Who Should I Start? Jeremy McNichols or Elijah Mitchell

Monday, September 22, 9:41 AM

Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols carried the ball four times for 78 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 41-24 win over the Raiders. McNichols had a statement run in the second quarter, where he evaded multiple tackles and ran for a 60-yard touchdown. The touchdown was his first of the season. With Austin Ekeler (Achilles) out for the season, the Commanders went with a running-back-by-committee approach on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. Jacory Croskey-Merritt rushed eight times, while Chris Rodriguez led the backfield in attempts with 11 rushes, and McNichols rushed four times. While the committee approach is less than ideal for fantasy managers, it does mean that every player in the backfield is worth a look on the waiver wire in Week 4, specifically Rodriguez and McNichols, with Croskey-Merritt likely already rostered. Given the offense's success in their Week 3 win, McNichols' role and volume will likely stay the same in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons.

Friday, September 5, 7:20 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell is a healthy inactive for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Friday night in Brazil against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN. It's bad news for Mitchell heading into his first year with the Chiefs, as it looks like he's the RB4 to open the year, behind starter Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and rookie Brashard Smith. The 27-year-old was getting some first-team reps early in training camp, but that was a long time ago in late July. Mitchell signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with KC in the offseason after spending his first three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. In his three years in the Bay Area, the former sixth-rounder in 2021 out of Louisiana averaged 4.7 yards per tote on 327 rush attempts for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns (five in his rookie season).