Who Should I Start? Bijan Robinson or Emari Demercado

Sunday, December 21, 9:38 PM

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson dominated the Arizona Cardinals in his team's 26-19 Week 16 win. The 23-year-old recorded 16 carries for 76 yards and hauled in seven receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. Across 15 games this season, Robinson has now recorded 2,026 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns on 321 touches. Robinson has racked up at least 107 scrimmage yards in five out of his last six games and has logged at least 88 scrimmage yards in every game but one in 2025. He may be the NFL's premier all-around back and is currently on pace to finish the season with just a shade under 2,300 yards from scrimmage. Robinson profiles as a must-start fantasy back heading into the team's Week 17 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

Saturday, December 20, 4:26 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado is expected to handle an increased workload against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16, but his fantasy outlook remains murky. He is on track to operate as the backup to Michael Carter this week after Zonovan Knight (ankle) was placed on injured reserve. While Demercado was viewed as Arizona's passing-down specialist at points earlier this season, it's unclear whether that remains his role given how well Carter has performed in the passing game lately. Carter has 19 catches over his last five games, whereas Demercado has just 10 catches through parts of 10 games this year. Rather than being a true passing-down specialist, it seems more likely that the 26-year-old will fall into a change-of-pace role, allowing the Cardinals to manage Carter's workload and keep him fresh. Demercado has shown impressive burst in the past, and his 8.3 yards per carry over the last two seasons indicates that he's capable of breaking off big plays. His fantasy value in Week 16 likely hinges on whether he's able to break off any big runs or catches against the Falcons. In other words, he'll need high efficiency to overcome a backup's workload. He currently ranks as the RB51 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings for Week 16.