Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or Omarion Hampton

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.

Saturday, September 6, 12:59 AM

Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton rushed for 48 yards on 15 carries during Friday's win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also caught two passes for an additional 13 yards through the air. While it was promising that the Chargers trusted Hampton to handle heavy volume, his inefficiency (3.2 yards per carry) was somewhat worrisome. Going forward, it's possible that the rookie will need to score touchdowns in order to be fantasy relevant. Nevertheless, he is the clear No. 1 running back in Los Angeles, so his value will increase as he starts to face easier defenses. For example, he gets a much more favorable matchup in Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders.