Who Should I Start? Kenneth Gainwell or Elijah Mitchell

Friday, September 12, 11:35 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell will look to make more of an impact in Week 2 when his team takes on the Seattle Seahawks at home. With rookie rusher Kaleb Johnson toting the rock just once in his NFL debut last weekend, Gainwell operated as the team's clear-cut No. 2 backfield option. The former Philadelphia Eagle didn't turn his touches into much, but he saw just four fewer carries than teammate Jaylen Warren, and out-targeted him 4-2. Warren handily outgained him, though Gainwell should see decent volume on a team that has split backfield work over the past few campaigns. His standalone value is slightly diminished as of now, and stands to take a hit eventually when Johnson garners a larger workload. Still, he's ahead of him in the pecking order for the meantime. Gainwell is RotoBaller's PPR RB47 ahead of Week 2.

Friday, September 5, 7:20 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell is a healthy inactive for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Friday night in Brazil against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN. It's bad news for Mitchell heading into his first year with the Chiefs, as it looks like he's the RB4 to open the year, behind starter Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and rookie Brashard Smith. The 27-year-old was getting some first-team reps early in training camp, but that was a long time ago in late July. Mitchell signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with KC in the offseason after spending his first three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. In his three years in the Bay Area, the former sixth-rounder in 2021 out of Louisiana averaged 4.7 yards per tote on 327 rush attempts for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns (five in his rookie season).