Who Should I Start? Emanuel Wilson or Braelon Allen

Friday, February 27, 3:18 PM

The Green Bay Packers are not placing a tender on impending free-agent running back Emanuel Wilson, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Wilson will hit the free-agent market this offseason after carrying the ball a career-high 125 times for 496 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and three touchdowns in 17 regular-season games. He added a career-best 15 catches on 17 targets for 99 yards and no touchdowns through the air in his third year in the NFL. It remains to be seen if the Packers have any interest in bringing Wilson back as the backup to starter Josh Jacobs. The 26-year-old filled in nicely as a plug-and-play RB2 in fantasy lineups last year in the two games that Jacobs missed due to injury, but outside of that, he was merely a handcuff for Jacobs. Wilson will likely operate as a backup somewhere else if he leaves in free agency. In his three seasons in Green Bay, he's averaged a healthy 4.5 yards per carry for 1,083 yards and seven rushing touchdowns on 242 carries.

Monday, February 9, 6:45 PM

New York Jets running back Braelon Allen (knee) saw his 2025 season come to an abrupt end after he suffered an MCL sprain back in Week 4. New York left the door open for him to return, but that never came to fruition. He ultimately finished his second pro season with 18 carries, 76 rushing yards, two catches, 17 receiving yards, and one touchdown through parts of four games. It was a frustrating setback for a young ball-carrier who was projected to eat into Breece Hall's workload. While that didn't pan out in 2025, we could still see Allen step into a much larger role next season. Hall is headed for free agency, and if the Jets don't franchise tag him, he could quite possibly sign elsewhere. That would leave Allen and Isaiah Davis, who had 422 yards and one touchdown across 16 games last season, sharing a rung atop the depth chart. The fantasy surge of Allen and Davis hinges on New York letting Hall walk and failing to replace him, which is far from a guarantee. However, there's certainly a path to Allen being a top-36 fantasy running back next season. Managers should pay close attention to the Jets' free agency plans when evaluating the 22-year-old's fantasy future.