Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Chuba Hubbard

Thursday, January 9, 8:52 PM

A midseason hot streak had Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon among the top options in fantasy football, but things have changed with Houston entering the playoffs against the Los Angeles Chargers. The 28-year-old is averaging 38.7 rushing yards across his past six games, and the Texans' offense has struggled overall, scoring a measly 15.6 points since December. Now comes a Chargers defense that ranks third against fantasy running backs and fourth in scoring percentage allowed, which are not encouraging signs. Mixon is still on the fringe of being a RB1 due to his unchallenged workload in the Houston backfield, but managers in playoff formats shouldn't bet the farm on a huge performance, either.

Monday, December 30, 6:15 PM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales said on Monday that running back Chuba Hubbard (calf) will not require surgery for his strained calf. Hubbard was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve last week and will miss the final two games of the 2024 regular season. It's a downer to end what was a brilliant campaign for the 25-year-old in his fourth year in the NFL. He set career-highs in rushing attempts (250), rushing yards (1,195), rushing touchdowns (10) and receptions (43) while recording 171 receiving yards and an additional touchdown in his 15 starts. In terms of half-PPR points per game (14.9), Hubbard was the RB12 in fantasy. Although the Panthers have another promising back they drafted in 2024 in Jonathon Brooks, he has yet to be healthy, and Carolina also signed Hubbard to a four-year extension last month. Hubbard should enter 2025 as the team's unquestioned RB1.