Is Texans running back Arian Foster ready for a full workload? (Getty)
When healthy, Arian Foster of the Texans and Matt Forte of the Bears are two of the more productive fantasy football running backs. Especially in DraftKings, where points are awarded for receptions.
Each of them has a favorable matchup in Week 6 of the NFL season and come in with similar salary cap numbers.
But chances are, you’ll only be playing one of them as using both might be difficult to manage under the $50,000 allotted salary cap. So which one do you want in your lineup?
Before we get to that, bookmark our fantasy football rankings 2015 page to keep up-to-date on the latest projections and rankings so you know you who to start and who to sit each week.
Now let’s take a look at both Foster and Forte, and figure out which one you should be starting this weekend:
Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans
DraftKings Salary: $7,000 (tied 5th-highest among RBs)
Fantasy Points Per Contest: 13.2
Week 6 Opponent: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Opponents Rank vs. RBs: 28th of 32
Foster’s Case:
Having only played in 2 games so far (groin), Foster’s legs are certainly fresh. The Jaguars allow a league-low 3.5 yards per carry, but they were just gashed for 294 total yards (174 rushing) by the not-so dynamic duo of Doug Martin (3 touchdowns) and Charles Sims of the Buccaneers. The Texans’ line is far from dominating right now, but Foster will see the biggest workload of his young season. And don’t forget about his superior receiving skills, which will get Foster a point for every catch in DraftKings.
Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears
DraftKings Salary: $7,100 (4th-highest among RBs)
Fantasy Points Per Contest: 18.6
Week 6 Opponent: at Detroit Lions
Opponents Rank vs. RBs: 21st of 32
Forte’s Case:
The Lions rush D has been Jekyll and Hyde. Overall, they give up 126 rush yards per game and have allowed 8 ground TDs already, tied for the worst in the league. Luckily for Detroit, Forte hates the end zone as he has just 2 TDs on 120 total touches (102 carries, 18 receptions). Though like Foster, Forte will play a big factor in the passing game as Chicago’s receiving corps is pretty banged up. Forte is averaging 24 touches per game and there’s no reason to expect anything less Sunday.
The Pick
Both Foster and Forte have very favorable matchups, facing defenses coming off of horrible performances when it came to stopping the running back. I’m slightly worried about Foster not being in game shape yet and Forte’s lack of TDs is his drawback. As mentioned above, the Lions have either excelled or been crushed vs. the run. It’s not making much sense. The Jags have been solid with the exception of Week 5. With a similar amount of touches — which I expect to happen — look for Forte to be slightly better as it appears the Lions have already mailed it in.
