Who Should I Start? Emari Demercado or Kimani Vidal

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.

Thursday, January 9, 9:28 PM

Los Angeles Chargers rookie running back Kimani Vidal could see his role increase in the Wild Card Round against the Houston Texans. With starting running back J.K. Dobbins (ankle) questionable to play and Gus Edwards (ankle) returning from a two-game absence, Vidal could be needed as the next guy up. He showed some positive signs in his rookie year, but struggled to see the field near the end of the season, appearing on 11% of the team's offensive snaps in Week 17 and on only one snap total in Week 18. Still, if Dobbins is unable to suit up, Vidal figures to have a role in the backfield, especially since the presumed starter Edwards is usually a non-factor in the passing game. Vidal would not be worth fantasy consideration if Dobbins plays, however.