Who Should I Start? Brian Robinson Jr. or James Cook III

Wednesday, July 8, 5:14 AM

For Atlanta Falcons running back Brian Robinson Jr., 2025 marked the first time in his four-year career that he was able to suit up for all 17 games, but it was in a seldom-used change-of-pace role behind Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. In one of the stranger careers in recent history, Robinson has yet to top the 205 carries of his rookie season despite playing in only 12 games that year after being shot twice during an attempted robbery and carjacking. Clearly playing at less than full strength, he has since seen better efficiency in each subsequent season, but has never been given a full workload, first ceding carries to veterans Antonio Gibson and Austin Ekeler in Washington before landing as McCaffrey's primary backup in a year when the then-29-year-old led the league in touches. In signing a one-year deal with the Falcons, he finds himself backing up another bell cow running back in Bijan Robinson, who has not missed a game in his three-year career. While the incumbent Robinson has spent enough time split out wide to allow for his previous backup, Tyler Allgeier, to regularly see the field and maintain fantasy relevance, a new coaching regime in Atlanta could turn the backfield over to him entirely. Still, for the second year in a row, Robinson Jr. comes into the season as one of the NFL's most valuable insurance backs, draftable in 2026 leagues for that reason alone, while any standalone value he's able to provide in a new home and a new system should be seen as a bonus. He is currently RotoBaller's RB47.