Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Kenneth Walker III

Monday, December 29, 1:56 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (foot, ankle) will not return this season, league sources told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. The expectation all along has been that Mixon would not return at all in 2025, but now it's official. The Texans haven't released many details on the nature of Mixon's foot/ankle injury, but we know that he hasn't played since back in the spring. The 29-year-old remains on the Non-Football Injury list. At this point, it's fair to wonder if he'll be effective at all if he's able to make it back and play in 2026. The Texans will continue to move forward with rookie Woody Marks as their primary ball-carrier, with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Jawhar Jordan backing him up heading into the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Indianapolis Colts.

Friday, January 9, 10:02 AM

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III had an inconsistent 2025 season, but finished the year with 1,027 rushing yards on 221 carries (4.65 YPC) and five touchdowns. He also contributed 282 yards through the air on 31 receptions as well. The inconsistencies came on a week-to-week basis, as he split snaps and lost most of the goal-line work to Zach Charbonnet, the five touchdowns he scored were scattered across four weeks of the season, and his carries per game fluctuated between 10 and 17 weekly, which resulted in him being a risky RB2 start all season long, even with the final numbers being decent. Heading into the NFL playoffs and managers drafting in fantasy playoff formats, Walker will remain a high-risk, high-reward running back option. The Seahawks are locked into the No. 1 seed in the NFC, meaning they will not play in Wild Card Weekend and will likely face a somewhat difficult matchup the rest of the way, as most NFC teams have fairly good run defenses. Combine that with Charbonnet's involvement in the offense and quarterback Sam Darnold's inexperience in the playoffs, and it may be tough sledding for Walker and the Seahawks offense from a fantasy standpoint.