Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or Elijah Mitchell

Monday, March 11, 2:57 PM

Free-agent running back Saquon Barkley is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The deal includes $26 million in guaranteed money and has an additional $9 million available in incentives. After a 2018 rookie season that saw the former Penn State star go for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns, he has struggled to stay healthy over a chunk of the next five years of his career. He missed 21 games from 2019 to 2021. He bounced back in 2022 with 1,312 rushing yards but regressed to 962 yards in 14 games in 2023. However, the Eagles believe in him as a game-changing running back, as his average salary ($12.58 million) ranks only below Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Jonathan Taylor. Although the Eagles' offensive line could take a hit after the retirement of Jason Kelce, Barkley should be playing behind the best offensive line of his career in 2024. He will have an immediate high-end RB1 upside in fantasy football.

Friday, January 19, 11:05 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell will back up starter Christian McCaffrey in Saturday night's Divisional Round tilt versus the Green Bay Packers. Mitchell finished the regular season with a career-low 3.7 yards per attempt and two touchdowns, almost exclusively as McCaffrey's injury and garbage-time replacement. Conceivably, DFS players willing to gamble on those scenarios occurring on Saturday could find a healthy return on minimal investment but otherwise, Mitchell should not be considered for fantasy lineups.