Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne or Isiah Pacheco

Monday, December 2, 10:50 AM

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. continued to build on his underwhelming season against the Houston Texans in Week 13. He finished with 46 yards rushing on 13 carries and 12 yards receiving on three receptions. Another single-digit fantasy performance for the 25-year-old back means once again his fantasy managers are left regretting picking him in the second round of fantasy drafts. With Tank Bigsby questionable with an ankle injury heading into the week, Etienne Jr. had a chance to seize the starting role, but failed to stand out. While Bigsby only touched the ball half as much as Etienne Jr. did, he had a higher yards per carry (4.0 to 3.5) and longer longest run (19 to 9). The Jaguars face the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, where Etienne Jr. will most likely get a lower percentage of the backfield touches.

Saturday, November 30, 4:31 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco had seven carries for 44 yards in the 19-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Pacheco also had one catch for five yards in this contest. The Raiders almost played spoiler in Pacheco's first game back, but they fumbled the game away in the final minute. The 25-year-old displayed his explosiveness with a 34-yard run, raising his yards per carry average to 6.3 in this game. Pacheco received the same number of carries as Kareem Hunt, making it a true 50/50 split in his return to action. That said, Pacheco is the younger and more explosive back, so the split should begin to lean more in his direction. Pacheco will look to be more involved next week against the Los Angeles Chargers, who rank fifth in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season. Fantasy managers should be encouraged by how good Pacheco looked in his first game back, but expect it to take a few games before he gets the lion's share of the carries out of the backfield.