Who Should I Start? Elijah Mitchell or Ray Davis

Tuesday, August 27, 5:07 PM

The San Francisco 49ers placed running back Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday, and his 2024 season is over. Mitchell, who was projected as the team's RB2, has dealt with injury problems throughout his career, having never played more than 11 games in a year. Jordan Mason is now expected to be the 49ers' RB2 behind Christian McCaffrey (calf) with Mitchell sidelined. Rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. will also see an uptick in playing time behind McCaffrey and Mason with Mitchell now done for the year.

Sunday, January 5, 9:49 PM

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis rushed for 64 yards on 15 carries during Sunday's Week 18 loss to the New England Patriots. He also caught two of three passes for one receiving yard, plus a receiving touchdown. The rookie was tasked with handling an increased workload on Sunday as the Bills reduced snaps for many of their key starters. In fact, Davis led Buffalo's backfield in snaps (35) and touches (17). For comparison, James Cook played 15 snaps and had 10 touches, adding a touchdown along the way. Meanwhile, Ty Johnson had 17 snaps and three touches. While Davis will lose his lead-back role to James Cook when the playoffs begin, Sunday's game showed that the Kentucky product is capable of handling a large workload as his team's primary running back. He'll rank as a low-end RB4 in fantasy football next season, maintaining his status as one of the more appealing handcuff options.