Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Tyjae Spears

Monday, July 22, 1:23 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (undisclosed) has been held out of training camp practice the last few days, but head coach DeMeco Ryans said Mixon "will be fine." "I'm not worried out Joe." It's not a long-term injury for the 27-year-old, so he should be 100 percent in plenty of time for the start of the 2024 regular season this fall. Mixon's absence will give Dameon Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale, among others, more reps early in training camp in Houston's backfield. When healthy, the former Bengals RB will be the Texans' clear lead back in 2024. "Workhorse. He's an absolute workhorse, in every regard," offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik recently said of Mixon. He's joining an offense on the rise, but Mixon is probably going to need to be much more efficient as a runner than he was last year in order to finish as a top-12 fantasy back in his first year in Houston.

Sunday, January 7, 4:34 PM

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears rushed three times for 25 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown in the Week 18 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. With Derrick Henry likely heading to a new organization this offseason, Spears could find himself as the team's RB1 in 2024. That said, Tennessee will surely add competition to the backfield, so this is a situation worth monitoring. Either way, it was a great performance for the rookie to close out his debut season.