Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or Antonio Gibson

Wednesday, July 3, 6:07 PM

The Philadelphia Eagles have a new offensive coordinator this year in Kellen Moore and will have a new bell-cow running back in Saquon Barkley. It's a big weapon to add to an offense that already includes one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league in Jalen Hurts. The Eagles could utilize their tight ends more in 2024 in Moore's scheme as well. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has talked to scouts that believe Barkley could see a similar boost that Christian McCaffrey had when he went to the San Francisco 49ers. Barkley is heading to a Philadelphia offense that has never had this kind of supporting cast around him. Injuries have been a concern with the 27-year-old, but if he stays healthy in his first year with the Eagles, Barkley's upside at the RB position is as high as any in the league as a strong RB1 target.

Tuesday, July 23, 7:04 PM

New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson (undisclosed) was placed on the active/NFI list to start training camp. The 26-year-old was added to the Patriots backfield as a depth piece and potential third-down running back. Gibson has been relatively durable throughout his career. He has played in at least 15 games in three straight seasons. Players are often placed on the NFI list during training camp, so this could turn out to be nothing, but it is worth monitoring. Gibson had a career-low in carries (65), rushing yards (265), and rushing touchdowns (1) in 2023 as he ceded the starting running back job to Brian Robinson Jr. Gibson is joining a Patriots team amid a considerable rebuild, especially on offense. Gibson's skills as a pass-catcher should come in handy in 2024, but the presence of incumbent Rhamondre Stevenson will likely once again limit Gibson's rushing upside. Generally, running backs on bad offense perform poorly for fantasy, so it may be best to look in another direction as you build out RB depth during your draft.