Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or Najee Harris

Friday, August 1, 4:42 PM

Philadelphia Eagles superstar running back Saquon Barkley saw a "heavy workload as a ball-carrier and a receiver" during the team's training camp practice on Friday, according to Andrew DiCecco of Inside the Birds. A heavy rushing workload is the expectation for Barkley, as he led the NFL in rush attempts (345) and rushing yards (2,005) on his way to winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2024. However, Barkley's receiving workload was relatively limited, as his 2.1 receptions per game was the lowest single-season mark of his career. Philadelphia has typically not utilized its running backs in the passing game during the Jalen Hurts era, but the team has also never had a running back as dynamic as Barkley. Modest reception totals are basically the only flaw in Barkley's fantasy profile, so correcting that could put him on track for a second-straight RB1 finish.

Friday, August 15, 10:48 AM

Los Angeles Chargers beat writer Daniel Popper of The Athletic projects Chargers running back Najee Harris (eye) to open the season on the non-football injury list, which means he would be forced to miss the first four games of the season. Popper writes that he has "not seen nearly enough progress at this point to think (Harris) will be ready for Week 1." Harris suffered an eye injury on July 4 and just recently returned to practice in a very limited capacity this week. If Harris does indeed miss a chunk of the regular season, rookie running back Omarion Hampton would have a major opportunity to seize the lead role in the Los Angeles backfield. Hampton is a steady riser in fantasy and profiles as a high-end RB2, while Harris has fallen to RB49 in RotoBaller's half-PPR rankings.