Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Wednesday, September 3, 1:14 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen shed some light on running back Travis Etienne Jr.'s usage going into the regular season on Wednesday. "We've got to use him as a guy that can help make plays... turn those 10 play drives into four play drives," Coen said. Etienne and Bigsby were listed as co-starters on the team's unofficial Week 1 depth chart, and they both figure to split the workload to open the 2025 campaign under Coen. Most fantasy managers were down on the 26-year-old after he was a major bust last year. However, unless he's traded, which is unlikely now, Etienne is going to have a role in Jacksonville's backfield. Bigsby has the power between the tackles, but Etienne's speed sets him apart, and he could still operate as a useful RB2/3 option for fantasy managers in PPR formats on a weekly basis.

Wednesday, September 3, 2:02 PM

Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt was seen working as the No. 2 running back during team drills on Wednesday, according to JP Finaly of NBC. This is an excellent sign for the seventh-round rookie as he was listed fourth on the team's depth chart earlier in the week. During these QB/RB drills, Croskey-Merritt was deployed behind the presumed starter, Austin Ekeler, while Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr. were deployed as the No. 3 and No. 4 options. Fantasy managers should continue to keep a close eye on this backfield throughout the early part of the season. Earlier in August, the Commanders opted to trade their top running back from last season, Brian Robinson Jr., to the San Francisco 49ers. In the preseason, Croskey-Merritt has looked very impressive and continues to make a case to open the season in the starting role. For now, the Arizona product figures to be a risky RB3 in Week 1 as his role has yet to be defined.