Who Should I Start? Jaleel McLaughlin or Jordan James

Monday, January 13, 10:50 AM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin was a complete non-factor in the team's 31-7 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday on wild-card weekend. Like most of the season, Denver's backfield was stuck in the mud and couldn't get anything going to control the game, with rookie quarterback Bo Nix leading the team with 43 rushing yards on four carries. McLaughlin, who had been the leader of a committee backfield late in the season, had only two rushing attempts for minus-two yards while catching his only target for no gain. It was a dismal end to the 24-year-old's second season in the NFL. He finished with 113 carries for 496 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and only one rushing touchdown in 16 regular-season games while adding 24 catches for 76 yards and two more TDs through the air. Denver will surely look to upgrade their backfield in the offseason to give more help to Nix in 2025.

Thursday, August 7, 4:31 PM

San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Jordan James (finger) broke his finger and will undergo surgery, according to David Lombardi of The Athletic. As a result, James will be out for "a couple weeks," according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. It's tough news for the 21-year-old heading into his first NFL season, but the good news is that he could still be ready to roll for the Week 1 regular-season opener in early September. Isaac Guerendo (shoulder) is also expected to miss a couple weeks, so San Fran's backfield behind injury-prone Christian McCaffrey is suddenly very thin in camp. Going forward, Patrick Taylor, Ameer Abdullah and Corey Kiner will see more opportunities to prove themselves in practices and the preseason. Unless Guerendo isn't ready for the start of the season, James will probably go undrafted in most single-year fantasy leagues.