Who Should I Start? Raheem Mostert or Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Saturday, December 13, 1:01 AM

Las Vegas Raiders running back Raheem Mostert has spent most of this season backing up rookie Ashton Jeanty, and he should remain in that role ahead of Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles. The 33-year-old battled a knee injury during practice this past week but has been removed from the injury report and will play on Sunday, barring a setback. He has been held to just one touch in each of his last two games, and he ranks as the overall RB75 in PPR leagues this season. On one hand, the Eagles present a favorable matchup for any running back. After all, Philadelphia has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points, fifth-most receiving yards, and second-most receiving touchdowns to opposing running backs in 2025. On the other hand, though, the Purdue product is clearly nothing more than a change-of-pace back behind Jeanty in this Vegas offense. He's averaging just 3.1 touches per game and has played fewer than one-third of the snaps in each of his last eight contests. Mostert ranks as the overall RB72 in this week's RotoBaller fantasy rankings, and he can be left on waivers in all leagues.

Thursday, December 25, 11:51 AM

Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. (illness) will not be available for the team's divisional clash with the visiting Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 26-year-old was a late addition to Washington's injury report, as he came down with an illness early on Thursday. Despite initially garnering a questionable tag, he'll now miss his second game in three weeks. With Rodriguez inactive, backfield mates Jeremy McNichols and Jacory Croskey-Merritt will each see a significant uptick in work. Notably, in the last game sans Rodriguez, Croskey-Merritt barely eked out McNichols in snaps (32-30). However, he handily out-touched the latter 18-10. With that in mind, McNichols appeared to be the preferred passing-down back, so game script may determine who sees more work against the visiting Cowboys.