Who Should I Start? Elijah Mitchell or Zach Charbonnet

Wednesday, September 20, 6:33 PM

On Monday, fantasy managers got San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's word that running back Elijah Mitchell would be involved in the team's offensive attack on Thursday night against the New York Giants. The third-year pro out of Louisiana was active in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams but was on the field for exactly zero snaps. When asked why, Shanahan admitted that he "definitely should have noticed" and that he's "got to make sure that doesn't happen". It remains to be seen just how much work Mitchell is given, but fantasy managers should expect 5-10 touches on Thursday, given Shanahan's comments and McCaffrey's heavy usage just 4 days prior. Mitchell should remain on fantasy benches in standard formats and only started as a deep-league dart throw, hoping he finds the end zone.

Friday, September 8, 5:23 PM

Second-round draft pick Zach Charbonnet will make his regular-season debut when the Seattle Seahawks take on the Los Angeles Rams on September 10. The UCLA standout was drafted by the Seahawks on the heels of Kenneth Walker III's 1000-yard rookie season, putting Seattle's depth chart under scrutiny throughout the preseason. Walker was a limited participant in preseason activities thanks to a lingering groin injury, which added to the speculation that Charbonnet would be challenging for the primary role. Walker was cleared from the Seahawks' injury report on Friday and is expected to play in the season opener on Sunday, with DeeJay Dallas second on the team's depth chart. With Charbonnet's upside suddenly curbed, fantasy managers should scale back expectations if they choose to start him in Week 1.