Who Should I Start? David Montgomery or Kaleb Johnson

Tuesday, October 14, 12:26 PM

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that he would like to get running back David Montgomery a "bigger piece of the pie" in the rushing attack, according to Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News. With a negative game script in the Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Montgomery only saw four carries for 24 yards and caught two passes for 37 yards. It was by far the 28-year-old's smallest role through six weeks of the 2025 season. The Lions offense is at its best when they are dictating the pace of the game and able to mix in plenty of play-action passing. Monty also played a season-low 31% of the offensive snaps in Week 6 after seeing a season-high 53% of the snaps in Week 5. It sounds like Detroit will make it a point to get Montgomery more involved in Week 7 on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, making him a more attractive RB3/flex play against a Bucs defense that has been in the middle of the pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to RBs this year.

Tuesday, September 30, 11:59 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson had his best chance yet for a breakout game in Week 4 with Steelers RB1 Jaylen Warren (knee) sidelined by a knee injury. However, Johnson remained stuck behind veteran back Kenneth Gainwell, who logged 134 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 25 total touches against the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson had just six carries for 22 yards, and has recorded just eight carries for 21 yards on the season. Pittsburgh has a bye in Week 5, and Warren may be ready to return in Week 6 for the Steelers' matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Even if Warren remains out, there's little reason to think Johnson would be set to jump Gainwell on the running back depth chart in Pittsburgh. The 22-year-old rookie maintains fantasy appeal in dynasty leagues, but he's tough to roster with any confidence in redraft formats.