Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Brashard Smith

Saturday, October 11, 1:05 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt will face the Detroit Lions in Week 6. Hunt handled seven carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns in their Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The veteran running back also caught one pass for eight yards last week. Hunt averaged 7.0 yards per carry against the Jaguars, but a 33-yard run boosted his average. Hunt managed just 16 yards on his other six carries in the contest for a 2.7 yards per carry average. The 30-year-old has failed to average at 4.0 yards per carry in four of five games this season, but Kansas City has still given him the most valuable touches out of the backfield. Hunt is the primary goal-line and passing downs back for the Chiefs despite his inefficiency, and that trend should continue this week. Kansas City will take on the Lions in a game where the O/U is 52.5 and the Chiefs are favored by 2.5 points. There should be plenty of scoring in this week's contest, and Hunt could be the one scoring touchdowns in this Chiefs backfield. Hunt is ranked RB35 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, putting him in the RB3 conversation this week.

Saturday, October 11, 1:49 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith will face the Detroit Lions on Sunday night in Week 6. Smith had one carry for four yards and caught three passes for 32 yards in last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. There was a lot of buzz around Smith getting more usage before Week 5, but that did not end up being the case. The Chiefs have used their rookie running back in more of a gadget role, but he has been efficient with his opportunities. Smith has touched the ball 14 times this season and gained 87 scrimmage yards for an average of 6.2 yards per touch. The converted wide receiver out of SMU figures to fit into the Kansas City passing attack this week against Detroit. The Lions are the highest-scoring team in the league, and the Chiefs have the highest neutral pass rate, so there should be plenty of passes to go around on Sunday night. Smith will likely not have many carries this week, but he should have a handful of designed pass plays go his way. Smith is ranked RB42 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a deeper league flex option this week. There is a lot of potential upside with Smith, but the usage hasn't come yet, so he should be viewed as more of a stash candidate than a playable fantasy starter this week.