Who Should I Start? Elijah Mitchell or Bucky Irving

Monday, March 10, 12:48 PM

The Kansas City Chiefs are signing free-agent running back Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) to a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million on Monday, sources tell FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz. Mitchell, who was a sixth-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 out of Louisiana, will now join the Chiefs backfield as depth behind Isiah Pacheco for the 2025 season. Barring another injury for the injury-plagued RB, he'll likely enter Week 1 this fall as the No. 2 behind Pacheco. Mitchell has averaged a healthy 4.7 yards per carry on 327 rushing attempts over his three seasons in the NFL, but he's only appeared in 27 games (12 starts) due to injury. He suffered a hamstring injury in training camp last year and was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve in August before the regular season even began. At best, Mitchell will be a deep-league handcuff option for those that have Pacheco rostered.

Tuesday, July 29, 8:02 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was one of the biggest surprises from the 2024 draft class. He wrestled the lead-back role away from Rachaad White mid-season and rushed for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns. Irving, who weighs under 200 pounds, told CBS Sports' Pete Prisco that he feels he can handle a large workload, but Prisco tweeted that he thinks the Bucs might try to limit him a bit to keep him fresh because of his small stature. While fantasy gamers would prefer for Irving to see all the work out of Tampa Bay's backfield, it is clear that the team still wants to give touches to White and Sean Tucker. That being said, Irving is still the lead back and showed last season he can be a dominant force at the running-back position. The team keeping him fresh is a positive in the long run and shouldn't deter fantasy managers from grabbing him as a low-end RB1 in upcoming drafts.