With the injury issues that Saquon Barkley and Austin Ekeler have been dealing with, their respective backups have been pushed into the limelight. Should you start Matt Breida or Joshua Kelley in Week 4 for fantasy football?
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Matt Breida Fantasy Outlook This Week
When New York Giants RB Barkley injured himself in the last few minutes of the Cardinals game, fantasy managers ran to the waiver wire to grab his backup in Breida.
Breida had to take the field in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers and managed an RB21 finish against a solid run defense. With Barkley still week to week and doubtful for the matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, Breida becomes the starter once again.
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The matchup is not great, with Seattle allowing the sixth-fewest yards to opposing running backs. You attack Seattle by the air, where they are next to last in receiving yards allowed.
The game script might limit Breida’s work, and he’s a fringe Flex consideration. He comes in as the RB35 in our PFN Consensus Rankings this week.
Joshua Kelley Fantasy Outlook This Week
Los Angeles Chargers RB Ekeler gave us an incredible output in Week 1, but fantasy managers haven’t seen him since. Kelley stepped in for Ekeler in Week 2 against Tennessee, but the Titans’ run defense proved too much to overcome, and he only finished with 39 yards on the ground. In Week 3, he wasn’t any better.
Ekeler is doubtful to play in Week 4, meaning Kelley should get another start against Las Vegas. This time, it’s a better matchup, but the Chargers are having much more success through the air as of late, so it’s hard to believe they will move away from what is working.
Which of the RBs Should You Start?
In a tale of two backups, neither is a fantastic start, but I would go with Breida over Kelley. Both are Flex options, but I expect Breida to have slightly more work than Kelley. Someone will have to run the ball with Barkley unavailable.