Who Should I Start? Devin Neal or Dylan Sampson

Monday, December 8, 9:15 AM

New Orleans Saints rookie running back out of Kansas, Devin Neal, dominated the backfield touches on Sunday against the Bucs in the Saints' 24-17 victory. Neal carried the ball 19 times for 70 yards and a touchdown, and added one reception for 14 yards. On the afternoon, Neal scored 14.9 fantasy points in half PPR leagues and, most importantly, handled a solid 76 percent of all running back carries. Audric Estime had three, Evan Hull had one, and Taysom Hill had two. As long as Alvin Kamara (ankle, knee) remains sidelined, Neal should be viewed as a low-end RB2 moving forward in most formats strictly due to his volume. Over the past two weeks with Kamara out, Neal has seen 17 or more total touches, and if he's available on your waiver wire, he is a must-add heading into the fantasy playoffs.

Wednesday, December 10, 12:20 PM

Cleveland Browns rookie running back Dylan Sampson (calf, hand) is not expected to take the practice field on Wednesday, according to Scott Petrak of Browns Zone. Sampson is dealing with two injuries as the team prepares for a Week 15 matchup against the Chicago Bears. The 21-year-old had a season-high five catches on six targets for 64 yards in the team's loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and with Jerome Ford (shoulder) now on Injured Reserve, Sampson is going to have a larger change-of-pace role behind rookie starter Quinshon Judkins the rest of the way. Sampson might be questionable to play this weekend, but Ford's injury makes him a waiver-wire consideration this week, at least as a bench stash for the fantasy playoffs in PPR leagues. The fourth-rounder has averaged only 2.6 yards on the ground on 44 rushing attempts in his first 13 NFL games, but he's added 28 catches for 259 yards and two scores through the air.