Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or Bucky Irving

Saturday, September 13, 12:47 AM

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley tied for the sixth-most rushing attempts in the league last week (18), once again proving that he has one of the most reliably-heavy workloads in the NFL. He also made PPR managers happy with his four receptions on five targets-both good for second-most on the team. In Week 2 Barkley faces a Chiefs defense that held Omarion Hampton to just 48 yards on 15 attempts last Friday, but that was a rookie, and this is Saquon Barkley. After leading Philly in targets and receptions in their last meeting against Kansas City in the Super Bowl, expect Barkley to have a prominent role in the passing game again this week. He's a top-tier RB1 as per usual.

Tuesday, September 16, 12:19 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was busy Monday night against Houston, handling 17 carries for 71 yards while adding six receptions for 50 yards in the pass game. Irving was the engine of Tampa Bay's offense against Houston's stout defense, consistently making defenders miss and finding positive yardage. The star's second year back forced 11 missed tackles, including five on receptions in Monday night's game, the most in his career, according to NFL Pro. Mayfield was under a ton of pressure and took four sacks overall against one of the league's best pass rush groups, and he often resorted to Irving as a safety valve. Rachaad White handled more work than he did in Week 1 and ended up scoring the game-winning touchdown after Mayfield drove them down to the goal line. Otherwise, Irving still had a highly productive fantasy outing and remains Tampa Bay's lead back. He should be viewed as a rock-solid RB1 moving forward with his high-value touch role.