Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Kenneth Walker III

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, 5:00 PM

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III is a risky start in Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts. No matter the matchup this season, Walker has been very unpredictable for fantasy purposes. He is hovering around 50-55% of the snaps while splitting time with fellow running back Zach Charbonnet. Despite a low snap count and relatively low volume, Walker has been relatively efficient as a runner, especially over the second half of the season. Additionally, his involvement as a receiver has helped boost him into a flex player with upside. However, Walker cedes just about every touchdown opportunity to Charbonnet. Walker has scored just one touchdown since Week 3 of this season. His lack of touchdown opportunities has resulted in low-end fantasy performances. The Colts are No. 14 against opposing running backs in fantasy. They are also allowing just 3.87 yards per carry to running backs. Walker may be able to buck that trend this week, but he needs to find the end zone to provide any sort of upside. He is a possible flex player this week, but you could very well end up with another 3.8-point dud as we got from Walker in Week 14 against the Falcons.