Who Should I Start? Brian Robinson Jr. or Kaleb Johnson

Saturday, November 8, 5:12 AM

San Francisco 49ers running back Brian Robinson Jr. had a season-high 53 rushing yards and his first touchdown of the season in Week 9 against the Giants. The production gave him his first RB2 finish of 2025. Robinson is unlikely to repeat last week's success when the 49ers host the Rams on Sunday. For one, the opportunity for Robinson to produce consistently is not there. Operating as an infrequently used change-of-pace back behind Christian McCaffrey has resulted in an average of 10 offensive snaps and 4.6 rushing attempts per game. Secondly, when Robinson does get on the field in Week 10, he will be up against a Rams defense that held him to 12 yards on five carries and offered McCaffrey 2.6 yards per carry in Week 5. Robinson projects as an RB5 and is better left on the bench in Week 10.

Friday, November 7, 7:59 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson was going as a late-round flier with upside in fantasy drafts this fall, but he was quickly sent to the waiver wire. The 22-year-old third-rounder out of Iowa has been a distant third on Pittsburgh's RB depth chart behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell this year, and he didn't help himself with a costly special-teams blunder early in the season. So far through his first five NFL games, Johnson has handled only 15 rushing attempts for 40 yards (2.7 yards per carry) while catching one of his two targets for nine yards. He played five offensive snaps in last week's win over the Indianapolis Colts, which was actually an improvement after not playing at all the previous two games. It will take an injury to Warren or Gainwell for Johnson to get more involved, which means he's only stash-worthy in fantasy football in dynasty/keeper leagues.