Who Should I Start? DeeJay Dallas or Kenneth Gainwell

Friday, December 20, 3:14 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back DeeJay Dallas (undisclosed) was added to the final injury report on Friday for Week 16 action and is considered questionable to play on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Rookie Trey Benson (ankle) has already been ruled out, and Emari Demercado (back) was placed on Injured Reserve, so starter James Conner is now the only healthy RB on the team's roster at the moment. At this point, it would be a surprise if Arizona didn't promote both Michael Carter and Tony Jones from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster for the weekend. The 26-year-old Dallas had a season-high four carries for 15 yards in last week's win over the New England Patriots with Benson getting injured. Even if Dallas manages to get the green light to play on Sunday in Carolina, he will not have any standalone fantasy appeal.

Saturday, December 21, 2:34 PM

Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell should not be started in any formats this weekend when he faces the Washington Commanders. Throughout the season, Gainwell has continued to be deployed as the clear No.2 option behind Saquon Barkley. However, with Saquon Barkley operating in a workhorse role, Gainwell has averaged just 4.5 attempts per game over the past eight weeks. While he has had limited opportunities he has posted a solid 4.7 yards per carry during this span and found the back of the end zone once. While Barkley will dominate the touches throughout the game, if the Eagles begin have a significant lead, they may opt to let Gainwell close out the afternoon to protect Barkley for the postseason. Given his minimal role on the offense, fantasy managers should continue to view him as a pure handcuff that holds very little standalone value.