Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Tank Bigsby

Thursday, November 27, 12:13 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (knee) doesn't have an injury designation heading into Thanksgiving's game against the Dallas Cowboys. Pacheco has missed three straight games since suffering an MCL sprain during Kansas City's Week 8 win over the Washington Commanders. The 26-year-old logged three full practices this week, and it will be interesting to see how the running back touches will be distributed in his return on Thursday. Kareem Hunt has handled a big workload in Pacheco's absence, and just recorded a career high 30 carries in last week's win over the Indianapolis Colts. Rookie Brashard Smith has held a small role, mostly on designed touches. Pacheco was the Chiefs' leading rusher before getting injured, but he will likely be eased back into action and split touches with Hunt. He is ranked as RotoBaller's RB41 in PPR leagues for Thanksgiving's game against the Cowboys.

Tuesday, December 2, 10:00 PM

Across 11 games since being acquired by the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Tank Bisgby has recorded just 18 carries for 164 yards. As long as star Eagles running back Saquon Barkley remains healthy, there appears to be a firm ceiling on Bigsby's playing time and opportunity for touches. The 24-year-old has logged double-digit offensive snaps in just one game this season. However, Bigsby's average of 9.1 rushing yards per attempt is a clear indicator of his significant production upside if Barkley were to suffer an injury. In a larger, 168-carry sample size across 16 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024, Bigsby averaged 4.6 yards per attempt and scored seven rushing touchdowns. Bigsby's never provided much production as a receiver, so fellow Eagles back Will Shipley would likely handle passing-downs work even if Barkley were to go down. Still, Bigsby is a high-end handcuff option who is worth rostering in fantasy leagues with 12 or more teams heading into a Week 14 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.