Who Should I Start? Jordan James or Tahj Brooks

Thursday, August 7, 4:31 PM

San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Jordan James (finger) broke his finger and will undergo surgery, according to David Lombardi of The Athletic. As a result, James will be out for "a couple weeks," according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. It's tough news for the 21-year-old heading into his first NFL season, but the good news is that he could still be ready to roll for the Week 1 regular-season opener in early September. Isaac Guerendo (shoulder) is also expected to miss a couple weeks, so San Fran's backfield behind injury-prone Christian McCaffrey is suddenly very thin in camp. Going forward, Patrick Taylor, Ameer Abdullah and Corey Kiner will see more opportunities to prove themselves in practices and the preseason. Unless Guerendo isn't ready for the start of the season, James will probably go undrafted in most single-year fantasy leagues.

Friday, August 8, 10:53 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Tahj Brooks ran for 26 yards off 10 attempts in Thursday's preseason loss to the Eagles. He added one catch (two targets) for three yards. Chase Brown began the contest with the rest of the starters. While Brooks handled the bulk of the touches, he only averaged 2.6 yards per carry. Despite the subpar showing on Thursday night, the 2025 No. 193 overall pick has looked good throughout training camp and appears to have earned the trust of the coaching staff. However, with Brown expected to get the majority of the snaps out of the backfield in 2025, there could be little room for Brooks to remain consistently involved, even if the rookie manages to secure the No. 2 spot on the depth chart over Samaje Perine. With the Bengals dropping their first game of the preseason, the team will look to get on track versus the Commanders on August 18.