Who Should I Start? Ty Johnson or Dylan Sampson

Saturday, December 20, 10:31 AM

Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson carried the ball four times for 13 yards and added 15 receiving yards on three catches against the New England Patriots. Johnson entered the 2025 season as the expected RB3, behind James Cook and second-year back Ray Davis. However, Johnson's receiving ability has earned him more snaps than Davis, outsnapping him 29% to 12% on the season. He faces a Cleveland Browns defense that has ranked middle-of-the-pack against running backs this season but has struggled to slow down Tony Pollard and D'Andre Swift in back-to-back weeks. While Johnson carries a safe floor with his strong skill set in the receiving game, his upside is capped by Cook's dominance of touches. Johnson should be out of starting lineups in fantasy leagues this week.

Friday, December 19, 1:21 PM

Cleveland Browns rookie running back Dylan Sampson (calf, hand) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the visiting Buffalo Bills in Week 16, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot. Sampson was unable to practice all week and will miss his second straight game due to a pair of injuries. It's unclear if the 21-year-old will be ready to play in Week 17 against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers. With Sampson out again, expect Trayveon Williams and Raheim Sanders to battle for backfield scraps behind rookie starter Quinshon Judkins. Sampson has really only been valuable in fantasy for the Week 1 regular season opener when Judkins was out. In the 17-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Sampson had a season-high 12 carries for 29 yards and caught all eight of his targets for 64 yards. Since then, he's had only two games with more than three rushing attempts.