Who Should I Start? Dameon Pierce or Chris Brooks

Friday, September 5, 10:33 PM

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce should have an opportunity to contribute early in the season for his team, since Joe Mixon (ankle) is on the reserve/non-football injury list and will miss at least the first four weeks and possibly longer. Pierce is expected to share the workload in the backfield with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks. Chubb will likely take the lead on early-down work, with Marks playing on receiving downs and Pierce mixing in as well. Exactly how the timeshare is divided out will go a long way to determining the fantasy value of all three running backs at the start of the season. Chubb has been inefficient since returning from injury, but Pierce has also struggled since producing 939 rushing yards on 220 carries as a rookie back in 2022. He had just 40 carries last year but racked up 293 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. If Pierce stays healthy and Chubb struggles, the younger, more explosive back could play his way up the depth chart for new Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley if he comes out strong against the Rams in Week 1, so keep an eye on how the timeshare plays out. Pierce is extremely high-risk in the unclear situation, though, so he's only RB63 in RotoBaller's Week 1 rankings, and he shouldn't be started until his playing time is more certain.

Saturday, August 23, 8:08 PM

Green Bay Packers running back Chris Brooks was the second back to enter the game for the Packers in their 20-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in their third and final preseason game. Brooks took over duties after Josh Jacobs received the first two snaps of the game. Playing seven snaps of his own, Brooks exited and gave way to Emanuel Wilson. In Brooks' seven snaps across the last play of the first drive and the first six plays of the next drive, Brooks took four carries for 15 yards. With the injury to MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring) putting his Week 1 status in doubt, Brooks' entrance into the game ahead of Wilson seems to put Brooks as the preferred contingent play in Week 1 should Lloyd not be healthy. That said, Brooks should only be drafted in the deepest of leagues as a pure handcuff option.