Who Should I Start? Ty Johnson or Cam Akers

Monday, August 12, 8:38 PM

Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson (hamstring) was set to return to training camp practice on Monday. A hamstring injury suffered at the start of camp at the end of July had kept Johnson on the sidelines until this week. Now that the 26-year-old has rejoined the rest of his teammates in practice, he'll continue to compete with rookie Ray Davis for the No. 2 job behind starter James Cook. The former sixth-rounder (186th overall) by the Detroit Lions in 2019 out of Maryland had only 30 carries for 132 yards and no touchdowns while catching all seven of his targets for 62 yards and a touchdown in 10 games for Buffalo in 2023. Johnson was used more late last year after Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator for the Bills. At best, Johnson is a late-round handcuff pick in deep fantasy leagues for those that select Cook.

Wednesday, August 28, 3:00 PM

Houston Texans running back Cam Akers made the team's final 53-man roster on Tuesday, signing just a week after training camp had started. Akers doesn't present much value on special teams, so that means if he's active, he will be pushing for carries on game days to spell workhorse starter Joe Mixon. If the Texans opt to trade away presumed No. 2 back Dameon Pierce as well, Akers would become Houston's preferred backup and fantasy's clear-cut handcuff to Mixon. It's hard to envision Akers, 25, having much upside or standalone value this season, after rushing for a mere 2.8 yards per carry over 60 attempts and coming off his second career Achilles tear in 2023, but the former second-round pick is at least trending up this summer over Pierce.