Who Should I Start? Najee Harris or Jaleel McLaughlin

Sunday, January 12, 12:20 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris handled six carries for 17 yards and came down with all three of his targets for 41 receiving yards in a Wild Card Round loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers had very little success on the ground throughout the contest and were forced to lean on the passing game after trailing 21-0 at halftime. Harris contributed in the third quarter as he turned short completions into nine, 21, and 11-yard gains. Although his play this season was not necessarily consistent for fantasy purposes, Harris turned in a fourth-straight campaign with at least 1,000 rushing yards. Because Pittsburgh declined to pick up his fifth-year option in 2024, the 26-year-old will search for a new deal and potentially a new home this offseason.

Monday, January 13, 10:50 AM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin was a complete non-factor in the team's 31-7 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday on wild-card weekend. Like most of the season, Denver's backfield was stuck in the mud and couldn't get anything going to control the game, with rookie quarterback Bo Nix leading the team with 43 rushing yards on four carries. McLaughlin, who had been the leader of a committee backfield late in the season, had only two rushing attempts for minus-two yards while catching his only target for no gain. It was a dismal end to the 24-year-old's second season in the NFL. He finished with 113 carries for 496 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and only one rushing touchdown in 16 regular-season games while adding 24 catches for 76 yards and two more TDs through the air. Denver will surely look to upgrade their backfield in the offseason to give more help to Nix in 2025.