Who Should I Start? Samaje Perine or Isiah Pacheco

Saturday, October 11, 1:42 PM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine had only 52 yards off nine carries in the first five games of the 2025 campaign, adding four receptions for eight yards. While most assumed Chase Brown would lead the way out of the backfield this season, fantasy managers are still disappointed with Perine's lack of involvement and production. The 30-year-old logged 29 snaps in the Week 5 loss to the Detroit Lions, suggesting more involvement could be on the horizon for the Week 6 meeting with the Green Bay Packers. However, until Perine does something meaningful to benefit managers, it's best to leave him out of any fantasy lineup versus the Packers. That outlook likely won't change in the weeks ahead unless Brown goes down with an injury.

Thursday, October 16, 10:07 AM

Running back Isiah Pacheco of the Kansas City Chiefs is coming off a high mark for involvement following last Sunday's victory against the Detroit Lions, and he could see a continued workload in the weeks to come. Pacheco played 77% of the Chiefs' offensive snaps against Detroit, the most of any running back on the team, which was also his highest mark since Week 1 of 2024. Just more than a year removed from a broken leg, Pacheco's numbers Sunday were more in line with 2023, during which he averaged 17 touches per game. With a solid 4.2 yards per carry so far, he could see more games like the one he just played against the Lions.