Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or Isiah Pacheco

Saturday, December 13, 2:39 AM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. is in a prime spot to tally his sixth top-12 half-PPR finish in seven games and propel fantasy managers down the stretch. We've lost the early-season efficiency seen back in the first month of play, but steady volume on an offense averaging 30 points per game since Week 8 will suffice. His outlook is further bolstered by Bhayshul Tuten's poor recent form (2.3 yards per carry over the last three games) and drawing a top-five matchup against the Jets. Gang Green has surrendered rush TDs to everyone lately, including three different Miami RBs last week. The Jets are set to start third-stringer Brady Cook at quarterback, which has the Jags favored by roughly two TDs across all major sportsbooks. Etienne rosters should enjoy several scoring chances throughout the contests due to a positive gamescript and the advantageous matchup. As a result, Etienne is locked in as a top-10 option at the position per our ranks at RotoBaller.

Friday, December 12, 4:18 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco handled nine carries for 30 yards in last week's 10-20 loss to the Houston Texans. In his second game back from injury, Pacheco's opportunities ticked up closer to Kareem Hunt, who handled 12 carries in the contest. Pacheco looked like the best back in the backfield before his knee injury, so the team may prefer to lean on him more as he gets healthier. Pacheco will have a chance to surpass Hunt this week against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers defense has been middle-of-the-pack in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season, meaning that it should not be a difficult matchup for Pacheco. That said, splitting carries with Hunt in a divisional matchup could be a difficult situation to succeed in. Pacheco is ranked RB48 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a difficult player to trust until he shows more upside.