Patrick Daugherty: Bryce Brown, Tre Mason, Denard Robinson and Anthony Dixon are the players people will be wasting the most work hours trying to add this week. Who is your preferred choice going forward?

My heart says Mason (electric feet), my head says Dixon (seemingly a coaching staff favorite) and some combination of both says Robinson. That’s why I think I’ll settle on Shoelace. All four players have competiton — Dixon and Brown from each other — but I find Robinson’s the least daunting. Toby Gerhart is a country without a central government, Storm Johnson a rookie without special qualities and Jordan Todman a journeyman. Robinson feasted on a vulnerable run defense in his Week 7 breakout, but it was literally the first positive performance by a Jags runner all year. He’s going to get a chance to stretch his legs for a team that wants to know what it has to work with heading into a pivotal 2015.   

Jeff Ratcliffe: I’m all in on Tre La Soul going forward. Like Pat highlighted for Robinson in Jacksonville, we could say much of the same for Mason’s competition in St. Louis. Zac Stacy has spiraled down the drain and Benny Cunningham is just another guy. We knew coming into the season that Mason has dynamic ability, and he’s finally gotten the chance to display it over the last two weeks. Pro Football Focus has Mason causing six missed tackles in 23 rushing attempts. That’s one less than Stacy has in nearly three times the work. With Jeff Fisher‘s propensity for feeding his lead back and Mason’s fresh legs, I have the feeling Mason will be a player who propels a lot of teams into the fantasy playoffs this year.

Adam Levitan: In the midst of doing Waiver Wired, I literally had trouble sleeping on Monday night because of this very topic. Shout out to Pat for bringing it up again. The bottom line is that I think I’m lower on all four of these guys than most. I didn’t burn very many waiver priorities or FAAB money on them this week because they all have major problems. Denard Robinson‘s offensive line and volume. Tre Mason‘s pass-game limitations and a brutal schedule that will lead to game-flow issues. Bryce Brown‘s shared role with Anthony Dixon, Fred Jackson‘s uncertain return date and a Week 9 bye.

The reason I ended up giving Brown the SLIGHT edge was due to longer-term appeal. With C.J. Spiller (13.5 touches per game in 2014) out for the season, we know there’s going to be a role here the rest of the way — even when F-Jax gets back. He gets Cleveland Week 13, Green Bay Week 15 and Oakland Week 16. I also break ties with talent and three-down ability — two areas Brown has the edge on the other two.

Raymond Summerlin: I am not as bullish as most on Tre Mason. He looked great Week 7, and there is little doubt in my mind Mason is the best runner in St. Louis. What is concerning for Mason is the Rams have been steadfast in their desire to use a committee approach at running back. Last week OC Brian Schottenheimer said the team would use a “hot hand” approach, and Jeff Fisher echoed that sentiment after Mason’s breakout against Seattle, saying the running game would be a week-to-week proposition, and even claiming Zac Stacy could see 25 carries in Week 8. I know it is all just coach speak and there is almost zero chance Stacy is heavily involved any time soon, but it is hard not to take notice when a coaching staff is so consistently on message about an issue. That message along with the game-flow concerns Levitan already discussed and the general distrust of rookies — especially ones that almost fumbled away a season-defining win — by NFL head coaches makes me wary of Mason’s opportunities going forward. He is still the best bet to lead the Rams in touches the rest of the season, but I do not view him as the heavy favorite others seem to see.  

Nick Mensio: I’d have to go Brown > Shoelace > Mason > Dixon. Brown and Shoelace have the most natural talent out of the four with the slight edge going to Brown for me. I like Brown best because he can also play in the pass game, and would seem to have a role ROS with C.J. Spiller‘s 13.5 weekly touches on the shelf.

My concern with Brown, though, is that the Bills may choose the “safe” tandem of FJax and Dixon. The coaches there had no idea how to use Spiller, and Brown, being a similar elite talent, may face the same. But when I’m making waiver claim I want the guy that can hit the home run. That’s Brown for me. And his fumbling “issues” are a thing of the past. He hasn’t dropped the ball on his last 120-plus regular-season touches and didn’t fumble on 41 preseason touches. With Robinson, the Jacksonville OL is just so bad. And he took advantage of a severely-banged up Browns defensive line in Week 7. With Mason, the schedule is daunting and Benny Cunningham handles the pass-game work. Dixon is kinda JAG. Get what’s blocked, fall forward type runner. So, give me Brown No. 1.

Daugherty: I agree with Adam and Nick that Brown probably has the most long-term appeal.

Fisher and Schotty have definitely been making me nervous on Mason, but these guys have been so full of, umm, “hot air” so many times in the past that I’m going to gamble this week isn’t any different. At no one point this season have they seemed committed to Zac Stacy. I think they almost feel bad about it, and are just trying to save some public face before inevitably sticking with Mason as their lead guy between the tackles. Sort of like Vikings coach Mike Zimmer insisting in Week 7 that Matt Asiata needed to remain involved.