Who Should I Start? Zach Charbonnet or Jaleel McLaughlin

Friday, January 9, 2:50 PM

Seattle running back Zach Charbonnet will enjoy a well-earned week of rest, with the Seahawks having secured the NFC's top seed, and when he returns to action for the Divisional Round, he will be looking to extend his three-game touchdown streak. Charbonnet found the end zone four times over the final three games of the regular season, finishing no lower than RB17 in Half-PPR formats during that time, including back-to-back top-6 performances to close the season. More impressively, all three games came against NFC teams that qualified for the playoffs. After finishing the regular season with 12 rushing touchdowns in a split backfield, Charbonnet should be viewed as a boom or bust running back option in fantasy playoff leagues, with his recent history suggesting a likelihood to boom.

Friday, January 9, 8:09 PM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin was only active for eight games in 2025 and didn't make his season debut until Week 6. It wasn't until after J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury that McLaughlin started to really become a factor in Denver's backfield in Week 11. The 25-year-old finished his third year in the NFL with a career-low 37 carries for 187 yards (5.1 yards per tote) and one touchdown, adding four catches for 27 yards. Head coach Sean Payton continues to say that he'd like to get McLaughlin more work, but it has been rookie RJ Harvey who has been the Broncos' clear lead back. To close out the regular season, McLaughlin had 13 carries for 81 yards on the ground while adding a 17-yard catch in two wins against the Chiefs and Chargers. The Broncos have a bye in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs this weekend, but at best, McLaughlin will be a touchdown-dependent RB3/flex option in playoff leagues.