Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or Isiah Pacheco

Monday, October 6, 6:25 PM

The Philadelphia Eagles listed running back Saquon Barkley (knee) as a non-participant on their estimated injury report on Monday due to a knee injury, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. NFL insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that Barkley had general soreness in his knee coming out of Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos, but he fully expects to play on Thursday night against his former team, the New York Giants. It explains why Barkley's volume was so low in Week 5 -- he had a season-low six carries for 30 yards and caught all three of his targets for 58 yards and a touchdown. Last year's rushing leader remains a must-start in fantasy when he's active, but there's certainly the potential for him to see a smaller workload again on a short week against the Giants. The good news is that Barkley averaged 5.0 yards per carry on Sunday after being under 3.0 yards a carry in the previous two games.

Saturday, October 4, 10:11 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco will face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night in Week 5. Pacheco rushed seven times for 35 yards (5.0 yards per carry) and caught two passes for 13 yards and a touchdown in last week's win over the Baltimore Ravens. Pacheco finished second in carries and rushing yards in Week 4, but he's locked into a backfield committee with Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith. Hunt finished last week's game with the most carries, and Smith's involvement in the offense has increased each week. Pacheco will have to contend with backfield competition and the Jaguars, who allow the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. The 26-year-old should continue handling RB2 duties this Monday night, but it will be interesting to see how the touches are divided. Pacheco is ranked RB35 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, putting him in the RB3/Flex conversation this week.