Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Jaleel McLaughlin

Friday, January 2, 5:56 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (illness) was under the weather this week and missed the first two practices. He returned to a full session on Friday, though, and has been removed from the Week 18 injury report. The Chiefs could opt to rest Isiah Pacheco in the regular-season finale against the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders, which would put Hunt in line for lead-back duties to close things out. Hunt should only realistically be considered for starting fantasy lineups this weekend if Pacheco is ruled out on Sunday. The 30-year-old has taken on more of a secondary role in the Chiefs' backfield of late, having not seen double-digit carries in any of the last three games. He was the team's preferred option in the backfield for most of the season, though. Hunt has 158 carries for 597 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games, adding 15 receptions for 122 more yards and a TD through the air.

Saturday, January 24, 7:55 PM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin should continue to be the primary change-of-pace back behind rookie RJ Harvey, with J.K. Dobbins remaining on Injured Reserve after a week of limited practices. In Denver's Divisional Round win over a Bills team that came into the playoffs with one of the worst run defenses in the league, McLaughlin was able to turn four carries into 21 yards. In the Conference Championship, he'll face a Patriots defense that has been dominant against the run since Milton Williams' return from an ankle injury that cost him five games. Through two playoff games, New England has allowed a total of 74 yards on designed runs, so if McLaughlin is to find any success on Sunday, it may need to come through screens and checkdowns, though that is a role that's been owned by Harvey for most of the year. McLaughlin is RotoBaller's RB7 for the week, but there is a world where he is entirely phased out of the game script.