Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Bijan Robinson

Friday, December 20, 4:35 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco will face the Houston Texans on Saturday in Week 16. Pacheco appeared to emerge as the lead back in Week 14, earning 16 touches compared to six for Kareem Hunt, but that changed in Week 15. The two running backs each handled 13 carries last week against the Cleveland Browns, and Hunt outproduced Pacheco. It will be interesting to see how the backfield split shakes out this week against the Houston Texans, who rank fourth in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this year. The 25-year-old is ranked RB25 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a low-end RB2/Flex option this week. Fantasy managers will have a tough time trusting Pacheco in the fantasy playoffs, especially with Hunt stealing touches.

Friday, December 20, 8:03 PM

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson logged at least 20 carries for the fourth time in the last five contests last week and will be expected to carry the load again this week with rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. under center for the Falcons. With eight rushing TDs on the season and a receiving TD to boot, the 22-year-old is a top-five back for fantasy through 15 weeks, and in Week 16 he'll face a generous rush defense in the New York Giants. The Giants have yielded 14 scores on the ground, the second-most rush yards on the season, and the second-highest yards per carry, resulting in the fourth-most fantasy points scored by opposing running backs. While Robinson has seen a drop off in receptions over the last two weeks, his rookie QB will likely use him as a security blanket and the former first-rounder should get back on track in that regard. Deploy Robinson as a top-tier RB1 on Sunday in Atlanta.