Who Should I Start? Samaje Perine or Devon Achane

Monday, September 18, 12:26 AM

Denver Broncos running back Samaje Perine was supposed to be sharing a bigger part of the backfield workload early in his first season in Denver as the team eased backfield mate Javonte Williams in after his ACL and LCL tears in Week 4 of 2022. But in the Week 2 loss to the Washington Commanders, Perine had just one carry for four yards and caught three of his four targets for 20 yards in the 35-33 loss at home. Rookie Jaleel McLaughlin had as many carries as Perine and took his handoff five yards to paydirt. In the season opener last week, Perine saw 12 touches for 78 yards, so this was a big-time disappointment. The full expectation is that Williams will eventually gain even more work in the Broncos' backfield, so Perine will enter the Week 3 matchup in Miami as tough to trust as an RB3/flex in deeper leagues.

Monday, September 18, 11:26 AM

Miami Dolphins rookie running back De'Von Achane didn't do much in his first NFL game in the Sunday night win over the division-rival New England Patriots, even with backup Salvon Ahmed (groin) getting injured in the contest. Achane finished the 24-17 victory with just one carry for five yards while catching his only target for a four-yard gain. He played just 10 percent of the offensive snaps, which was behind Raheem Mostert (73%), Alec Ingold (60%) and Ahmed (19%). The 21-year-old didn't play in the season opener due to a shoulder injury, but he's healthy now and could see a bigger workload in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos if Ahmed is unable to suit up. Even then, Achane is nothing more than a deep-league handcuff for Mostert as he eases his way into Miami's backfield.