Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or Jahmyr Gibbs

Monday, March 11, 2:57 PM

Free-agent running back Saquon Barkley is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The deal includes $26 million in guaranteed money and has an additional $9 million available in incentives. After a 2018 rookie season that saw the former Penn State star go for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns, he has struggled to stay healthy over a chunk of the next five years of his career. He missed 21 games from 2019 to 2021. He bounced back in 2022 with 1,312 rushing yards but regressed to 962 yards in 14 games in 2023. However, the Eagles believe in him as a game-changing running back, as his average salary ($12.58 million) ranks only below Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Jonathan Taylor. Although the Eagles' offensive line could take a hit after the retirement of Jason Kelce, Barkley should be playing behind the best offensive line of his career in 2024. He will have an immediate high-end RB1 upside in fantasy football.

Friday, May 31, 2:03 PM

It's clear that the Detroit Lions want second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs to be more involved in their offense in 2024 after he rushed for almost 1,000 yards as a rookie and finished third in the league in yards per carry (5.2). Heading into his second year, the Lions are looking for more consistency out of Gibbs, mainly in pass protection, as he was graded 61st out of 63 qualified RBs in pass-blocking in 2023 by PFF. The Lions also want Gibbs to be more involved in the passing game, even though he was in the top 10 among RBs with 52 catches and 71 targets in 2023. His average depth of target, per PFF, was literally zero yards, so Detroit will be looking to use him more in the slot and deeper down the field in 2024. With David Montgomery still in town, Gibbs' ceiling will remain somewhat limited, but if he's more involved as a pass-catcher deeper down the field, he'll still have RB1 upside in PPR leagues.