Who Should I Start? Emari Demercado or Tahj Brooks

Sunday, August 10, 10:21 AM

Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado finished as the high man in receiving yards during the 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. The third-year back saw three carries for seven yards, but did most of his damage through the air as he collected two receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown on two targets. Towards the end of the second quarter, Demercado caught a screen pass from Jacoby Brissett and raced 43 yards for a touchdown while making a couple of defenders miss. With James Conner and Trey Benson firmly in the rotation, Demercado is making his case to remain in the third-string role.

Friday, August 8, 10:53 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Tahj Brooks ran for 26 yards off 10 attempts in Thursday's preseason loss to the Eagles. He added one catch (two targets) for three yards. Chase Brown began the contest with the rest of the starters. While Brooks handled the bulk of the touches, he only averaged 2.6 yards per carry. Despite the subpar showing on Thursday night, the 2025 No. 193 overall pick has looked good throughout training camp and appears to have earned the trust of the coaching staff. However, with Brown expected to get the majority of the snaps out of the backfield in 2025, there could be little room for Brooks to remain consistently involved, even if the rookie manages to secure the No. 2 spot on the depth chart over Samaje Perine. With the Bengals dropping their first game of the preseason, the team will look to get on track versus the Commanders on August 18.