Would You Rather: Start Austin Ekeler or Todd Gurley in PPR Leagues While Melvin Gordon is Out

Week 1 of the NFL season brought many big fantasy performances, with Austin Ekeler having one of the best totals of the week. On the other side of things, established fantasy superstars, like Todd Gurley, had good, but not great, performances.

While it may have seemed unlikely prior to the season, Ekeler and Gurley could post similar fantasy numbers, as long as Melvin Gordon remains on the sidelines. With that in mind, let's breakdown which RB you'd rather have in 2019.

Austin Ekeler Fantasy Outlook

Ekeler posted the second-best fantasy running back week in PPR leagues, totaling 39.4 fantasy points, thanks to a three-touchdown day. He saw 74.6 percent of the offensive snaps and was used in a variety of ways, most notably in the passing game, as he turned seven targets into six receptions and 96 yards.

The red flag for Ekeler is that Gordon could return to the Los Angeles Chargers any week, but as long as his holdout continues, it looks like Ekeler is going to be a stud in PPR leagues.

Todd Gurley Fantasy Outlook

Gurley looked rusty early on in Week 1, but he finished the game with 97 rushing yards on 14 carries. He played in 69.7 percent of the Los Angeles Rams' snaps, which is an encouraging sign as there were quite a few questions about his workload entering the season.

Unfortunately, he didn't get a single touch in the red zone, as the Rams elected to give Malcolm Brown five red zone touches. He turned that into a two-TD performance, and if this trend continues, Brown could hurt Gurley's value for the rest of the season.

With Gordon out of the lineup, Ekeler looks like the more valuable player to own right now. However, if and when Gordon returns, Gurley will likely surpass the Chargers RB, especially if his usage in the red zone increases over the course of the season.

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