Who Should I Start? Israel Abanikanda or Brittain Brown

Monday, September 9, 7:44 PM

New York Jets running back Israel Abanikanda is a healthy scratch for the team's Week 1 regular-season opener at Levi's Stadium on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Abanikanda enters the 2024 season as the team's RB4 behind starter and bell-cow Breece Hall and rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis. As such, the 21-year-old is obviously off the fantasy radar in most single-year leagues for the time being unless injuries push him into a relevant game-day role. The former fifth-round pick out of Pittsburgh last year was also buried on the depth chart in his rookie season and finished with 22 carries for 70 yards while catching seven passes for 43 yards in only six games. Abanikanda has breakaway speed but is once again buried on the depth chart and will have to wait for his opportunity beyond Week 1.

Saturday, November 1, 2:17 PM

The Chicago Bears elevated running back Brittain Brown from their practice squad for the team's Week 9 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Chicago will be without running backs D'Andre Swift (groin) and Roschon Johnson (back) against Cincinnati. Rookie running back Kyle Monangai is expected to step into a workhorse role in Week 9. Brown and veteran Travis Homer are the most likely candidates to give Monangai a breather when he needs one. Brown has not appeared in an NFL game since 2022, when he played in six games for the Las Vegas Raiders. The 28-year-old exclusively played special teams for Las Vegas, so he's unlikely to take on much of an offensive role for Chicago in Week 9.