Who Should I Start? Keaton Mitchell or Kaelon Black
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.7 | 23.6 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 6.3 | 0.0 |
Keaton Mitchell News
Friday, August 21, 9:47 AM
Los Angeles Chargers running back Keaton Mitchell has a little more separation in the race behind Omarion Hampton. The Chargers' current depth chart lists Mitchell second at running back, with Kimani Vidal on the next line, and Mitchell was involved early Thursday night before a 21-yard catch was wiped out by penalty. The 5-foot-8, 191-pound back doesn't need many touches to change a game. He ran for 341 yards on 59 carries last season, averaged 5.8 yards per attempt and added nine catches for 63 yards. Los Angeles also noted that Mitchell led the NFL in average run speed in 2025 at 14.49 mph and had 11 runs of at least 10 yards. Mike McDaniel has already said he expects to use Hampton, Mitchell and Vidal every week and could ride the hot hand, so this isn't a clean backup situation. Hampton still leads the room. Mitchell just looks like the best bet for the change-of-pace work right now, and his speed gives him enough standalone upside to stay interesting late in deeper redraft drafts.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 | 17.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 0.0 |
Kaelon Black News
Wednesday, August 19, 8:24 AM
San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Kaelon Black "looked powerful" in his return during Tuesday's joint practice against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Black missed the previous two weeks of camp with an inner-thigh injury, but he was the team's top runner on Tuesday with Christian McCaffrey still sitting due to undisclosed tightness. Black, a third-rounder, did not look rusty at all, taking an early carry for 50 yards while showing violence and strength on several runs. He also had a catch at the goal line during a red-zone drill. "I thought he looked good hitting the hole and running hard," quarterback Brock Purdy said. The Niners cut RB Khalil Herbert on Monday, and Jordan James (rib) and Isaac Guerendo (pectoral) are injured. Going into camp, James was the favorite for RB2 duties behind the oft-injured McCaffrey, but if Black continues to impress and James continues to sit out with his injury, it could be Black winning the RB2 role going into Week 1 in Australia against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.
Keaton Mitchell vs. Kaelon Black
Still trying to decide between Mitchell and Black? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Keaton Mitchell is projected to score 4.7 points this week while Kaelon Black is projected to score 3.5 points.
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