Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Tyler Warren

Tuesday, December 23, 9:20 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco took back over as the lead back for the Chiefs this week, stepping in ahead of veteran Kareem Hunt and taking eight carries for 34 yards while adding six catches for 41 yards in the team's loss to the Titans last week. Pacheco could be in for a heavy workload moving forward, since the team could phase out Hunt now that the playoffs are no longer a possibility. The team could take the next two weeks to evaluate Pacheco and rookie Brashard Smith for their future roles, but Pacheco is in a brutal matchup this week against the Broncos, who have been elite against the run. Pacheco does have touchdown-dependent upside and should get a good workload, but he's still a long-shot flex play to add off the waiver wire this week due to the matchup.

Sunday, December 21, 8:13 AM

Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren has been in a slump over the last few weeks, falling under the 5.0 PPR point mark in each contest. Over the last three games, Warren has finished with 22 yards or fewer in every contest, but did manage to find the back of the end zone in Week 13, which salvaged his fantasy day. The change to 44-year-old Philip Rivers at quarterback doesn't seem to be doing this passing attack any favors, as he only caught three passes for 19 yards in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks. Warren has seen six targets in two straight games, so the target share remains high, but his production has remained low. He'll head into a plus-matchup against the San Francisco 49ers defense in Week 16, facing a defense that has allowed nine touchdowns to opposing tight ends this season. Warren has enough upside to be plugged in as a low-end TE1 for this Monday Night matchup in 12-team formats.