Who Should I Start? David Montgomery or Ashton Jeanty

Thursday, December 25, 3:30 PM

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (illness) will be active for Thursday's road bout with the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day, per the team. The veteran appeared on Detroit's practice report on Tuesday, missing the session due to illness. After logging a limited practice on Wednesday, it would seem Montgomery will be able to play anyway, and figures to assume his typical allotment of snaps behind teammate Jahmyr Gibbs as the Lions attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive. Notably, the seventh-year pro has seen his snap count steadily dwindle since Week 11, dropping under 20 plays in each of his last three appearances, compared with just once over the season's first 13 weeks. Correlatively, he'll offer little more than flex appeal with Gibbs dominating time and touches in the backfield.

Saturday, January 3, 9:13 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty needs 112 yards in Week 18 to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for his rookie campaign. Jeanty has been finding more success on the ground lately, with 188 rushing yards over his last two games. He figures to continue being the workhorse back during the regular-season finale versus the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs. He could have trouble finding room to run with the Chiefs having a top-10 run defense this season. Jeanty has big-play upside, though, which keeps him in RB2 territory despite a tough matchup. The Raiders figure to go run-heavy with quarterbacks Kenny Pickett or Aidan O'Connell under center.