Who Should I Start? Jaleel McLaughlin or Woody Marks

Monday, November 24, 12:48 PM

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that running back Jaleel McLaughlin had a number of good runs in the team's big Week 11 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and pointed to him "being important down the stretch," per Zac Stevens of DNVR Sports. McLaughlin played only 13% of the offensive snaps before the team's Week 12 bye and had six carries for 19 yards, but he did find the end zone for the first time this year in just his second game played. Rookie RJ Harvey is expected to lead Denver's backfield the rest of the way with J.K. Dobbins (foot) done for the year, but it sounds like McLaughlin is going to have a bigger role to close out 2025. At the very least, McLaughlin could become the Broncos' preferred goal-line back, which would give him streaming appeal in deeper leagues as a touchdown-dependent option. McLaughlin is currently rostered in 1% of Yahoo leagues.

Thursday, November 20, 11:40 PM

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks rushed for 74 yards on 16 carries during Thursday's Week 12 win over the Buffalo Bills. He also caught his lone target for a loss of five yards. Marks led the Texans' backfield in the victory, notably logging 10 more carries than Nick Chubb. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry and was productive in short-yardage scenarios, rushing for a handful of first downs. Although Marks' lack of touchdowns and receptions resulted in him finishing below his fantasy projection in most formats, it was encouraging to see him handle the lead-back role with efficiency once again. He remains a mid-to-low RB2 with high volume heading into Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts.