Who Should I Start? Nick Chubb or Tony Pollard

Wednesday, December 17, 2:40 PM

Houston Texans veteran running back Nick Chubb (ribs) was back at practice on Wednesday after missing the team's Week 15 win over the Cardinals. Rookie Woody Marks (ankle) was forced out of the blowout win with an ankle injury and was not spotted at Wednesday's practice, so Chubb could see an uptick in volume in a favorable Week 16 matchup with the Raiders, assuming his ribs respond well to a week of practice. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans noted on Monday that Marks could have returned to the game if the outcome had been more in doubt, so his absence on Wednesday could be viewed as an abundance of caution. Fantasy managers will need to monitor this somewhat cloudy backfield situation because if any Texans running back enters Sunday's game in a position to handle the bulk of carries, they should be able to convert that into fantasy success, and this includes popular waiver pickup Jawhar Jordan, who just put up 101 yards on 15 carries against the Cardinals.

Wednesday, December 17, 9:35 AM

Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard has caught fire of late, running wild for 265 rushing yards and three touchdowns over the past two weeks, which has earned him back-to-back top 10 running back performances. After landing on most analysts' "sit" list for most of the season due to his lack of effectiveness and how bad the Titans' offense has been, Pollard is showing some life in the fantasy playoffs and should be back on the fantasy radar in Week 16. Unfortunately for Pollard and the Titans, they have a tough matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, who allow the seventh fewest points to the running back position. That being said, Pollard should continue to see the volume he's seen over the past two weeks and project to see 10-15 carries, which keeps him in the RB3 conversations in Week 16. Backfield mate, Tyjae Spears, has been involved, playing about 50 percent of the snaps, but is not nearly seeing the amount of running back carries as Pollard has been getting, as most of Spears' production has been as a pass-catcher.