Who Should I Start? Nick Chubb or Kimani Vidal

Monday, October 6, 1:01 PM

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said that the usage of running backs Nick Chubb and Woody Marks is game-plan dependent and also depends on the flow of the game, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. Running backs coach Danny Barrett also has a lot of input on the usage between the two backs. After playing a season-high 56% of the offensive snaps in last week's win over the Tennessee Titans, Marks dropped down to 39% in the blowout win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5. Marks' fantasy managers were probably hoping for a lot more against the Ravens' depleted defense, especially in a blowout. The rookie had seven carries for 24 yards, while Chubb finished with 11 carries for a team-high 61 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Chubb and Marks will continue to move forward in a timeshare and will be RB3/flex plays in fantasy, with Marks offering fantasy managers more upside and big-play ability.

Wednesday, October 15, 9:53 AM

Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal exploded in Week 6 with 124 rushing yards on 18 carries (6.89 YPC) and three receptions for 14 yards and a touchdown through the air. The reason for his opportunity is that rookie Omarion Hampton (ankle) landed on the injured reserve in Week 5, which opened up the door for Vidal, and he made the most of it. At this point, Vidal should not be on your waiver wire and should be picked up immediately if he is. The most encouraging thing for Vidal is that he outsnapped, out-touched, and outplayed other Chargers running back Hassan Haskins by a landslide, saw 67% of the snaps to Haskins' 31%, out-touched him 22 to seven, and outgained him 138 to 23 in all-purpose yards. While fantasy managers may want to temper expectations, considering the Chargers faced the Miami Dolphins, who have allowed the seventh most points to running backs on the season, it was encouraging to see one of the two running backs get a majority of the touches, as coming into the matchup on Sunday, it was unclear who the lead back was going to be. Vidal can be viewed as a low-end RB2 moving forward until Hampton returns.