Who Should I Start? Jaleel McLaughlin or Demond Claiborne

Tuesday, September 29, 2:55 PM

Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Demond Claiborne was thrust into a bigger role when the team put Jordan Mason (thumb) on Injured Reserve last week. However, the Vikings have been hesitant to put too much on the sixth-rounder out of Wake Forest's plate early in his first season in the NFL, and that showed in the Vikings' Week 3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 22-year-old only played three offensive snaps and had three rushing attempts for just one yard, while both Max Bredson and DeeJay Dallas out-snapped him behind starter Aaron Jones Sr. Claiborne's role could grow over the next couple of weeks, though, and Mason will miss at least three more games while on IR. In Claiborne's NFL debut in the Week 2 victory over the division-rival Chicago Bears, he had just one reception for a gain of two yards. At best, Claiborne is a short-term handcuff option for fantasy managers who have Jones rostered, but once Mason returns from his thumb injury, Claiborne will be buried on Minnesota's RB depth chart again. He is currently rostered in only 2% of Yahoo leagues.