Who Should I Start? Dalvin Cook or Travis Etienne

Thursday, January 18, 12:03 PM

The Baltimore Ravens signed running back Dalvin Cook from their practice squad to the 53-man active roster on Thursday, and he's expected to make his Ravens debut in Saturday's Divisional Round playoff game against the Houston Texans, according to his agency. The Ravens waived running back Melvin Gordon III on Wednesday to open up a roster spot for Cook. Baltimore signed the 28-year-old at the end of the regular season to give them some more depth behind Gus Edwards and Justice Hill after the Ravens' backfield has been lackluster to close out the regular season. It's not like Cook is going to be a savior, though, as he averaged a career-worst 3.2 yards per carry with no touchdowns in 15 games for the New York Jets in 2023. Expect Cook to operate as the No. 3 behind Edwards and Hill on Saturday, giving him very little DFS appeal.

Wednesday, February 28, 2:04 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr.'s 325 touches last year were third-most in the NFL for a RB, but head coach Doug Pederson said that Etienne as a workhorse back "is not the recipe" he prefers. Pederson mentioned that D'Ernest Johnson was injured in 2023, and Tank Bigsby was learning as a rookie. The head coach said he'd consider knocking some of Etienne's reps down next season in order to keep him healthy over the course of the year. All in all, the 25-year-old topped 1,000 rushing yards for the second time in his two NFL seasons, and he also improved as a pass-catcher with 58 catches for 476 yards. Etienne will remain the Jaguars' lead back and will be an RB1 target for fantasy managers, but you'll need to keep in mind that if the team has it their way, Etienne's total touches will be managed more.