Who Should I Start? Miles Sanders or Dameon Pierce

Tuesday, June 4, 3:38 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Miles Sanders (heel) did not practice on Tuesday due to a heel injury. The 27-year-old had a flare-up and is being held out as a precaution, according to head coach Dave Canales. While he's expected to be fine, missing practice time is not ideal after the team selected Jonathon Brooks (knee) in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Sanders is coming off his worst season as a pro. He accounted for just 432 rushing yards and one touchdown while averaging an abysmal 3.3 yards per carry. Chuba Hubbard outperformed him last year, and Brooks is likely to be heavily involved in the Carolina rushing attack when he's fully healthy. It would be a surprise if Sanders becomes anything close to a weekly contributor to fantasy squads this season.

Saturday, July 20, 1:20 PM

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce, who will enter the 2024 season as the backup to new lead back Joe Mixon, has looked good early on in training camp. Pierce was more decisive on his runs on the first day of camp on Saturday and could form a strong 1-2 punch with Mixon if he continues to look this good once the pads go on and to open the regular season. The 24-year-old former fourth-round pick in 2022 out of Florida nearly ran for 1,000 yards in just 13 games in his rookie season in 2022 before disappointing in his sophomore year in 2023 and losing the starting job to Devin Singletary. Pierce could excel with Houston moving to an outside-zone scheme, but as long as Mixon stays healthy, he probably won't be anything more than a handcuff option in fantasy leagues.