Who Should I Start? Samaje Perine or Dare Ogunbowale

Monday, December 22, 11:29 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine remains an appealing deep league option despite playing second fiddle to lead rusher Chase Brown in the team's ground attack. Perine posted another solid outing in Cincinnati's 45-21 thrashing of the Miami Dolphins, racking up 25 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries, and another 16 more on 2-of-3 receiving. It was the veteran's second rushing score of the campaign, as he continues to enjoy an elevated workload in the back half of the season. In four games since returning from an ankle injury, Perine has hovered around 40% of the Bengals' snaps, while averaging 12 opportunities per appearance. Even with Brown boasting a majority of the backfield touches, fantasy managers can turn to the 30-year-old as a sound flex asset, or in a pinch in shallower formats. They'll get a porous Cardinals' rush defense in Week 17.

Tuesday, December 16, 1:31 PM

Houston Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale has largely been a special-teamer during his nine-year career, but he has seen more work as a runner in the past two weeks. With Nick Chubb (ribs) and Woody Marks (knee) dealing with injuries, Ogunbowale scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 14. He handled a season-high eight touches in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals, with five carries for two yards and three receptions (four targets) for 32 yards as a receiver. The 31-year-old was in just a complementary role after Marks exited against the Cardinals, though, with second-year running back Jawhar Jordan seeing the bulk of the carries. Jordan handled 15 carries for 101 yards, becoming the first Texans running back to go over the century mark in rushing yards this season. Ogunbowale profiles as the receiving back if Chubb and Marks remain unavailable in Week 16 against the Raiders, limiting his fantasy appeal to just deeper PPR leagues.