Who Should I Start? Jeremy McNichols or Dare Ogunbowale

Friday, September 12, 12:23 AM

Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols could be headed for an increased workload after teammate Austin Ekeler suffered a serious Achilles injury on Thursday night. Ekeler suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter and was quickly ruled out, indicating that the severity is serious. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport echoed these concerns postgame, telling the Amazon Prime broadcasters that the Commanders' front office is concerned about Ekeler's status. If the veteran running back misses extended time, McNichols could step into a much larger role. He didn't register an offensive touch Thursday night but should enter Week 3 as the Commanders' No. 2 running back behind Jacory Croskey-Merritt. With more snaps on the way, McNichols immediately becomes an intriguing waiver wire option in fantasy football.

Sunday, September 14, 6:25 AM

Houston Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale played a larger role than expected in Week 1, and the 31-year-old veteran could be in the rotation again on Monday night, when the Texans host his former team, the Buccaneers. In Week 1, Ogunbowale played 27% of the team's offensive snaps, more than any other running back except. starter Nick Chubb. He was also the only running back who had any catches, hauling in two passes for 17 yards. He brings value for his pass blocking and receiving skills and should continue to rotate in on passing downs, which does give him very limited upside in the Texans' offense, which sputtered in Week 1 and failed to score a touchdown. The Bucs gave up six catches for 100 receiving yards and a touchdown to the Falcons' running backs in Week 1, so Ogunbowale is an extremely deep sleeper play this week and could be valuable as a DFS bargain streamer. He's only the RB64 in RotoBaller's rankings, though, so he doesn't deserve consideration in most standard leagues this week.