Who Should I Start? Tyjae Spears or Kaleb Johnson

Tuesday, November 11, 10:29 AM

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears will have a tough matchup as his team returns from its bye week against the Texans, but he's worth a look from the waiver wire since he has been working in such a prominent role in the Titans' backfield. Spears missed the first four weeks of the season, but he played between 40% and 60% of the team's snaps in each of the last four weeks. In his five games, he has 30 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown, while adding 13 catches for 96 more yards. He has at least three catches in each of the last four weeks and should be fully healthy coming down the stretch for the Titans. The offense has struggled under Cam Ward, but as the rookie finds his way, Spears could be an interesting late-season addition. He has some favorable RB matchups ahead with the Jaguars, 49ers, and Saints remaining on his schedule down the road.

Friday, November 7, 7:59 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson was going as a late-round flier with upside in fantasy drafts this fall, but he was quickly sent to the waiver wire. The 22-year-old third-rounder out of Iowa has been a distant third on Pittsburgh's RB depth chart behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell this year, and he didn't help himself with a costly special-teams blunder early in the season. So far through his first five NFL games, Johnson has handled only 15 rushing attempts for 40 yards (2.7 yards per carry) while catching one of his two targets for nine yards. He played five offensive snaps in last week's win over the Indianapolis Colts, which was actually an improvement after not playing at all the previous two games. It will take an injury to Warren or Gainwell for Johnson to get more involved, which means he's only stash-worthy in fantasy football in dynasty/keeper leagues.