Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Tyjae Spears

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.

Tuesday, December 9, 12:52 PM

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears was overshadowed by Tony Pollard in Sunday's 31-29 victory over the hosting Cleveland Browns in Week 14. Pollard had 25 carries for a whopping 161 yards and two touchdowns as he shredded Cleveland's defense on a snowy afternoon in Ohio. Still, Spears managed to touch the ball 12 times (eight carries, two receptions) and led the team with 28 receiving yards. The 24-year-old averaged just 2.4 yards on the ground and ran for 19 yards. Spears' eight carries and 12 total touches were the most he's seen since Oct. 26 against the Indianapolis Colts. It was a rare day for the Titans' offense where they could afford to give both Pollard and Spears plenty of work. That might not be the case in Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, but Spears' continued involvement as Tennessee's pass-catching back gives him some deep-league flex value in PPR fantasy leagues.