Who Should I Start? Will Shipley or Emmett Johnson

Sunday, August 2, 6:25 AM

Philadelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley has displayed excellent efficiency in the passing game through his first two seasons in the league, catching nearly 93% of his targets on a very small sample size, but his current spot on the depth chart suggests little opportunity to expand his role in 2026. Through the early days of training camp, Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby have been splitting work close to evenly, and The Athletic's Brooks Kubena does not believe another back on the roster will see more than 30 touches this season. Kubena includes Shipley as the third running back on his initial 53-man roster projection, primarily for his role on special teams and points out that his pass-catching ability could become useful in an emergency. Barkley has touched the ball more than 800 times across his first two seasons with the Eagles, and Bigsby has been an early camp standout, tabbed for a larger role in his first full season with the team, leaving little opportunity for Shipley, who is unlikely to factor into fantasy plans for 2026.