Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Jaylen Warren

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.

Sunday, December 14, 10:06 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren continues to be a strong RB2 option in fantasy football, but his exact role in Monday's Week 15 contest against the Miami Dolphins will depend on game script. Warren had an underwhelming role on the ground last Sunday as he had just eight carries for 13 yards. However, he salvaged his fantasy showing with three catches, 49 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. He ranked outside the top 55 running backs in both yards before contact per attempt and yards after contact per attempt. Pittsburgh is favored by 3.5 points over Miami, which means the Steelers could go run-heavy. However, he'll also have to share some volume with Kenneth Gainwell. Pittsburgh routinely gets the ball in its running backs' hands, but it's just a matter of whether it happens on the ground or through the air. Either way, Warren is a top-24 fantasy running back for this week.