Who Should I Start? Israel Abanikanda or Tank Bigsby

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.

Friday, November 15, 4:15 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby (ankle) has been ruled out ahead of the Week 11 matchup against the Detroit Lions. Bigsby played through an ankle injury last week, but was barely seen on the field after exiting early in the contest. Now, Bigsby will sit out after missing practice this week, but hopefully this will be a one-game absence. Travis Etienne Jr. will be the lead back and figures to see a heavy workload on Sunday. He rushed 11 times for 44 yards during the loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week. Etienne hasn't been able to produce reliable fantasy value in quite some time. This will be a great chance for him to break out of his slump.