The NFL season is finally back! Your drafts are over and now comes the all-important decision of who to start. What matchups to take advantage of? Well, drum roll, please. Here are the week 1 running back rankings.
Read More: Week 1 Quarterback Rankings
Fantasy Football Week 1 Running Back Rankings
Tier 1: Lineup Locks
1. Christian McCaffrey vs. New York Jets
2. Bijan Robinson vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
3. Saquon Barkley vs. Green Bay Packers
4. Jonathan Taylor vs. Houston Texans
5. Breece Hall vs. San Francisco 49ers
For week 1 running back rankings, this is going to be fairly chalky. These are the running backs you would have drafted round one. These five are the ones who will never see the bench except on a bye week, no matter the matchup.
The only player I am concerned about is Breece Hall and that is because he faces the toughest matchup. The 49ers were the No.4 team against fantasy running backs last season. The defense up front looks nearly identical and will remain a tough matchup for running backs in 2024.
The other four will safely be on the field on almost all offensive snaps. They will also see significant rushing and receiving work with little shared workload.
Tier 2: Solid RB1
6. Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Los Angeles Rams
7. James Cook vs. Arizona Cardinals
8. De’Von Achane vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
9. Alvin Kamara vs. Carolina Panthers
10. Rachaad White vs. Washington Commanders
11. Joe Mixon vs. Indianapolis Colts
12. Josh Jacobs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
13. Derrick Henry vs. Kansas City Chiefs
14. Kenneth Walker vs. Denver Broncos
The solid RB1s are those you would have drafted in the second or third round in your drafts. In other cases, they are those running backs lined up with good matchups.
James Cook is a favorite to earn a significant workload in a Buffalo Bills offense that looks very different in the receiving game. He gets a juicy matchup to start the season against a Cardinals team that was the worst against fantasy running backs last season. Cook has upside as both a rusher and receiver which could lead to multiple big weeks in 2024.
James Cook could have a favorable matchup this week 👀
Cook ranked 9th in receiving yards per route run last season, while the Cardinals defense ranked 27th in receiving yards allowed per pass play to RBs. pic.twitter.com/LZvp7i60NO
— PFF BUF Bills (@PFF_Bills) September 3, 2024
Kamara, White, and Walker also have nice matchups against teams that ranked in the bottom ten against fantasy running backs last season. Despite it being a new year, these teams continue to rank very low in power rankings and don’t look poised to take significant steps forward.
Mixon, Jacobs, and Henry will be frequent flyers in this category as the solid RB1s with the right matchups will be lineup locks. For this week, the matchups just weren’t there. However, opportunity galore and likely members of top-12 scoring offenses in the NFL should help these aging vets find success.
Tier 3: RB2
15. Aaron Jones vs. New York Giants
16. Travis Etienne vs. Miami Dolphins
17. Isaiah Pacheco vs. Baltimore Ravens
18. Kyren Williams vs. Detroit Lions
19. D’Andre Swift vs. Tennessee Titans
20. Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Cincinnati Bengals
21. James Conner vs. Buffalo Bills
22. Zamir White vs. Los Angeles Chargers
23. Jerome Ford vs. Dallas Cowboys
24. David Montgomery vs. Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Jones has a great matchup that has him teetering on RB2 and solid RB1 territory. The issue is the rest of the offense. Or just the quarterback in Sam Darnold. We have seen volume be enough to trump the situation and Jones certainly has the talent to do so.
On any given week the RB2 category will see the first three to four running backs in it be very capable of delivering top-ten fantasy showings for that week. Names like Etienne and Pacheco with Jones this week seem like those types who will make a living in this tier.
Kyren Williams by average draft position should be higher on a chalky week like week one. However, he has a tall order against the Detroit Lions defense who was top-three against fantasy running backs last season.
Tier 4: RB3/Flex Picks
25. Raheem Mostert vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
26. Najee Harris vs. Atlanta Falcons
27. Zack Moss vs. New England Patriots
28. Devin Singletary vs. Minnesota Vikings
29. Tony Pollard vs. Chicago Bears
30. Chuba Hubbard vs. New Orleans Saints
31. Brian Robinson Jr vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32. Javonte Williams vs. Seattle Seahawks
This is where the rankings become all about the boom or bust players. A guy like Raheem Mostert is a multi-touchdown game from dropping 30 to 40 points and being a top-three fantasy running back for the week. So attempting to peg the boom games is going to be fun. Even attempting to figure out if he can repeat such a performance as last season heading into the season at the age of 32 years old at such a demanding and physical position.
🚨NEW ARTICLE🚨
2024 Bargain Bin League Winners🚀
Raheem Mostert💥
10 RBs scored 18 rushing TDs in a season & returned to the same team. The next year those RBs still scored on avg. over 11 TDs.
See the rest of the league winners on @Razzball.com👇https://t.co/uTOazwmhPu
— Bobby LaMarco (@BobbyLamarco) September 3, 2024
I also have positioned in this RB3 or flex zone, several running backs in projected to be poor offenses with competition closely pursuing and threatening their workload. Names that stand out for this reason include Tony Pollard, Najee Harris, Zack Moss, and Javonte Williams. As the season progresses we may see these talented running backs escape their situation and stand above the competition. However, the ambiguity makes them more of a flex option in the week 1 running back rankings.
Main Photo: [Bob Donnan] – USA Today Sports
