Who Should I Start? Marshawn Lloyd or Jaleel McLaughlin

Tuesday, September 17, 4:28 PM

The Green Bay Packers placed rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd (ankle) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday and signed running back Chris Brooks to the active 53-man roster from the practice squad in a corresponding move. Lloyd has quickly developed an injury-prone reputation early in his rookie season after missing most of training camp and the preseason with injuries as well. The 23-year-old will now miss at least the next four games with an ankle injury he suffered in the Week 2 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The explosive third-rounder was the clear front-runner for RB2 duties over Emanuel Wilson with AJ Dillon (neck) out for the year. But now that Lloyd is going to miss more time, Wilson is worth a waiver-wire pickup for RB depth, especially if you also have starter Josh Jacobs rostered. Lloyd was inactive in the season opener but had six carries for 15 yards and caught one pass for three yards in Week 2.

Monday, September 16, 12:24 AM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin took a step back from his Week 1 involvement in the Week 2 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Denver on Sunday. After out-touching backfield mate Javonte Williams last week in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks, McLaughlin had only three carries for six yards in the 13-6 loss to the Steelers and wasn't targeted in the passing game. Meanwhile, Williams had 16 touches for 65 scrimmage yards. It was a step back for the 24-year-old second-year back, but he's still the clear RB2 in Denver, with Tyler Badie seeing only one carry for a 16-yard gain. McLaughlin is going to have much better games than this, obviously, but it's hard to justify using a roster spot on him in 12-team fantasy leagues as long as the Broncos' offense continues to struggle so much under rookie quarterback Bo Nix. McLaughlin will have very little standalone value in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.