Who Should I Start? Jerome Ford or Zach Charbonnet

Tuesday, December 9, 4:41 PM

The Cleveland Browns have placed running back Jerome Ford (shoulder) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday. With only four games remaining, Ford's season will come to an end after suffering a shoulder injury during Cleveland's Week 14 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The 26-year-old totaled 24 carries for 73 yards to go with 26 receptions (32 targets) for 103 yards in 13 games this season as Cleveland's primary passing-down back. His role gradually faded as the season went along, playing just 21.8% of the offensive snaps since Week 7. Rookie Quinshon Judkins will continue to lead Cleveland's backfield, while rookie Dylan Sampson will be the main beneficiary of Ford's absence and should be considered as a waiver-wire pickup in deep PPR leagues this week as RB depth.

Thursday, January 15, 12:30 PM

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet enters the playoffs as one of the hottest RBs in the league, having scored four rushing touchdowns in his last three games combined. In the Week 18 regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers, who the Seahawks will play for a third time this Saturday night, Charbonnet had 17 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown. He added three catches for 23 yards. The 25-year-old's touchdown was a 27-yard scamper, which ended up being the only TD of the game on either side. The previous week, he saw a season-high 18 rushing attempts for a season-high 110 yards and two rushing scores in a win over the Carolina Panthers. In Week 1 against San Fran, Charb had 12 carries for 47 yards and a TD. He will continue to split touches with Kenneth Walker III, but Charbonnet isn't a bad RB option in fantasy leagues this week against a banged-up 49ers defense that has allowed the sixth-most half-PPR points per game to RBs in the last five weeks.