Fantasy Football Faceoff: Devonta Freeman vs. Lamar Miller

Here's a look at whether fantasy football owners would be better off selecting Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman or Houston Texans RB Lamar Miller in 2016 drafts:

2015 Stats

The Case for Devonta Freeman

Entering his third season in the NFL, Freeman will have the starting job from Week 1 for the first time in his career. Rookie RB Tevin Coleman won the No. 1 role over the sophomore Freeman out of the 2015 preseason. Freeman took control of the job after Coleman was forced from a Week 2 game against the New York Giants due to injury, and he never looked back.

Freeman finished seventh in rushing yards last season, and third among running backs in receiving yards. His 11 rushing TDs shared the lead at his position. Freeman is essentially the Falcons' No. 2 receiver behind WR Julio Jones, providing a dramatic boost to his value in all league formats.

The Falcons' free-agent acquisition of C Alex Mack bolsters the offensive line up the middle.

Best-Case Scenario: Freeman holds onto the starting job for a full 16 games and serves as a dynamic dual threat out of the Falcons backfield. He could approach 2,000 total yards and 20 total touchdowns in a full season, putting him well within reach of challenging Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell as the top running back in fantasy football.

Worst-Case Scenario: Injury or poor play early in the season leads to Coleman regaining the starting job he himself lost to injury one year ago. An acceptable scenario for Freeman would be a timeshare with the slightly younger Coleman, while the worst-case scenario sees Coleman take on the lion's share of touches.

The Case for Lamar Miller

Miller has a career yards-per-carry average of 4.6, peaking at 5.1 yards during a 2014 season that saw him rack up a career-high 216 rushing attempts for 1,099 yards. He seems to perform better the more work he's given, which bodes well for his workhorse role with the Texans. He has rushed for eight TDs in each of the past two seasons, and caught a career-high 47 balls in 2015.

Not only was Miller given a hefty free-agent contract by the Texans, but he'll have little competition for work in a thin backfield. Alfred Blue is the No. 2 option, but he has dramatically failed to impress as an injury replacement to Arian Foster over the past couple seasons. Behind him is rookie Tyler Ervin, a fourth-round pick who poses little threat to Miller.

Miller has been healthy for his entire career. After a 13-game rookie season, he has played three consecutive 16-game seasons, though a light workload in the questionable Miami Dolphins offense helped in that regard. With plenty of work needing to be done and no viable threat to his job, Miller should show the Dolphins what they missed out on.

Best-Case Scenario: With quarterback play still questionable in Houston, even with the free-agent signing of Brock Osweiler, Miller could be in store for the gigantic workload seen by Foster when healthy. Rarely used in Miami, Miller could see the 351 carries and 58 targets Foster received during his second of two 16-game seasons in Houston.

Worst-Case Scenario: After receiving no more than 254 total touches in any one of his four seasons with the Dolphins, Miller proves incapable of handling the large workload awaiting him in Houston. His body breaks down early in the season, and he suffers a long-term injury.

Verdict

Job security and an inferior passing attack in Houston makes Miller the safer pick. If he's able to capitalize on what should be a massive workload, he has the potential to be the No. 1 running back in fantasy. A potential suspension to Texans WR Jaelen Strong would leave a bevy of inexperienced and unproven sophomore and rookie receivers, essentially making Miller the No. 2 receiver.

Freeman, while superior in 2015, will need to constantly fight Coleman for playing time. He has already lost the battle once, and with the NFL being a "what have you done for me lately?" league, his successes from last year will only carry him so far through early-season struggles. Go with Miller.