Start Kaleb Johnson or J.K. Dobbins? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start Kaleb Johnson over J.K. Dobbins in Week 5.

Market-based projections have Kaleb Johnson at 9.8 points and J.K. Dobbins at 9.2, a gap of 0.6. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Kaleb Johnson's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. Market coverage on Kaleb Johnson is 70 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 9.8 fantasy points for Kaleb Johnson, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market gives Kaleb Johnson a 35% chance to score a touchdown (14 market sources).

Player markets imply 9.2 fantasy points for J.K. Dobbins, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has J.K. Dobbins at 51.5 rushing yards, with a 40% chance to score a touchdown (14 and 15 market sources).

That puts Kaleb Johnson 0.6 points ahead of J.K. Dobbins on the market projections.

Injury status

Kaleb Johnson is not on the injury report.

J.K. Dobbins is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Kaleb Johnson played 31 percent of GB snaps, took 41 percent of the carries, drew 3 percent of the targets and had 6 percent of the red zone chances.

Kaleb Johnson, Week 2 against NYJ: 16 of 59 snaps, 8 carries for 32 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Kaleb Johnson, Week 3 against ATL: 24 of 66 snaps, 4 carries for 6 yards, 3 targets and 1 catch for 10 yards.

Kaleb Johnson, Week 4 against TB: 17 of 60 snaps, 8 carries for 42 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Through Week 4, J.K. Dobbins played 40 percent of DEN snaps, took 53 percent of the carries, drew 3 percent of the targets and had 21 percent of the red zone chances.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 1 against KC: 22 of 51 snaps, 8 carries for 36 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 2 against JAX: 21 of 62 snaps, 10 carries for 36 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 3 against LAR: 33 of 67 snaps, 17 carries for 49 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 4 against SF: 21 of 65 snaps, 11 carries for 40 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 12 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Kaleb Johnson played 10 games for PIT and scored 8.8 PPR points, 0.9 a game, finishing RB115.

He ran 28 times for 69 yards and 0 touchdowns, and caught 1 of 2 targets for 9 yards.

He was on the field for 6 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, J.K. Dobbins played 10 games for DEN and scored 115.9 PPR points, 11.6 a game, finishing RB43.

He ran 153 times for 772 yards and 4 touchdowns, and caught 11 of 14 targets for 37 yards.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start David Montgomery over Kaleb Johnson.
• Start Jacory Croskey-Merritt over Kaleb Johnson.
• Start Kaleb Johnson over MarShawn Lloyd.
• Start Bhayshul Tuten over J.K. Dobbins.
• Start J.K. Dobbins over Brian Robinson.
• Start Bucky Irving over J.K. Dobbins.