Who Should I Start? Dameon Pierce or Tahj 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, September 6, 11:53 AM

Cincinnati Bengals running back Tahj Brooks was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft after a lengthy collegiate career at Texas Tech. While he didn't do much in his two preseason contests, he reportedly looked good throughout training camp. With that in mind, Chase Brown is the undisputed No. 1 option out of the backfield. Samaje Perine is back in the mix after signing a two-year deal in the offseason. That leaves little room for Brooks, who will likely get the residual scraps left over by Brown and Perine in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. That arrangement will likely extend moving forward. Unfortunately, that won't him a viable option in any format on Sunday and beyond, so he shouldn't be starting in any fantasy lineup.