Who Should I Start? Dare Ogunbowale or Emari Demercado

Tuesday, December 16, 1:31 PM

Houston Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale has largely been a special-teamer during his nine-year career, but he has seen more work as a runner in the past two weeks. With Nick Chubb (ribs) and Woody Marks (knee) dealing with injuries, Ogunbowale scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 14. He handled a season-high eight touches in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals, with five carries for two yards and three receptions (four targets) for 32 yards as a receiver. The 31-year-old was in just a complementary role after Marks exited against the Cardinals, though, with second-year running back Jawhar Jordan seeing the bulk of the carries. Jordan handled 15 carries for 101 yards, becoming the first Texans running back to go over the century mark in rushing yards this season. Ogunbowale profiles as the receiving back if Chubb and Marks remain unavailable in Week 16 against the Raiders, limiting his fantasy appeal to just deeper PPR leagues.

Saturday, December 20, 4:26 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado is expected to handle an increased workload against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16, but his fantasy outlook remains murky. He is on track to operate as the backup to Michael Carter this week after Zonovan Knight (ankle) was placed on injured reserve. While Demercado was viewed as Arizona's passing-down specialist at points earlier this season, it's unclear whether that remains his role given how well Carter has performed in the passing game lately. Carter has 19 catches over his last five games, whereas Demercado has just 10 catches through parts of 10 games this year. Rather than being a true passing-down specialist, it seems more likely that the 26-year-old will fall into a change-of-pace role, allowing the Cardinals to manage Carter's workload and keep him fresh. Demercado has shown impressive burst in the past, and his 8.3 yards per carry over the last two seasons indicates that he's capable of breaking off big plays. His fantasy value in Week 16 likely hinges on whether he's able to break off any big runs or catches against the Falcons. In other words, he'll need high efficiency to overcome a backup's workload. He currently ranks as the RB51 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for Week 16.