Who Should I Start? Jeremy McNichols or Will Shipley

Thursday, December 18, 6:18 PM

Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols surprisingly drew the start last week against the New York Giants with Chris Rodriguez Jr. (groin) sidelined and handled all the snaps on the opening drive of the game. Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt took over the bulk of the carries for the remainder of the game and proved to be the far more effective runner, producing 96 yards on 18 carries compared to McNichols with six yards on nine carries. The veteran handled a season-high 10 touches, but totalled only 22 yards and also lost a fumble with less than three minutes remaining in the game with Washington up 29-21, giving the Giants a shot to tie the game. With Rodriguez set to play on Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles, McNichols should return to his normal duties as the primary third-down back. He profiles only as a deep-league dart throw in PPR formats in Week 16.

Friday, November 21, 11:34 PM

Philadelphia Eagles Will Shipley has been relegated mostly to special teams touches and the occasional carry behind Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby as the team's RB3. The Eagles acquired Bigsby ahead of Week 7, and he's mostly served as the primary backup to Barkley. Since then, Bigsby and Shipley have each played 14.5% of the offensive snaps, but Bigsby has 17 carries to Shipley's seven during that span. The 2024 fourth-round pick entered the season as the No. 2 back for the Eagles, then missed Weeks 2 and 3 due to a rib injury, and has now fallen out of favor with the team, going out and trading for another back to have another capable option behind Barkley. Shipley still has some appeal as a handcuff if Barkley were to go down, but it would likely be a timeshare with Bigsby.