Who Should I Start? Emari Demercado or DJ Giddens

Saturday, December 14, 4:43 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (back) has been placed on the injured reserve. Demercado has 24 rushes for 223 yards and a rushing touchdown this season and has added 16 catches for 104 receiving yards. Demercado's absence will likely open the door for more involvement for backup running back Trey Benson behind starter James Conner. Benson has some sneaky speculative pickup value with Demercado out and Conner himself being pretty injury-prone.

Tuesday, May 6, 3:43 PM

The Indianapolis Colts added former Kansas State running back DJ Giddens in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and James Boyd of The Athletic believes he is poised to beat out Tyler Goodson as the team's top pass-catching back. The team added Khalil Herbert this offseason to replace Trey Sermon, but Giddens profiles as more of a receiver after snagging 50 receptions over his final two collegiate seasons. That said, Indianapolis ranked 30th in total running back targets a season ago (65), so Giddens is unlikely to have standalone upside as a backup to Jonathan Taylor. Instead, he'll be more of an interesting handcuff back that could have flex value in the case of a Taylor injury. Giddens was a fifth-rounder, though, so it's too early to assume he'll have any role in Indy's offense.