Who Should I Start? Latavius Murray or Samaje Perine

Saturday, December 23, 12:23 AM

Buffalo Bills running back Latavius Murray remains somewhat in play for Week 16 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Murray vultured a short touchdown in last Sunday's easy win over the Dallas Cowboys, preventing featured back James Cook from an even bigger evening than his 221-yard outburst. Though Murray handled two red-zone touches in Week 15, he played his lowest rate of snaps (15.6%) and ran his fewest number of routes (one) for a mere 11 total yards. Murray is almost certainly going to need a touchdown and perhaps for the Bills to form a sizable lead to have any chance at a decent outcome in Round 2 of fantasy's postseason. It needs to be noted that Ty Johnson's (shoulder) snaps have ascended in each of Buffalo's prior three outings, out-snapping Murray altogether against Dallas. Murray is nothing more than an emergency RB4/flex if Johnson ends up missing Saturday with a shoulder injury.

Saturday, December 16, 10:54 AM

Denver Broncos running back Samaje Perine (knee) was on the Week 15 injury report but has since been cleared and will play on Saturday evening against the Detroit Lions. Outside of maybe the deepest PPR setups, Perine is probably worth avoiding, especially against a Lions team that has allowed only 48 receptions on the year and zero receiving touchdowns to RBs. But although Perine was passed by rookie Jaleel McLaughlin around the midpoint of the season for the RB2 role in Denver, he has made a comeback and is once again the Broncos' preferred back on passing downs, catching all 15 of his targets for 112 yards (7.47 yards per reception) in the last four games. He's also added 11 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. If the Broncos find themselves trailing big early, Perine could be more involved in the passing attack.