Who Should I Start? Tyjae Spears or Jaleel McLaughlin

Saturday, December 27, 9:30 PM

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears saw a season-high 13 carries during last week's win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Outside of that, Spears is kept to under five carries most weeks. The 24-year-old has been able to salvage some fantasy value with his work in the receiving game. Spears has finished with five receptions or more in three of his last six games. He'll head into a tough matchup against the New Orleans Saints in Week 17. A defense that has held receiving backs in check this season. There's some PPR value here, but Spears is best on the bench in most standard leagues.

Saturday, January 24, 7:55 PM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin should continue to be the primary change-of-pace back behind rookie RJ Harvey, with J.K. Dobbins remaining on Injured Reserve after a week of limited practices. In Denver's Divisional Round win over a Bills team that came into the playoffs with one of the worst run defenses in the league, McLaughlin was able to turn four carries into 21 yards. In the Conference Championship, he'll face a Patriots defense that has been dominant against the run since Milton Williams' return from an ankle injury that cost him five games. Through two playoff games, New England has allowed a total of 74 yards on designed runs, so if McLaughlin is to find any success on Sunday, it may need to come through screens and checkdowns, though that is a role that's been owned by Harvey for most of the year. McLaughlin is RotoBaller's RB7 for the week, but there is a world where he is entirely phased out of the game script.