 6 and left backfield duties to Rico Dowdle, who took full advantage of the elevated role to go for 473 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 60 touchdowns over that span. Dowdle's domination has allowed the Panthers to slow-play Hubbard's return, but it looks like he could make it back this Sunday against the New York Jets. Carolina has said that it will be more of an even split in the backfield between Hubbard and Dowdle when Hubbard returns, which will lower the fantasy ceilings of both RBs. Dowdle could see more work in Week 7 if Hubbard is eased back into the offense this weekend.

Wednesday, October 15, 9:26 AM

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears is coming off his second game of the season since starting the year on the injured reserve with an ankle issue, and in Week 6, he out-snapped backfield mate Tony Pollard 59% to 43%. Additionally, accumulated 50 all-purpose yards on nine total touches (five on the ground and four through the air) to Pollard's 47 all-purpose yards on 12 opportunities. While the entire Titans offense has struggled mightily this year, Pollard has not been able to do much with his opportunities as the lead-back early in the year, averaging only 3.93 YPC. With the younger and more explosive running back in Spears now ramped up, it's possible he could take over the lead-back role down the stretch, or at the very least, continue to be used 50/50 with Pollard, which gives him some flex appeal moving forward. Spears has proven, when given the opportunity, that he can be a top-15 running back when given the chance. Last year, when Pollard went down with an injury, Spears had three top 15 finishes at the running back position to end the year. Fantasy managers will want to make sure that Spears is not on their waiver wires moving forward.