Who Should I Start? Jaleel McLaughlin or Bucky Irving

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Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.		 Rush.
Yds.		 Rush
TD		 Rec. Rec.
Yds.		 Rec
TD
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Jaleel McLaughlin News

Jaleel McLaughlin Signs Practice-Squad Deal with Browns

Tuesday, September 1, 5:11 PM

Veteran running back Jaleel McLaughlin has signed a practice-squad deal with the Cleveland Browns, per an announcement from the team. McLaughlin spent the first three years of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos, but he fell out of the team's regular running back rotation in 2025 and was waived by Denver on Sunday. The Browns have a pair of second-year running backs atop their depth chart in Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson. However, McLaughlin could potentially work his way into the backfield mix in Cleveland in the case of an injury. The 25-year-old has been efficient when given the opportunity to this point in his pro career, recording 1,356 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns on 285 touches across 41 career NFL games (nine starts). McLaughlin is not roster-worthy yet, but he could be a name to monitor on the waiver wire in deeper fantasy leagues.

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Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.		 Rush.
Yds.		 Rush
TD		 Rec. Rec.
Yds.		 Rec
TD
13.1 60.4 0.3 2.4 19.4 0.1

Bucky Irving News

Bucky Irving a Bounce-Back Candidate with Clean Bill of Health

Friday, September 4, 6:22 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving is primed to bounce back in fantasy football now that he's fully healthy for the 2026 season. Irving missed a whopping seven games in his second pro season last year, which resulted in him falling to RB34 with just 865 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns. For context, he had been the RB13 the year prior. Irving is now fully healthy again, giving him a good chance to push for a top-12 finish in fantasy football at the running back position. There are certainly some other mouths to feed here, but as far as the backfield goes, Irving has pretty clearly solidified himself over Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker. In fact, the presence of those two other backs could allow the Bucs to manage Irving's workload. Sure, that might lower his ceiling slightly, but it will also reduce injury risk and increase the chance of him playing all 17 games. As it stands, Irving ranks as the RB19 in RotoBaller's latest redraft rankings. He has an ADP of 52.7, which corresponds to the fifth round of fantasy drafts and makes him the 22nd running back off the board.

Jaleel McLaughlin vs. Bucky Irving

Still trying to decide between McLaughlin and Irving? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Jaleel McLaughlin is projected to score 0.0 points this week while Bucky Irving is projected to score 13.1 points.