Bijan Robinson has had a solid rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons so far. But it’s actually Tyler Allgeier who leads the team in carries. Knowing that and Robinson’s early exit from last week’s game, is picking an Atlanta RB to start on your fantasy football team this week more difficult?
Fantasy Outlook for Bijan Robinson This Week
Prior to last week, Robinson was having a productive rookie season for Atlanta. Entering Week 7, his 590 yards from scrimmage ranked third among running backs, and his 5.0 yards-per-carry average for the season also ranks third among RBs that have at least 80 carries.
Assuming for the moment he’s a healthy go for this week’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans, Robinson is still the one to consider first among the two Falcons backs this week.
Yes, he hasn’t found the end zone on the ground yet. In fact, his 81 rush attempts are the second-most by any player this season who doesn’t have a rushing touchdown — Alexander Mattison is No. 1 in this category with 90 carries.
But Robinson has 26 receptions on the season — one more than Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts, by the way — and a pair of TD receptions. So if he plays, there’s a good chance Robinson will approach the century mark in total yards.
The last time the Falcons were on the road (Week 4), Robinson finished with 105 rushing yards on 14 carries (season-high 7.5 yards per carry) and added five receptions for 32 yards.
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The rookie is one of only two players this season to have at least 100 yards rushing and five receptions in a game — the other being Christian McCaffrey.
The Falcons will be going up against a tough run defense in the Titans. Although Tennessee is just 14th in rush defense, allowing 102.0 rush yards per game, they rank top 10 in average opponent EPA per rush (seventh at -0.16).
Fantasy Outlook for Tyler Allgeier This Week
Following a 1,000-yard rushing season as a rookie with the Falcons in 2022, Allgeier has had some productive moments as a member of Atlanta’s backfield, despite Robinson’s emergence.
He does possess something that Robinson doesn’t have — a pair of rushing touchdowns — although they both came back in Week 1 against the Panthers. In fact, if you eliminate that season opener vs. the league’s second-worst rush defense, then Allgeier is averaging less than 40 rushing yards per game (37.7) and less than three yards per carry (2.79).
He’s also not the biggest threat to catch a pass out of the backfield, with just nine receptions on the season.
Which Falcons RB Should You Start?
PFN’s Fantasy Start/Sit Optimizer projects Robinson with 13.2 fantasy points, while Allgeier projects to have 7.4 fantasy points.
So, unless the injury that forced Robinson out of the game last week is actually something more than a headache, he should be your clear choice to start on your fantasy lineup.
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