Who Should I Start? Kimani Vidal or Will Shipley

Thursday, January 8, 6:26 PM

Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal could have a significant role on offense on Wild-Card weekend when the Bolts face off against the New England Patriots on Sunday night, as rookie RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) has yet to practice this week due to an ankle injury. Hampton was rested in the Week 18 regular-season finale versus the Denver Broncos, but he may have aggravated an ankle injury that landed him on Injured Reserve earlier this year. When Hampton was on the shelf, Vidal filled in nicely as a replacement RB1 for L.A., reaching the 100-yard mark three times while also scoring double-digit half-PPR fantasy points five times. The matchup against New England on the road is not a good one for the Chargers' running game behind a patchwork offensive line, but Vidal's increased volume alone as the RB1 would boost him to high-end RB2 territory in fantasy if Hampton isn't cleared to play.

Friday, November 21, 11:34 PM

Philadelphia Eagles Will Shipley has been relegated mostly to special teams touches and the occasional carry behind Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby as the team's RB3. The Eagles acquired Bigsby ahead of Week 7, and he's mostly served as the primary backup to Barkley. Since then, Bigsby and Shipley have each played 14.5% of the offensive snaps, but Bigsby has 17 carries to Shipley's seven during that span. The 2024 fourth-round pick entered the season as the No. 2 back for the Eagles, then missed Weeks 2 and 3 due to a rib injury, and has now fallen out of favor with the team, going out and trading for another back to have another capable option behind Barkley. Shipley still has some appeal as a handcuff if Barkley were to go down, but it would likely be a timeshare with Bigsby.