Who Should I Start? Kyren Williams or Ashton Jeanty

Wednesday, January 7, 9:36 AM

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams is gearing up to be a legit fantasy playoff running back option for fantasy managers playing in a playoff league. According to Novig, the Rams have the second-best odds to make the Super Bowl in the NFC, behind the Seattle Seahawks, who currently hold the No. 1 seed. For those playing in playoff fantasy leagues, you want to target guys like Williams, who is going to be on a team that has a better chance to make a deep run. The Rams open up as favorites (-10.5) against the Carolina Panthers in round one, and Williams should be viewed as one of the better running back options in this contest. Williams put together another nice 2025 season, rushing for 1,252 yards on 259 carries (4.83 YPC) and 10 touchdowns. He finished as the RB9 on the season, and the only risk you run with Williams is the running back by committee approach with Blake Corum, who, since Week 7, has seen 11 carries or more seven times. That being said, Williams is the veteran running back and has been the lead back, even with Corum chipping away at his overall workload, and it's likely Sean McVay will want to lead with his veteran, given the important nature of these playoff games.

Saturday, January 3, 9:13 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty needs 112 yards in Week 18 to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for his rookie campaign. Jeanty has been finding more success on the ground lately, with 188 rushing yards over his last two games. He figures to continue being the workhorse back during the regular-season finale versus the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs. He could have trouble finding room to run with the Chiefs having a top-10 run defense this season. Jeanty has big-play upside, though, which keeps him in RB2 territory despite a tough matchup. The Raiders figure to go run-heavy with quarterbacks Kenny Pickett or Aidan O'Connell under center.