Who Should I Start? Kenneth Gainwell or Emari Demercado

Monday, September 22, 11:00 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell scored his first touchdown of 2025 in Week 3, finishing the game with 26 yards from scrimmage and a score on five total touches. Gainwell scored on a one-yard run after lead Steelers back Jaylen Warren was stopped on consecutive goal-to-go opportunities. Gainwell has just 85 yards from scrimmage on 23 total touches through Pittsburgh's first three games, so he's still only fantasy-relevant as a handcuff option to Warren. Still, he's clearly ahead of Steelers rookie Kaleb Johnson on the backfield depth chart, and Gainwell should be added where available in all PPR-scoring leagues with 12 or more teams.

Thursday, September 25, 9:26 AM

Things have changed in a major way for the Arizona Cardinals' backfield, but backup running back Emari Demercado should be viewed as a major streaming risk with his team playing the Seattle Seahawks on short rest. Arizona lost starting running back James Conner (ankle) for the season, which will likely thrust Trey Benson into a feature back role and give Demercado some touches, too. The third-year pro drew two rushing attempts and a target after Conner departed last week, which is nowhere near enough to be fantasy relevant. It's possible Demercado develops into a Justice-Hill-like role as a pass catcher this season, but managers should exercise caution until we've seen how the Cardinals move forward without Conner.