Who Should I Start? Emari Demercado or Kyle Monangai

Monday, December 29, 9:59 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado had five carries for 11 yards in Sunday's 37-14 blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17. Demercado also had two catches for nine yards on three targets. The 26-year-old had another quiet performance despite playing in a favorable matchup on Sunday. Heading into Week 17, the Bengals' defense had surrendered the most fantasy points to running backs this season. Demercado has not been the same fantasy running back since returning from his ankle injury and has played a supporting role in the Cardinals' backfield to Michael Carter. Going into Week 18, Demercado and the Cardinals offense will look to end the season on a high note against the Los Angeles Rams.

Friday, January 16, 10:15 PM

Chicago Bears rookie running back Kyle Monangai had a strong first year in the NFL despite being a seventh-round selection out of Rutgers. Monangai had 169 rushing attempts for 783 yards and five touchdowns in 17 regular-season games, adding 18 catches for 164 yards on 30 targets through the air. The 23-year-old was at his peak in 2025 from Weeks 9-13, going for 405 rushing yards and four TDs on 79 carries. Since then, though, Monangai has double-digit carries in just two of six contests, and he has had single-digit carries over the last four games. He had eight carries for only 27 yards in the Wild-Card win over the Green Bay Packers, and he had only six carries for 14 yards in Week 18 against Detroit. Monangai has been on the field for 40-45% of the offensive snaps the last six games, but he'll be a low-end RB option in fantasy playoff lineups this weekend against a Los Angeles Rams' defense that allowed the third-fewest rushing TDs (six) to RBs all year.