Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or J.J. McCarthy

Friday, December 12, 4:18 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco handled nine carries for 30 yards in last week's 10-20 loss to the Houston Texans. In his second game back from injury, Pacheco's opportunities ticked up closer to Kareem Hunt, who handled 12 carries in the contest. Pacheco looked like the best back in the backfield before his knee injury, so the team may prefer to lean on him more as he gets healthier. Pacheco will have a chance to surpass Hunt this week against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers defense has been middle-of-the-pack in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season, meaning that it should not be a difficult matchup for Pacheco. That said, splitting carries with Hunt in a divisional matchup could be a difficult situation to succeed in. Pacheco is ranked RB48 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a difficult player to trust until he shows more upside.

Friday, December 12, 4:32 PM

Coming off the best game of his young NFL career, Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will see another quality fantasy matchup when the Vikings travel to Dallas in Week 15. The former Michigan star has been particularly hot-and-cold, even for a young quarterback, but managers in Superflex formats can consider him an option this week against the Cowboys' defense. While Dallas leads the NFL in pressure percentage, the Cowboys rank 31st in passing yards allowed, 30th in net yards per attempt, and 32nd in passing touchdowns surrendered. The biggest issue for McCarthy has been turnovers, but he's coming off a week in which he played turnover-free ball and set a career-best mark for passer rating in a decisive win against Washington. McCarthy is rushing for nearly five yards per attempt and still has an excellent collection of weapons, giving him lineup potential if he can continue to build upon last week's blueprint.