Who Should I Start? David Montgomery or Elijah Mitchell

Wednesday, September 20, 7:24 PM

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (thigh) was unable to practice on Wednesday. We've heard conflicting reports when it comes to Montgomery's status after he was injured in the Week 2 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Montgomery thinks he's going to need a couple of weeks to recover, while head coach Dan Campbell called him day-to-day this week. It remains to be seen if the 26-year-old will be able to play in Week 3 versus the Atlanta Falcons, but fantasy managers should prepare for the worst and plan to be without him. Rookie first-rounder Jahmyr Gibbs should have a hefty workload for as long as Montgomery is out, with Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight serving as his backups.

Wednesday, September 20, 6:33 PM

On Monday, fantasy managers got San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's word that running back Elijah Mitchell would be involved in the team's offensive attack on Thursday night against the New York Giants. The third-year pro out of Louisiana was active in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams but was on the field for exactly zero snaps. When asked why, Shanahan admitted that he "definitely should have noticed" and that he's "got to make sure that doesn't happen". It remains to be seen just how much work Mitchell is given, but fantasy managers should expect 5-10 touches on Thursday, given Shanahan's comments and McCaffrey's heavy usage just 4 days prior. Mitchell should remain on fantasy benches in standard formats and only started as a deep-league dart throw, hoping he finds the end zone.