Who Should I Start? Khalil Herbert or DJ Giddens

Wednesday, March 12, 5:14 PM

The Indianapolis Colts and free-agent running back Khalil Herbert reached an agreement on an undisclosed one-year deal on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Herbert began the 2024 season with the Chicago Bears and had only eight carries for 16 yards and a touchdown in six games before being traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, where he finished with 28 carries for 114 yards and no touchdowns in eight games behind Chase Brown. Now in Indianapolis, the 26-year-old will have a similar backup role to Jonathan Taylor. Because he's unlikely to see much volume unless Taylor misses time with an injury, Herbert will mainly be a handcuff in deeper leagues for those that draft Taylor. The former sixth-rounder (217th overall) by the Bears in 2021 has averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 400 rushing attempts for 1,905 yards and nine TDs in his four years in the NFL.

Tuesday, May 6, 3:43 PM

The Indianapolis Colts added former Kansas State running back DJ Giddens in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and James Boyd of The Athletic believes he is poised to beat out Tyler Goodson as the team's top pass-catching back. The team added Khalil Herbert this offseason to replace Trey Sermon, but Giddens profiles as more of a receiver after snagging 50 receptions over his final two collegiate seasons. That said, Indianapolis ranked 30th in total running back targets a season ago (65), so Giddens is unlikely to have standalone upside as a backup to Jonathan Taylor. Instead, he'll be more of an interesting handcuff back that could have flex value in the case of a Taylor injury. Giddens was a fifth-rounder, though, so it's too early to assume he'll have any role in Indy's offense.