Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Austin Ekeler

Saturday, October 25, 4:44 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt will play against the Washington Commanders in Week 8. Hunt was banged up this week with ankle and knee injuries, back he practiced in full on Saturday and will be active for Monday night's game. Hunt handled four carries for 18 yards in the 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. Hunt briefly exited last week's contest with an injury and was able to return, but was not needed since the Chiefs had a huge lead. The 30-year-old back has taken a backseat to Isiah Pacheco in recent weeks, handling just 10 carries in the last two games compared to 27 carries for Pacheco. That trend will likely continue given that Hunt has been the more inefficient back this season and the team has stated they'd like to get rookie Brashard Smith more involved each week. The matchup will also not help out Hunt since the Commanders have been middle-of-the-pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season. Hunt is ranked RB43 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings and should not find his way into fantasy lineups unless there are no other options available.

Monday, September 22, 12:34 PM

Although Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. wasn't all that efficient (3.5 yards per carry) in his 2025 debut in the team's 41-24 blowout win over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, he did lead the team with 11 carries. Rodriguez was a healthy scratch the first two weeks, but he was elevated to the active roster for Week 3 after Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles in Week 2. The 24-year-old ran for 39 yards on his 11 carries and was not utilized in the passing game. Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt was second on the team with eight carries, and he, too, was inefficient with just 26 yards on the ground. Jeremy McNichols and quarterback Marcus Mariota combined for 10 rushing attempts and two touchdowns against the Raiders. Croskey-Merritt has the most upside in the Commanders' backfield moving forward with Ekeler done for the year, but Rodriguez is worth a waiver-wire pickup if you have JCM rostered or are looking for RB depth. Rodriguez is currently rostered in only 5% of Yahoo leagues.