Who Should I Start? Emari Demercado or Ray Davis

Sunday, October 5, 12:26 PM

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado "will stay in the same role" on third downs. Meanwhile, Michael Carter will take over on first and second downs with Trey Benson (knee) out four to six weeks after having surgery on his meniscus. James Conner (ankle) has already been lost for the year, so the Cardinals' backfield depth is being tested early on. Arizona could plan more designed runs for slippery quarterback Kyler Murray, too. Demercado had two carries for eight yards and caught both of his targets for 13 yards and a touchdown in the Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. While the 26-year-old will be more involved with Benson out, it's Carter that should see more volume, and thus be a better flex play in fantasy lineups, starting this Sunday against the winless Tennessee Titans. Demercado is a better flex option in PPR formats.

Thursday, September 25, 10:51 AM

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis has opened the season as the team's RB3. Through three games, he has logged just 10 carries for 26 yards, with most of that work coming in the Bills' blowout win over the New York Jets when the backups entered late. James Cook has been outstanding as the lead back, but the bigger issue for Davis is that veteran Ty Johnson has seized the RB2 role. Johnson has played 28% of the team's snaps compared to Davis's 15%, leaving the rookie buried on the depth chart. At this point, Davis's only path to fantasy relevance would be an injury to Cook, and even then, it's unclear if he would handle the majority of touches. He's safe to drop in most fantasy formats.