Roundtable: Start, Hold, Cut, or Trade RB Edition

Chase Brown, Jaylen Wright, Tank Bigsby, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. have been hot running backs in recent weeks. How does our staff see them moving forward? 

Welcome to Week 6 of the 2024 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.

This week's roundtable features these four topics:

• Start, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The RB Edition (see below)
• Bench, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The WR Edition
• For Real, Fool's Gold: The WR Edition
• October Rebound Candidates

Let's roll. 

Start, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The RB Edition

Matt Waldman: Assign each action to a back below. 

• Tank Bigsby
• Tyrone Tracy Jr.
• Chase Brown
• Jaylen Wright

Where do you stand? 

Jason Wood: Kudos to Matt, as always, for making our choices difficult. I genuinely like all four of these backs and think they should be rostered in all 12-team redraft leagues.

But in the interest of the exercise, I'll categorize them in this way.

Start Tank Bigsby. He has outperformed Travis Etienne Jr. in every aspect of the game, a stark contrast to last season when he seemed out of place on a 53-man roster. Bigsby leads the NFL with 4.2 yards over expected per attempt (Derrick Henry is second at 2.5 yards), while Etienne sits at 0.6 yards. Although Bigsby is still seeing fewer opportunities than Etienne, the trend is in his favor. The Jaguars can't afford to play favorites right now—they need to string together wins quickly to save everyone's jobs. 

Hold Chase Brown. I advocated strongly for Brown this preseason, partly because I saw Zack Moss as fool's gold. To Moss' credit, he has performed better than expected, but he's now injured, and Brown is starting to get more opportunities. Brown has the talent to surpass Moss as the lead back if given the chance, and that door may be opening right now. Brown ranks 7th in EPA per attempt (+0.10), while Moss lags in negative territory (-0.13).

As I've mentioned before, I like Tyrone Tracy Jr. and would gladly keep him on my roster. However, among this group, he's the one to trade after his 18-carry, 129-yard performance against the Seahawks. While I believe Tracy could become the Giants' featured back as the season progresses, there's no indication yet that Devin Singletary won't return to that role soon. Additionally, Eric Gray was ahead of Tracy on the depth chart until a couple of fumbles derailed his opportunity.

Cutting Jaylen Wright is tough, especially since he was one of my highest-rated rookies coming into the season. However, the Dolphins are in disarray, and Wright is, at best, the third option behind Raheem Mostert (who just returned from injury) and De'Von Achane (who is currently sidelined with a concussion).

Phil Alexander: We're slowly seeing the tables turn in Chase Brown's favor, and he's my choice to start. Over the last two weeks, he's seen 27 rush attempts to Zack Moss' 24 and narrowed the snap share gap from 80/20 in Moss' favor earlier this season to around 60/40. While the Bengals will continue to value Moss' skills in pass protection, Brown's production is becoming undeniable.

Per NFL Next Gen stats, Brown has 42 rushing yards over expected to Moss' -35 and a rushing EPA of +4.0 to Moss' -7.3. Cincinnati's defense has been one of the worst in the league, so they'll have to outscore their opponents to win. Brown is the one making plays in the running game. Look for him to continue taking more off Moss' plate until he's the lead back in one of the league's better offenses. 

Hold Tyrone Tracy Jr.. The theory behind Tracy getting more playing time as the season progresses is playing out according to plan. New York's offense is desperate for playmakers. Tracy has shown he can create chunk plays in the running game that Devin Singletary cannot, and now there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. At the very least, holding Tracy is mandatory until we see how the backfield looks when Singletary returns. He proved his league-tilting upside in Week 5 without even showing us what he's capable of as a receiver. 

Tank Bigsby's play has been a revelation, especially compared to how he looked as a rookie. There is no question Bigsby is currently Jacksonville's most effective runner, but I can't imagine the Jaguars completely phasing out Travis Etienne Jr.. Bigsby also provides zeroes in the receiving columns, and Jacksonville figures to be playing plenty of catchup most weeks. Unless Etienne gets traded or injured, you won't want Bigsby in your lineups in the weeks he fails to break off long runs. There probably won't be a better week to deal him, coming off a 100-plus yard, two-touchdown performance. Trade Bigsby.

If you have to cut one of these guys, it's Jaylen Wright by process of elimination. His upside is tantalizing, but the Dolphins are headed into their bye week, which gives De'Von Achane, Raheem Mostert, and Jeff Wilson the time they need to get fully healthy. And if Tua Tagovailoa doesn't come back when he's eligible or takes another bad hit, Miami's offense isn't one you want to invest in.