Is Tyler Allgeier Worth a Start, Will Bijan Robinson See Role Expanded? | Falcons Fantasy Football Breakdown
The Atlanta Falcons opened their 2023 season with a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in a NFC South battle on Sunday in Atlanta. It wasn’t always pretty, actually being outgained 281-221 in the contest, but the Falcons scored the final 17 points to prevail.
Atlanta’s running back duo of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier led the way, scoring all three of the team’s touchdowns. To many people’s surprise, it was Allgeier that outproduced Robinson.
Allgeier ran the ball 15 times for 75 yards, including a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. He also caught all three of the passes thrown his way for an additional 19 yards.
Robinson carried the rock 10 times for 56 yards, while scoring the team’s first touchdown on an 11-yard swing pass from quarterback Desmond Ridder. Robinson finished with six grabs on as many targets for 27 yards.
With both Allgeier and Robinson turning in strong fantasy showings, many owners are going to want to know who to start going forward. With the Falcons only passing 18 times for 115 yards, are both guys start-worthy? Will Robinson eventually dominate the touches? Let’s try and figure that out.
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Tyler Allgeier Fantasy Outlook
Allgeier put together his stat line while playing just 56% of the offensive snaps in week 1.
Allgeier received carries on the team’s first three plays of its second drive, ripping off runs of 19, 22 and 4. He went quiet until the third quarter, when he got a carry and caught a pass.
Allgeier had four carries and a catch on a drive he eventually capped with a 3-yard touchdown run at the start of the final quarter. He also starred on the team’s final scoring drive, carrying the ball four times before the last one saw him score from 3 yards out.
With the Falcons finding some of their best offensive success behind Allgeier, it’s reasonable to expect him to be a bit bigger part of the team’s game plan going forward. The only thing really standing in his way of doing that is Robinson. After spending a high draft pick on Robinson, it’s highly unlikely Allgeier supplants him as the starting back on the team. Still, there’s a chance both running backs can be fantasy assets because of their ability to also be a weapon in the passing game.
Bijan Robinson Fantasy Outlook
Robinson was on the field for four more offensive snaps than Allgeier, and 63% of the overall snaps.
The rookie back wasn’t too heavily involved on the team’s first two possessions. That changed on possession three, when he carried the ball twice before catching his touchdown reception from Ridder.
Robinson didn’t get a touch on the next possession, and his on-and-off day of touches continued the rest of the contest. He got three touches on two different possessions and two on another, but had a couple other possessions with no looks or just one.
Like most rookie backs nowadays, Robinson looked like he was being eased into the swing of things. He still led Atlanta with 18 touches, and made some highlight-reel plays along the way. Many expect his usage to increase a bit going forward, and 20+ touch outings every week seem like a real possibility in the near future.
Who Can I Start?
The Falcons look to move to 2-0 on the season when they host the Green Bay Packers this coming Sunday.
Green Bay routed the Chicago Bears 38-20 in week 1, allowing 311 total yards (189 passing and 122 rushing). The Packers bottled up the Bears’ running backs pretty well, with quarterback Justin Fields doing most of the damage in terms of rushing yards. Chicago’s backs were heavily involved in the pass game, with 11 catches and 80 receiving yards, which bodes well for both Allgeier and Robinson after what they showed in week 1.
Despite Allgeier’s strong week 1 showing, I’d be skeptical to start him again in week 2. He’s worth a spot as a flex after his 94 scrimmage yards, but his two-touchdown performance isn’t sustainable. As mentioned before, Robinson likely continues to receive more and more touches as the year progresses, which leaves less opportunities for Allgeier. I’d be convinced to start Allgeier in week 3 if he can put up another solid showing this week, but I’d lean away from him against the Packers.
As for Robinson, I think he’s the better option against Green Bay. I wouldn’t be surprised if his carry total gets flipped with Allgeier, and I also like Robinson’s chance to score better.
If you happen to roster both backs, you could start Robinson at RB and Allgeier at flex, but I think you’d be better off starting another player as your flex. Green Bay’s rush defense was good against running backs in week 1 and should contain Allgeier and Robinson a bit more.
