Who Should I Start? J.K. Dobbins or Jonathon Brooks

Wednesday, November 26, 7:13 PM

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton isn't ruling out a potential return from running back J.K. Dobbins (foot) later in the year, according to Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. Dobbins was previously ruled out for the rest of the season due to a foot injury, but if the Broncos make a deep postseason run, Dobbins might be able to return. For fantasy football purposes, managers in single-year leagues can dump Dobbins to the waiver wire if they haven't already done so, since he won't be able to help them before the end of the year. Denver will move forward with rookie second-rounder RJ Harvey as their primary backfield option with Dobbins out, but Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie will also be involved in change-of-pace roles. Harvey will have RB2 upside the rest of the way, while McLaughlin and Badie are simply bench stashes in deeper fantasy leagues.

Monday, December 8, 12:54 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) is exactly a year removed from tearing his right ACL for a second time, but he said that he feels "pretty much almost 100 percent again," according to Joe Person of The Athletic. Brooks is doing straight-line running and hopes to start mixing in full-speed cutting and route running soon. Barring a setback, he could return to the practice field in the spring for organized team activities (OTAs). The 22-year-old was the team's second-round pick back in 2024 out of Texas. Since his injury, the Panthers signed Rico Dowdle in free agency and took Trevor Etienne in the fourth round of this year's draft. Dowdle has been one of the best backs in the NFL this year and has formed a dangerous 1-2 punch in Carolina's backfield with Chuba Hubbard. Any expectations fantasy managers holding Brooks might have in dynasty/keeper leagues must be tempered by concerns of injury risk.