Would You Rather: Draft Nick Chubb or Jonathan Taylor for 2021 Fantasy Football

The fantasy football world is dominated by the best running backs in the NFL. Their ability to consistently put up big numbers gives fantasy managers a huge advantage in their weekly matchups. The only hard part is deciding which one to take after the big names are off the board.

Nick Chubb and Jonathan Taylor are both being drafted towards the turn in many snake drafts. The decision between which one to take is not easy, so let's break it down.

Nick Chubb Fantasy Outlook

Nick Chubb has simply been a wrecking force with the football in his hands since coming into the league four years ago. The Cleveland Browns' starter averages 5.2 yards per carry in his career and is coming off back-to-back 1,000 yards rushing seasons.

It doesn't hurt that Chubb finds himself as the focal point of an offense that ranked No. 5 in the NFL last season by averaging 30.4 rushing attempts per game. Head coach Kevin Stefanski is committed to pounding the ball up the middle, especially down near the end zone. Chubb averaged 3.3 red zone touches per game last season.

The only thing holding Chubb back from truly excelling is the presence of Kareem Hunt. Hunt's ability to catch the football has taken away any opportunity Chubb has to make an impact in the passing game. His production solely comes from the ground game and the same thing cannot be said about Taylor.

Jonathan Taylor Fantasy Outlook

Jonathan Taylor proved during his rookie season that he can be a dual-threat RB for the Indianapolis Colts. He carried that ball 232 times for 1,169 yards and hauled in 36 receptions for 299 yards. Overall, the 22-year old scored 12 total touchdowns and finished as the No. 6 RB in PPR leagues.

It wouldn't be surprising to see head coach Frank Reich lean on the running game early on in the season given the question marks surrounding the quarterback position. However, the Colts have a lot of depth in the backfield. Marlon Mack is set to return from an injury and Nyheim Hines has proven to be a reliable offensive weapon (862 yards from scrimmage in 2020).

Defenses have had an entire offseason to study Taylor's ways and may have figured out how to stop him from streaking down the field. His floor is relatively high, but his ceiling may be a lot lower than people are expecting.

Nick Chubb or Jonathan Taylor

The pick here has to be Nick Chubb. His track record has given fantasy managers nothing to worry about. The gap between these two players certainly lessens in PPR leagues, but Chubb sees more than enough touches to make up for his lack of work in the passing game.

Chubb checks in at RB8 in The Duel's 2021 fantasy football rankings, while Taylor slides in two spots lower at RB10.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.