Who Should I Start? Jacob Saylors or Jordan James


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
2.9 14.8 0.1 0.4 3.2 0.0

Jacob Saylors News

Jacob Saylors has Earned the Trust of the Coaching Staff

Saturday, September 5, 8:33 AM

Detroit Lions running back Jacob Saylors runs hard and "has earned the trust of the coaching staff" for his play on offense and special teams during training camp, according to Tim Twentyman of the team's official website. Saylors led the team in total scrimmage yards during the preseason (31 carries for 187 yards and five catches for 40 yards) and could be in the mix to return kicks on special teams if he is active on game days. The chances of Saylors being active for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season went way up when the Lions placed Isiah Pacheco (back) on Injured Reserve to start the year. All-Pro RB Jahmyr Gibbs will handle the lion's share of backfield work, but Saylors could open his second year in the NFL as the No. 2 over Sione Vaki. The former undrafted free agent out of East Carolina appeared in 16 games for the Lions as a rookie in 2025, but he only had two carries for 11 yards on offense. Even with an elevated role to open his sophomore campaign, Saylors is only in consideration as a handcuff option for Gibbs in deeper leagues.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
2.1 11.2 0.1 0.4 3.0 0.0

Jordan James News

Jordan James No Longer a Handcuff to Target in Fantasy Drafts

Wednesday, September 2, 7:42 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan James seems to have lost his appeal as a handcuff option in fantasy football. Heading into the back half of August, it seemed like James was in line to earn the No. 2 running back role behind Christian McCaffrey, especially after Isaac Guerendo (pectoral) was placed on the PUP list. Instead, James is third on the depth chart while rookie Kaelon Black occupies the backup role. In years past, we have seen that the 49ers' No. 2 running back only has fantasy value when McCaffrey misses time. In other words, his backup has always been a handcuff and never really possessed standalone value. Now that James has fallen to third on the depth chart, his fantasy value is dwindling even further. He's still worth stashing in deeper leagues in case the depth chart changes or McCaffrey gets hurt and Black can't handle the lead-back role on his own. However, there's no incentive to roster him in redraft leagues at the moment.


Jacob Saylors vs. Jordan James

Still trying to decide between Saylors and James? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Jacob Saylors is projected to score 2.9 points this week while Jordan James is projected to score 2.1 points.