Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Kyren Williams

Monday, February 12, 1:16 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (ankle/toe) couldn't get much going in Super Bowl LVIII, but his team still topped the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 to come away with their third championship in the past four years. Pacheco carried the ball 18 times for 59 yards and added six receptions for 33 yards, but it was a rough evening all around for the 2022 seventh-rounder. Pacheco lost a fumble with the Chiefs in a goal-to-go to stall a potential scoring drive in the second quarter and nearly coughed it up again on a failed handoff to open the second half. It was a disappointing outcome in the box score, considering the Niners had gotten trampled on the ground during the postseason. The 24-year-old dealt with some tough injury luck down the stretch of the campaign, but Pacheco solidified himself as a fully capable workhorse in 2023 and will enter 2024 as an early-round fantasy pick with top-12 positional expectations in all likelihood.

Wednesday, January 17, 12:53 PM

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (hand) had successful surgery on Tuesday to fix a broken bone in his hand, according to head coach Sean McVay. Williams broke a bone in his hand in Sunday night's one-point wild-card loss to the Detroit Lions, but he'll have plenty of time to heal up before the start of the 2024 regular season. The 23-year-old moved into a starting role in LA's backfield in Week 2 of the 2023 campaign after the Rams traded Cam Akers away. Williams had a career year, carrying the ball 228 times for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns while also logging 32 receptions (48 targets) for 206 yards and three more scores in just 12 regular-season games played. He could have more competition for touches in 2024 in the Rams' backfield, but Williams should remain the lead back, which will give him at least high-end RB2 upside in fantasy drafts.