Fantasy football projections for RBs ahead of the Christmas showdown

On December 26, 2024By Littum

The Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers are set to clash in the first of two NFL Christmas games on Netflix. And even now, the most exciting fantasy football position battle is between quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Russell WIlson.

There are others, however, that managers must carefully observe. One of them is between running backs Najee Harris and Isiah Pacheco. Who wins and starts?

Is Najee Harris a good fantasy pick in Week 17?

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals - Source: Getty — Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals – Source: Getty

Want to predict NFL playoff scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!

If all goes as planned, this could be the penultimate regular season game that Najee Harris will play for the Steelers. They hadn’t claimed his fifth-year option during the offseason, believing Jaylen Warren would be a faster, more agile and more versatile successor.

It doesn’t help Sportskeeda’s RB36 that the Chiefs have consistently been fantasy football’s best anti-RB team. At the time of writing, they have only averaged under 15 points allowed – the only one to do so.

And that performance comes on the heels of a vastly underrated core — one that includes defensive linemen Chris Jones, George Karlaftis and Michael Danna; linebackers Nic Bolton and Drue Tranquill; and defensive backs Trent McDuffie, Justin Reid and Brian Cook. Defeating that group is a very big task for him.

Is Isiah Pacheco a good fantasy pick in Week 17?

Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs - Source: Getty — Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs – Source: Getty

With Clyde Edwards-Helaire gone, the Chiefs have managed to restructure their backcourt. And Isiah Pacheco has one role: to co-lead with the returning Kareem Hunt.

Currently sitting at RB27, he has tried hard to recapture the form that made him a near-thousand yarder in each of his first two seasons. With only two games left, it obviously hasn’t worked out as well as expected, and then there’s the matter of the Steelers’ eleventh-ranked anti-RB defense.

Much has been said about the anti-air unit, which consists of linebackers TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith, running backs, and defensive backs Joey Porter Jr., DeShon Elliott and Minkah Fitzpatrick. But credit should also go to Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts for their ability to stop runs before they can get another yard out. And overcoming that group will be key to a strong performance for him.

Who should I start between Nahjee Harris and Isiah Pacheco?

It’s a very close fight, but the Sportskeeda Start/Sit Optimizer reckons Pacheco’s chances are better here.

While he obviously hasn’t been as productive as his counterpart, he’s been reliable and dependable in what some call “the little things” — short gains that tire opposing defenses further and leave them vulnerable to explosive passing plays that they’ll struggle with to stop it before it can even happen.