Who Should I Start? James Conner or Travis Etienne

Saturday, September 30, 1:36 AM

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner faces tough sledding this week against the San Francisco 49ers. Last week against the Dallas Cowboys, Conner carried the ball 18 times for 98 yards and a touchdown. Even though Conner is currently fourth best in the league in explosive run rate, San Francisco is an elite run defense. They have yielded the seventh-lowest explosive run rate, the sixth-lowest missed tackles allowed rate, and the fourth-lowest yards after contact per attempt. With Arizona also having a weak offensive line, the possibility exists the 49ers will stack the box against Conner and force quarterback Joshua Dobbs to beat them. Even though Conner has been solid at the RB position so far, he's at best an RB2 for this week's matchup.

Friday, September 29, 3:23 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. heads into a Week 4 clash with the Atlanta Falcons. The former first-round pick has been dependable to start the year with two top-10 RB weekly finishes, one of them without even scoring a touchdown. Volume has been king for Etienne, as he has seen an average of 20 opportunities per game through three weeks. Rookie Tank Bigsby is being utilized around the goal line, but Etienne is the dominant workhorse between the 10s commanding a lions' share of the snaps. With the offense struggling mightily last week, Etienne was heavily leaned on to carry the unit. The Atlanta Falcons have been stout against the run in '23, but with how featured Etienne has been this year, he should produce enough to warrant back-end RB1 status yet again.