Who Should I Start? Elijah Mitchell or Woody Marks

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).

Friday, September 5, 10:23 PM

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks will make his NFL debut on Sunday afternoon when the Texans head to SoFi Stadium to take on the Rams. Marks is expected to be the team's top receiving-down back and could play his way into a larger role with Nick Chubb and Dameon Pierce also expected to be involved while Joe Mixon (ankle) is on the reserve/non-football injury list. Marks was a fourth-round pick for the Texans out of USC, and he racked up 63 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, along with four catches for 20 yards this preseason. He worked mostly behind Pierce and Chubb, but depending on the game script, he could be a sneaky FLEX play down the road. In Week 1, he's the RB60 in RotoBaller's rankings, so he isn't a good start just yet, although he's a strong stash based on his long-term outlook and potential upside.