Who Should I Start? Dameon Pierce or Bijan Robinson

Saturday, July 20, 1:20 PM

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce, who will enter the 2024 season as the backup to new lead back Joe Mixon, has looked good early on in training camp. Pierce was more decisive on his runs on the first day of camp on Saturday and could form a strong 1-2 punch with Mixon if he continues to look this good once the pads go on and to open the regular season. The 24-year-old former fourth-round pick in 2022 out of Florida nearly ran for 1,000 yards in just 13 games in his rookie season in 2022 before disappointing in his sophomore year in 2023 and losing the starting job to Devin Singletary. Pierce could excel with Houston moving to an outside-zone scheme, but as long as Mixon stays healthy, he probably won't be anything more than a handcuff option in fantasy leagues.

Saturday, July 13, 1:11 PM

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was slowed by a left-ankle sprain in the offseason, but he'll be fine for training camp and is ready for the team to put more on his plate in his sophomore season. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and head coach Raheem Morris haven't been shy about saying the plan is to use Robinson like the 49ers use RB Christian McCaffrey. He finished 15th in the league in 2023 with 976 rushing yards while also adding 58 receptions for 487 yards and eight total touchdowns. With a more diversified attack on offense after Atlanta stuck with a wide-zone rushing attack in 2023, there's plenty of room for growth for Robinson as a high-end RB1 in fantasy, especially with quarterback Kirk Cousins now leading the offense. "I'm going to be more of a runner that does everything else," Robinson said.