Who Should I Start? Trayveon Williams or Ty Johnson

Wednesday, May 14, 7:53 PM

Per the team, the New England Patriots have signed running back Trayveon Williams to an undisclosed contract. New England also released defensive lineman Eric Johnson II. The veteran back spent the first six seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals after linking up with the team in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The 27-year-old will join a running back room consisting of Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and second-round rookie TreVeyon Henderson. Williams is likely to have little impact regarding the ground game, considering he has 62 career carries in 69 games. However, he did appear in all 17 contests last season for Cincinnati on special teams, so he could occupy a role there for New England.

Saturday, October 4, 6:31 PM

Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson continues to play a modest role in the team's backfield rotation, logging between 20% and 33% of offensive snaps in each of the first four games. However, his on-field presence has not translated into meaningful fantasy production, as he's averaging just two carries for 10.8 yards per game. With James Cook III firmly entrenched as the lead back and quarterback Josh Allen consistently handling a share of the rushing workload, Johnson's fantasy value remains minimal. Unless Cook misses time, Johnson offers little more than deep-league or handcuff appeal. Fantasy managers should avoid starting him in Week 5 against a Patriots defense that has allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game. Johnson's role is simply too limited to warrant consideration outside of the deepest formats.