Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Jonathan Taylor

Thursday, December 19, 8:30 PM

Now that Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle) is officially off the Week 16 injury report, fantasy managers can comfortably pencil him in as an RB2 option against the Kansas City Chiefs. The veteran back has had a nice first year as a Texan, but faces a Chiefs defense that ranks first in the NFL against fantasy running backs. Kansas City sits second in the league in yards per attempt allowed and is among the five teams allowing under 100 overall rushing yards per game. Mixon is still starting worthy, especially with 32 catches in 11 games played, but managers should think of him more as a second option in fantasy given the tough matchup.

Saturday, December 21, 1:05 AM

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has 21 or more carries in four of the last five contests with virtually no competition for touches from the other running backs on the team. That is, except for Anthony Richardson who has scored four times on the ground over the last four weeks while Taylor hasn't scored via the rush since Week 8. The 25-year-old nearly had one last week but dropped the ball in celebration before crossing the goal line, resulting in a lost fumble instead. Expect the former second-round draft pick to get a healthy dose of touches again in Week 16 against Tennessee, especially given how good the Titans' pass defense has been, allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing receivers compared to a rush defense yielding the 13th-most points to opposing backs. The fifth-year pro falls to a high-end RB2 in this week's matchup, who should get plenty of work and comes with RB1 upside if he's able to find the end zone.