Who Should I Start? Elijah Mitchell or Kyle Monangai

Friday, September 5, 7:20 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell is a healthy inactive for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Friday night in Brazil against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN. It's bad news for Mitchell heading into his first year with the Chiefs, as it looks like he's the RB4 to open the year, behind starter Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and rookie Brashard Smith. The 27-year-old was getting some first-team reps early in training camp, but that was a long time ago in late July. Mitchell signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with KC in the offseason after spending his first three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. In his three years in the Bay Area, the former sixth-rounder in 2021 out of Louisiana averaged 4.7 yards per tote on 327 rush attempts for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns (five in his rookie season).

Tuesday, December 16, 7:54 PM

Chicago Bears rookie running back Kyle Monangai has had some impressive performances during his first year in the NFL. Monangai has rushed for over 100 yards twice but has been held in check lately. Even though D'Andre Swift remains Chicago's primary back, Monangai continues to get consistent playing time in the backfield. The 23-year-old has 10 carries or more in five straight contests. The biggest problem is that Swift has been the much more effective runner lately. The Bears have shown they will ride with the hot hand, which is Swift right now. Monangai is worth holding, but he shouldn't be considered as much more than a touchdown-dependent RB3/flex in fantasy for the rematch against the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 on Saturday night.