Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or Kenny Gainwell


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
14.4 62.0 0.4 2.9 20.9 0.2

Travis Etienne Jr. News

Travis Etienne Jr. Could Open the Year With a Heavy Workload

Friday, September 4, 7:16 AM

New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne Jr. already looked headed for the bigger share of this backfield, and Alvin Kamara's knee injury could give him even more work out of the gate. Kamara was still absent from the portion of Thursday's practice open to the media as he works back from a sprained MCL. Kendre Miller has also been sidelined this week, which only adds to the uncertainty behind Etienne. The 27-year-old handled most of the first-team early-down work before Kamara was hurt, then finished camp healthy while the rest of the room dealt with injuries. Etienne is coming off 1,107 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 260 carries in Jacksonville, plus 36 catches for 292 yards and six more scores. He now sits at RB15 in the latest PPR rankings. Kamara avoided injured reserve and still has time to make it back for the opener, so this may be a short-term boost rather than a season-long change. For now, Etienne has a clearer path to heavy volume than he did a few weeks ago.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
11.6 36.1 0.3 3.1 21.4 0.1

Kenny Gainwell News

Kenny Gainwell Sneaks into Flex Conversation

Friday, September 11, 1:19 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell is set to make his team debut against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. Gainwell will get a plus matchup to start against a Bengals defense that ranked in the bottom 10 this past season. The expectation is that Gainwell will play a similar role to what Rachaad White has done in Tampa Bay in the past. He'll likely be the favorite back in passing situations, but unlike White, Gainwell can be a trusted runner as well. Gainwell saw a career-high 114 rushing attempts this past season and averaged 4.71 YPC. He'll operate as the primary backup to Bucky Irving, but Gainwell should be one of the more trusted backups around the league. For fantasy managers in PPR leagues, Gainwell can be a legit flex option for the season opener against the Bengals.


Travis Etienne Jr. vs. Kenny Gainwell

Still trying to decide between Etienne Jr. and Gainwell? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Travis Etienne Jr. is projected to score 14.4 points this week while Kenny Gainwell is projected to score 11.6 points.