Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Isiah Pacheco

Friday, September 26, 11:51 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt will take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Week 4. Hunt handled 10 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown as well as one catch for 10 yards in last week's 22-9 win over the New York Giants. Hunt has continued to receive a nearly identical workload to Isiah Pacheco, but Hunt has averaged two more PPR points per game this season. The 29-year-old has been the preferred back on passing downs and short-yardage situations, putting him in position to catch passes and score goal-line touchdowns. Hunt has been inefficient on the ground, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, but he could improve that average this week against Baltimore. The Ravens have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season, making this the most advantageous matchup at the position. The Ravens also have the highest scoring offense this season, which should put the Chiefs in more passing situations. Hunt is ranked RB34 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, putting him two spots ahead of Pacheco and in the RB3/Flex conversation. If Hunt can catch multiple passes and handle goal-line touches again, he could finish the week with double-digit fantasy points.

Saturday, September 27, 12:52 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco will take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Week 4. Pacheco handled 10 carries for 45 yards and one catch for three yards in the 22-9 win over the New York Giants last week. The 26-year-old had a modest 4.5 yards per carry in the contest, but has only averaged 3.7 yards per carry on the season. Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have split the Chiefs backfield evenly this season, but neither back has pulled away as a favorite to handle more work. The modest Kansas City run game duo has failed to produce a rush over 11 yards in 48 combined carries this season. Pacheco has not looked the same since returning from his fibula fracture last season, and he'll need to improve his play before the Chiefs decide to make substantial changes to the run game. The good news is that Pacheco has the easiest matchup for running backs this week, the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season, and Pacheco could benefit from this advantageous matchup. Pacheco is ranked RB36 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, putting two spots behind Hunt and on the edge of RB3/Flex range. This could be a make-or-break week for Pacheco's role moving forward, so it will be interesting to see what he can do.