Who Should I Start? Ty Chandler or DJ Giddens

Thursday, September 11, 7:54 PM

The Minnesota Vikings announced on Thursday that they placed running back Ty Chandler (knee) on Injured Reserve, which means he will be forced to sit out beyond the team's Week 6 bye. Chandler was active for the Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night but only played on special teams as a return man. With Chandler's injury, the Vikings are now pretty thin in the backfield behind their top two options, Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason. Zavier Scott is currently listed as their No. 3. Myles Price (knee) and Tai Felton are the candidates to replace Chandler on kickoff-return duties moving forward, starting in Week 2 on Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons. In three seasons with the Vikes, Chandler has 164 rushing attempts for 663 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and three rushing touchdowns in 38 games (four starts).

Friday, October 17, 8:21 PM

Indianapolis Colts running back DJ Giddens was quiet in a Week 6 win over the Arizona Cardinals as he did not receive a touch while playing just two snaps on offense. The Colts surprisingly turned to Ameer Abdullah in the game as he notched two touches behind workhorse Jonathan Taylor. Giddens will look to get back in the stat sheet in a Week 7 road matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Colts are one of the few teams that lean heavily on just one running back in Taylor, which doesn't leave much work for his backups. That being said, Giddens is still worth keeping an eye on as a handcuff option in case Taylor is forced to miss time at any point, although that could change if he plays behind Abdullah again in Week 7.