Who Should I Start? Kareem Hunt or Michael Pittman Jr.

Friday, December 20, 4:37 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt will take on the Houston Texans in Week 16. Hunt was nearly phased out of the Chiefs backfield with Isiah Pacheco returning from injury, but his usage ramped back up in Week 15. The 29-year-old handled 13 carries last week against the Cleveland Browns, earning the same number of touches as Pacheco. It will be interesting to see how many opportunities Hunt receives this week against the Texans, who rank fourth in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season. Hunt is ranked RB46 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a desperation flex option this week. With the two Chiefs running backs splitting touches in a poor matchup, it will be difficult for fantasy managers to trust either of them in the fantasy playoffs.

Friday, December 20, 10:52 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was a full participant in practice on Friday. The 27-year-old did not practice on Wednesday, but was back to a full participant the following two sessions to close out the week. The 6-foot-4 wideout has dealt with back issues seemingly all season long, but it has cost him just one week of playing time. The former second-round draft pick has been Anthony Richardson's preferred target in the passing game over the last four weeks since being reinstated as the starting QB, averaging over five catches per contest, albeit for just 60 yards per game. The fifth-year pro hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 6, which happened to be against his Week 16 opponent, the Tennessee Titans. Although he found paydirt in that first meeting, he did so on just three catches for 35 yards. With the Titans allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers and with Richardson completing less than 50% of his passes on the season, expectations for Sunday's divisional showdown should be tempered. While the Colts are 3.5-point favorites in this one, there is a low expected total of 42.5 and Pittman Jr. projects as a WR4 this week, so hopefully fantasy managers have other options.