Who Should I Start? Ty Chandler or Jonathon Brooks

Sunday, September 15, 9:45 PM

Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler took 10 carries for 82 yards in Sunday's 23-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers. His long gain was a 25-yard scamper, and he did not receive a target. Chandler had one more rush than Aaron Jones in the contest and outpaced him by 50 yards on his way to a hyper-efficient 8.2 yards per tote. However, Jones did receive six targets in the passing game, hauling in five for 36 yards. Through two games, the Vikings' backfield split has been all over the place, with Jones out-carrying Chandler -- and out-producing him cumulatively -- in Week 1, although the latter caught all three of his targets that week -- one more than the former. The 26-year-old is unlikely to boast stand-alone value while sharing the field with the former Packer. However, the backfield split this week at least warrants an eye-brow raise and is a situation to monitor moving forward. Minnesota will take on the Houston Texans at home in Week 3.

Sunday, September 1, 9:52 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) will miss at least the first four games of the regular season after he was placed on the PUP list amidst his torn ACL recovery. This will delay Brooks' NFL debut, and he'll face an uphill battle to emerge as the Panthers' No. 1 running back once he's healthy. While Brooks is undoubtedly the Panthers' franchise running back, it could be difficult for him to win the job over Chuba Hubbard in the middle of the season while recovering from a serious injury and still acclimating to the NFL caliber of play. In other words, a Week 5 return wouldn't necessarily mean he'd warrant a spot in your Week 5 starting lineup. At the very least, fantasy managers should tamper expectations when Brooks gets healthy and be prepared to exercise patience as he gets adjusted to the NFL.