Who Should I Start? David Montgomery or Travis Etienne Jr.

Thursday, September 4, 12:11 PM

When asked if he envisions a similar workload split this year between running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in 2025, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton smiled and said, "We'll see." In 2024, Montgomery would often open the game in the backfield before giving way to Gibbs on the second offensive series of the game, but that could change in 2025 with Ben Johnson out of town. Lions beat writers got the impression during training camp this summer that Gibbs might be the "starter" to begin games this year, which would make fantasy managers that invested a top-five pick in him pretty happy. Montgomery is still going to be involved as long as he's healthy, though, and he could steal valuable goal-line touches from Gibbs. Both RBs should be rostered in all formats, but Gibbs' fantasy upside feels higher than it ever has before.

Wednesday, September 3, 1:14 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen shed some light on running back Travis Etienne Jr.'s usage going into the regular season on Wednesday. "We've got to use him as a guy that can help make plays... turn those 10 play drives into four play drives," Coen said. Etienne and Bigsby were listed as co-starters on the team's unofficial Week 1 depth chart, and they both figure to split the workload to open the 2025 campaign under Coen. Most fantasy managers were down on the 26-year-old after he was a major bust last year. However, unless he's traded, which is unlikely now, Etienne is going to have a role in Jacksonville's backfield. Bigsby has the power between the tackles, but Etienne's speed sets him apart, and he could still operate as a useful RB2/3 option for fantasy managers in PPR formats on a weekly basis.