Who Should I Start? Tyjae Spears or Kimani Vidal

Wednesday, October 15, 9:26 AM

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears is coming off his second game of the season since starting the year on the injured reserve with an ankle issue, and in Week 6, he out-snapped backfield mate Tony Pollard 59% to 43%. Additionally, accumulated 50 all-purpose yards on nine total touches (five on the ground and four through the air) to Pollard's 47 all-purpose yards on 12 opportunities. While the entire Titans offense has struggled mightily this year, Pollard has not been able to do much with his opportunities as the lead-back early in the year, averaging only 3.93 YPC. With the younger and more explosive running back in Spears now ramped up, it's possible he could take over the lead-back role down the stretch, or at the very least, continue to be used 50/50 with Pollard, which gives him some flex appeal moving forward. Spears has proven, when given the opportunity, that he can be a top-15 running back when given the chance. Last year, when Pollard went down with an injury, Spears had three top 15 finishes at the running back position to end the year. Fantasy managers will want to make sure that Spears is not on their waiver wires moving forward.

Wednesday, October 15, 9:53 AM

Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal exploded in Week 6 with 124 rushing yards on 18 carries (6.89 YPC) and three receptions for 14 yards and a touchdown through the air. The reason for his opportunity is that rookie Omarion Hampton (ankle) landed on the injured reserve in Week 5, which opened up the door for Vidal, and he made the most of it. At this point, Vidal should not be on your waiver wire and should be picked up immediately if he is. The most encouraging thing for Vidal is that he outsnapped, out-touched, and outplayed other Chargers running back Hassan Haskins by a landslide, saw 67% of the snaps to Haskins' 31%, out-touched him 22 to seven, and outgained him 138 to 23 in all-purpose yards. While fantasy managers may want to temper expectations, considering the Chargers faced the Miami Dolphins, who have allowed the seventh most points to running backs on the season, it was encouraging to see one of the two running backs get a majority of the touches, as coming into the matchup on Sunday, it was unclear who the lead back was going to be. Vidal can be viewed as a low-end RB2 moving forward until Hampton returns.