Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Elijah Mitchell

Friday, September 22, 1:22 PM

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said that newly signed running back Kareem Hunt is "going to play" in his season debut in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans. However, how much Hunt actually plays on Sunday will be determined. The 28-year-old was a popular waiver-wire pickup this week after Nick Chubb went down with a gruesome season-ending knee injury on Monday night. It's unknown what kind of shape Hunt is actually in, but all signs point to the Browns leaning on Jerome Ford as their lead back moving forward. If anything, Hunt will merely be a thorn in Ford's side as he steals valuable touches away, mainly in obvious passing situations on third downs. We wouldn't recommend using Hunt right away as a flex option in PPR leagues in his first game in 2023.

Friday, September 22, 11:29 AM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made good on his promise to get running back Elijah Mitchell involved in the game plan after Mitchell didn't play at all in the Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Rams. On Thursday night in the 30-12 win over the New York Giants, Mitchell saw a season-high 11 carries for 42 yards and caught all three of his targets for two yards. It was nice to see the 25-year-old get more involved in a game that wasn't close at all late, but Mitchell's week-to-week workload could vary drastically based on game flow, and as long as bell-cow Christian McCaffrey is healthy and doing his thing, Mitchell isn't going to have standalone fantasy value. He could, however, see another solid workload in a Week 4 matchup with the lowly Arizona Cardinals.