The Washington Commanders are still in playoff contention and will look for a big win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The Commanders had one of their better running games in the win against the New England Patriots last Sunday, as they rushed for 124 yards.
Brian Robinson Jr. had 18 carries for 63 yards and one touchdown last week, and it was the first time he has gotten at least 18 carries since Week 2.
With that in mind, should fantasy football managers have Robinson in their lineup, or is his teammate, Antonio Gibson, the play?
Should You Start Brian Robinson Jr. or Antonio Gibson This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, our Consensus Rankings say that Robinson Jr. is the player to start. His projected 9.5 points include 64 rushing yards, one reception, and six receiving yards. That stat line outperforms the consensus projections for Gibson (6.3 points).
We go with the Optimizer on this one, as Robinson could be in store for another high-volume day against the Seahawks.
Fantasy Outlook for Robinson This Week
As mentioned, Robinson’s 18 rush attempts last week vs. the Patriots were his most since Week 2 vs. the Broncos, when he logged the same amount. He had 19 and 18 carries in the first two weeks, but the most he had gotten since that game was 14 before last week.
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He scored another touchdown, giving him at least one rushing or receiving score in all five of the Commanders’ road games this season. In fact, of his seven total touchdowns this season, six have come on the road.
That is a promising thing for fantasy managers, as Robinson and the Commanders are in Seattle this weekend.
Robinson is one of four players with at least five rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns this season. The others are Christian McCaffrey, Raheem Mostert, and De’Von Achane. The correlation this year for the Commanders is when Robinson is involved in the offense, the team usually wins. They are 3-0 when he gets the ball at least 18 times and 1-5 when he doesn’t.
Simply put, when Robinson’s getting the ball, fantasy managers and Commanders’ fans are both happy.
Fantasy Outlook for Gibson This Week
While Robinson is the go-to running for the Commanders, Gibson has shown to still have a role on the team. In the win against the Patriots, Gibson ran the ball six times for 34 yards. However, it’s the passing game where he can be equally as good, as he had five catches for 42 yards.
On the season, Gibson has 25 catches, compared to only 14 for Robinson.
When he touches the ball, he has shown that he will put up some numbers. However, there doesn’t appear to be enough touches to trust putting Gibson in your fantasy starting lineup right now. Even with his carries and catches nearly the same for the season, that still comes out to fewer than six touches per game (5.7) for Gibson.
He is a valuable player for the Commanders, but he isn’t worth having on your fantasy team.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!