Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Isiah Pacheco

Thursday, November 20, 12:34 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle, foot) is not expected to play this season as he deals with a foot injury from the offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Mixon will likely stay on the Physically Unable to Perform list through the end of the 2025 season, while the Texans move forward with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks in their backfield. Things had been trending this way for a while, as the Texans haven't been giving any real updates on Mixon for pretty much the entire season. Fantasy managers who are still stashing the 29-year-old in redraft leagues should send him to the waiver wire now. Mixon's injury dates all the way back to spring workouts. One would think he'd be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign, but there has been little information about the exact nature of his injury. Marks, a fourth-rounder in April, has slowly started to see more work and should be the backfield leader over Chubb by the end of the year.

Friday, November 21, 2:41 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (knee) has been ruled out of Sunday's matchup with the Colts, making this his third straight missed game after spraining his MCL in a Week 8 win over the Commanders. Pacheco had been listed as a full participant in Wednesday's practice, giving fantasy managers hope that he could return this week. He unfortunately followed that up with limited participation on Thursday and has been ruled out on Friday. In his absence, veteran running back Kareem Hunt has averaged 12 carries for 54 yards, while scoring a touchdown in both games to bring his streak up to three straight. The 8-2 Colts have been below-average against fantasy running backs, keeping Hunt in play as a TD-dependent flex option. Rookie Brashard Smith will remain limited in the RB2 role behind Hunt.