Who Should I Start? Dameon Pierce or DJ Giddens

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, September 6, 7:48 AM

Indianapolis Colts running back DJ Giddens will make his NFL debut at home against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. While still listed as the RB3 in Indy, Giddens could see some work as the backup to Jonathan Taylor thanks to Tyler Goodson's (elbow) questionable status heading into Sunday. With a decent showing, Giddens could overtake Goodson as the RB2 for the Colts, which would give him plenty of fantasy value as the handcuff to Taylor. For now, Giddens is just a bench stash in deeper leagues, but he should be monitored on Sunday in case he's able to break off a few long runs.