Travis Etienne Jr. or Tyjae Spears: Who Should You Start?

2026 Week 3 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.

Start Etienne — the consensus rank and availability edges are too wide to ignore.

Travis Etienne Jr. is the higher consensus play (RB17 to RB43) and is the healthier side of this call (Spears carries a questionable tag). No signal favors Spears this week. The gap is wide.

Travis Etienne Jr.

Travis Etienne Jr.

RB17NOvs LV

Projected Points

Toss-Up
Tyjae Spears

Tyjae Spears

RB43TENvs NYG

Projected Points

Sit

Travis Etienne Jr.’s market

RUSH YDS
O/U 39.5
-113 / -113
Rushing Yards Props →
REC
O/U 1.5
-158 / +124
Receptions Props →
REC YDS
O/U 10.5
-113 / -113
Receiving Yards Props →
ATD
Anytime TD
+125
Anytime Touchdown Props →

Tyjae Spears’s market

RUSH YDS
O/U 16.5
-114 / -110
Rushing Yards Props →
REC
O/U 2.5
+122 / 0
Receptions Props →
REC YDS
O/U 11.5
-112 / -112
Receiving Yards Props →
ATD
Anytime TD
+475
Anytime Touchdown Props →
LV@
NOSun, Sep 27, 4:25 PM ETView the game →
TEN@
NYGSun, Sep 27, 1:00 PM ETView the game →

Why Travis Etienne Jr.

Toss-Up

RB1 and feature back. Explosive one-cut runner with home-run speed and dependable passing-game usage.

Toss-up — RB17 consensus, projects RB27 this week: LV is the 11th-toughest matchup vs RBs, 11% target share.

  • LV ranks 11 of 32 against RBs (one of the tougher matchups, 2-game sample).
  • Vegas implies 23.0 team points as 3.5-point favorites.
  • Listed RB on the latest depth chart with a 57% snap share.

Latest on Etienne

Status

Etienne was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury ahead of Week 3.

NBC Sports · Sep 23, 2026
Role

In Week 2, Etienne led Saints running backs in snap share (53.1%) and route share (33.3%) despite Kamara receiving more overall touches.

CBS Sports, SI.com/FanDuel Research · Sep 23, 2026

Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.

Why Tyjae Spears

Sit

Change-of-pace RB2 in complementary role. Explosive, elusive receiving back with third-down passing-game usage.

Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB43: 8% target share, Questionable on the latest report.

  • Carries a Questionable tag — usually plays, but monitor the final report.
  • NYG ranks 16 of 32 against RBs (a middle-of-the-road matchup, 2-game sample).
  • Vegas implies 20.8 team points as 3.0-point underdogs.
  • Listed RB on the latest depth chart with a 43% snap share.

Latest on Spears

Role

Spears broke a 27-yard run against the Eagles in Week 2 but has caught only four passes over the first two weeks, with neither he nor Pollard having 'shined' in the early going.

ESPN · Sep 21, 2026

Head-to-head stats

MetricTravis Etienne Jr.Tyjae Spears
Projected points
Consensus rankRB17RB43
Opponent vs positionLV · 11 of 322-game sampleNYG · 16 of 322-game sample
Rushing Yards11 of 3224 of 32
Rushing TDs10 of 3210 of 32
Rushing Attempts11 of 3210 of 32
Receptions7 of 3211 of 32
Receiving Yards19 of 3213 of 32
Anytime TD9 of 3225 of 32
Target share11%8%
Reception share12%7%
Implied total · spread23.0-3.520.8+3.0
Depth chartRB1RB2
Snap share57%43%
Injury designation—questionable
Start/Sit record1–0—

Recent form

Travis Etienne Jr. — last 2 weeks

Week 2vs BAL
Week 1vs DET

Tyjae Spears — last 2 weeks

Week 2vs PHI
Week 1vs NYJ

Signal breakdown

  • 11.9 vs 9.7 projected PPR pointsTravis Etienne Jr. +
  • Rank 17 vs 43Travis Etienne Jr. +
  • Opponent DvP rank 11 vs 16 (32 = softest)even
  • Implied 23.0 vs 20.8 team pointsTravis Etienne Jr. +
  • no designation vs questionableTravis Etienne Jr. +
  • 57% vs 43% snap shareTravis Etienne Jr. +

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