Who Should I Start? D'Andre Swift or Antonio Gibson

Saturday, June 1, 1:31 PM

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus called new running back D'Andre Swift "a weapon back" when asked why the team moved so quickly to sign him in free agency back in March to a three-year, $24 million deal. "You know we really needed that guy that can really operate on third down and even on first or second down and be a weapon in the deep part of the field and the short part of the field and take it the distance. And he's got a lot of gas," Eberflus said. Swift posted his first 1,000-yard season with the Eagles in 2023 and had career-bests in yards, carries (229), first downs (50) and yards per game (65.6). The Bears' offense now has a lot of dangerous weapons around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but in fantasy, it may be hard for Swift to match his 2023 exploits with Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson also demanding backfield touches.

Tuesday, July 23, 7:04 PM

New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson (undisclosed) was placed on the active/NFI list to start training camp. The 26-year-old was added to the Patriots backfield as a depth piece and potential third-down running back. Gibson has been relatively durable throughout his career. He has played in at least 15 games in three straight seasons. Players are often placed on the NFI list during training camp, so this could turn out to be nothing, but it is worth monitoring. Gibson had a career-low in carries (65), rushing yards (265), and rushing touchdowns (1) in 2023 as he ceded the starting running back job to Brian Robinson Jr. Gibson is joining a Patriots team amid a considerable rebuild, especially on offense. Gibson's skills as a pass-catcher should come in handy in 2024, but the presence of incumbent Rhamondre Stevenson will likely once again limit Gibson's rushing upside. Generally, running backs on bad offense perform poorly for fantasy, so it may be best to look in another direction as you build out RB depth during your draft.