Both Tyler Allgeier of the Atlanta Falcons and Trey Benson of the Arizona Cardinals are likely serving as backups at the running back position this season. But does that mean they should be instantly dismissed by fantasy managers when looking for value in their lineup?
Here are the fantasy outlooks for Allgeier and Benson heading into Week 1.
Week 1 Fantasy Outlook for Tyler Allgeier
Allgeier enters this season No. 43 RB in Pro Football Network’s consensus fantasy football rankings.
After rushing for over 1,000 yards as a rookie in 2022 (1,035), Allgeier saw his role reduced to that of a backup to Bijan Robinson. Still, while not overly impressive, Allgeier’s numbers were still in the ballpark when compared to the much more heralded Robinson in his rookie season.
Allgeier finished with 683 rush yards on 10.9 rush attempts per game, with four rushing touchdowns. Robinson had 976 rushing yards on 12.6 rush attempts per game, with four rushing touchdowns.
Two factors playing against Allgeier, at least to begin this season, are his pass-catching skills and a new offensive system. Allgeier caught just 18 passes for 193 yards (and one TD reception) last season, while Robinson had 58 catches for 487 yards and four touchdowns.
With Raheem Morris now Atlanta’s head coach, he brought Zac Robinson in to be his offensive coordinator. The new offensive system is believed to have one player as the featured running back, all but assuring Allgeier’s role to be reduced even more.
From a fantasy standpoint, Allgeier averaged 8.1 fantasy points a game last season, but if you take away his season opener, when he recorded a season-high 24.4 fantasy points, Allgeier produced just 7.1 fantasy points a game over his final 16 games.
Week 1 Fantasy Outlook for Trey Benson
Benson is the RB45 in PFN’s consensus rankings and finds himself in a situation similar to Allgeier, that being a player in a backup role looking for opportunities to get on the field.
With James Conner as the main man in the backfield for the Cardinals these days, it may be difficult for Benson to get enough chances to shine in a limited role. Keep in mind that along with Conner, Benson has to contend with the dual-threat capabilities of quarterback Kyler Murray, along with a rookie wide receiver in Marvin Harrison Jr, who the team will no doubt be highlighting at every chance they get.
Benson is a versatile running back, so that should be helpful. Along with rushing for over 900 yards in his final two seasons at Florida State, Benson averaged over 11 yards a reception (11.2). In all, he averaged nearly seven yards a touch (6.6) in his two seasons as a Seminole.
Who Should I Start in Week 1?
According to Pro Football Network’s Fantasy Football Start/Sit Optimizer, Allgeier is narrowly the best choice of the two for fantasy managers to start. He is projected to finish with 35 rush yards, with one reception for seven yards and 6.0 fantasy points.
Benson is also projected to finish with 6.0 fantasy points, with 26 rushing yards, one reception, and nine receiving yards.
However, I prefer to go with Benson in this matchup. The opportunities may not be as many as Allgeier Sunday, but Benson has the ability to make a big play a little more than Allgeier.
Kyle Soppe’s Fantasy Outlook for Benson and Allgeier in Week 1
Trey Benson: Conner played north of 58% of the offensive snaps in 10 of his 13 games last season, reaching two-thirds on six occasions. I’m not against the idea of holding Benson as a handcuff behind a fragile back in a potentially explosive offense, but standalone value is a long shot. I certainly wouldn’t be banking on it in Week 1 with a healthy Conner in front of him.
Tyler Allgeier: I have some shares of Allgeier with the thought that he could potentially carve out a nice niche by the time bye weeks come about, but banking on standalone value out of the gate is far too optimistic for me.
Just once during the second half of last season did Allgeier reach a 36% snap share. And with talks of Robinson being used in a Christian McCaffrey-like manner, it’s tough to project much change on that front.
The contingent value keeps Allgeier on your roster, but there’s no reason to get cute to open the season against 2023’s ninth-best defense in terms of rushing success rate.