David Montgomery or Jadarian Price: Who Should You Start?

The call

• Isiah Pacheco landing on injured reserve (ESPN, 2026-09-01) removes the depth piece behind him, locking Montgomery into the early-down and short-yardage half of Detroit's backfield.
• RB22 on a 12.7-point PPR projection is startable RB2/flex production in a 12-team league, and Mike Clay flagging the early schedule (ESPN, 2026-09-02) supports the near-term outlook.
• Buffalo grades 20 of 32 on the DvP composite — middling-to-soft — and a 1.5-point spread with a 22.0 implied total means Detroit shouldn't be forced away from the run.
• The risk is usage: a 37% snap share and 5% target share cap the ceiling, so he's dependent on touchdowns rather than receiving volume.

The call

• The raw numbers say startable: 13.6 projected PPR points and an RB23 consensus rank is squarely RB2 territory in a 12-team league, and a 24.0 implied total with a -3.5 spread points to a positive, run-leaning game script late.
• The Questionable designation is the whole ballgame — if he's limited or splits the backfield, that 13.6 projection is built on volume he may not see, and there's no cushion for a partial workload.
• The matchup read is thin, not scary: NE grades 10 of 32 vs the position but on a 0-game sample with 0.00 confidence, so don't weight it either way.
• Tipper: if he clears the injury report and takes the early-down and passing-down work, plug him in; if he's limited into game day, go with a fully healthy replacement.