Who Should I Start? Jerome Ford or Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Friday, October 10, 7:37 PM

The Athletic's Daniel Popper speculates that if the Los Angeles Chargers explore the trade market at running back with Najee Harris (Achilles) done for the year and rookie first-rounder Omarion Hampton (ankle) on Injured Reserve, two potential options could be New York Jets RB Breece Hall and the Cleveland Browns' Jerome Ford. Both Hall and Ford are on expiring deals and could bring the Bolts a compensatory draft pick if they make it to free agency in 2026. Even when Hampton returns from IR, L.A. is going to need a second back to pair with him as a team with a run-first identity under offensive coordinator Greg Roman. At least for Week 6 against the Miami Dolphins, Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal are expected to share the backfield equally, giving them both flex appeal in deeper fantasy leagues. How aggressive the Chargers are on bringing in an outside RB will depend on how Haskins and Vidal fare in the coming weeks.

Monday, October 13, 7:33 PM

Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. (calf) is officially active for the Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears in Week 6 despite not practicing all week. Rodriguez, rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Jeremy McNichols had been operating in a committee backfield after the season-ending injury to Austin Ekeler (Achilles) earlier this year until last week, when Croskey-Merritt took hold of the lead-back role in a breakout performance in the win over the Los Angeles Chargers. It's unclear if Rodriguez will be limited at all on Monday night, but we'd expect him to take a clear back seat to JCM once again against Chicago. The 25-year-old RB should be viewed as a pretty shaky touchdown-dependent RB3/flex in fantasy lineups on Monday. In the last three games, Rodriguez has just over 100 yards rushing and no touchdowns on 23 carries.