Well wasn’t that fun? One week into the fantasy football season, frustration and celebration abound. What isn’t there to love about fantasy football? Buckle up, we have 16 more weeks to go. Here come the Week 2 running back rankings for fantasy football.
Week 2 Running Back Rankings
Tier 1: Lineup Locks
1. Saquon Barkley vs. Atlanta Falcons
2. Jonathan Taylor vs. Green Bay Packers
3. Joe Mixon vs. Chicago Bears
4. Breece Hall vs. Tennessee Titans
A small shake-up in our top tier this week. There is a lot of uncertainty around Christian McCaffrey with calf and Achilles injuries. So out of the top tier goes CMC for the foreseeable future and welcome in Joe Mixon.
It appears Joe Mixon in this Houston Texans offense could be in line to produce his best season yet! He delivered an RB2 finish on the back of a massive 30 carries, 159 yards, and a touchdown. Not to mention, there were possibly 37 opportunities among Texans running backs, and Mixon had 33 of them. Mixon faces The Bears, who allowed a fairly impressive debut for Tony Pollard with his new team. Which says a lot, since the Tennessee Titans offense was frustrating and struggled.
Tier 2: Solid RB1
5. Bijan Robinson vs. Philadelphia Eagles
6. Jordan Mason vs. Minnesota Vikings
7. JK Dobbins vs. Carolina Panthers
8. Alvin Kamara vs. Dallas Cowboys
9. James Conner vs. Los Angeles Rams
10. Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Seattle Seahawks
11. Jerome Ford vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
12. Josh Jacobs vs. Indianapolis Colts
13. Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14. Brian Robinson vs. New York Giants
15. Kyren Williams vs. Arizona Cardinals
Jordan Mason proved last week what has become pretty clear in recent years, anyone can run in the Kyle Shanahan offense. Mason didn’t get the chance to show much in the receiving game. However, volume is king and 28 rush attempts is an impressive amount of volume. The Vikings are unlikely to be able to shut down a much stronger run game and run game-planning team like the 49ers, like they did the Giants last week.
The Return of JK?
JK Dobbins made the most of his near 50/50 split in touches with Gus Edwards. And he showed fantasy managers what we were all well aware of, he is a super efficient runner, when healthy. Coming off a ten attempts for 135 yards and a touchdown performance, he faces a Carolina Panthers team that allowed over 130 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Saints last week. Dobbins has a dream matchup and has a chance to start taking grasp of the RB1 job with the Chargers.
ALL ABOARD THE JK DOBBINS TRAIN 🚂 pic.twitter.com/FaGxtthvhl
— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) September 11, 2024
A couple of other notes on this tier. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers allowed the most receiving yards to running backs week one, 101 yards. This feels like a Jahmyr Gibbs over David Montgomery week for fantasy. Also, it may have just been because Austin Ekeler is new to the Commanders offense. But, Brian Robinson, of a possible 22 opportunities, ended up with 16 total touches including an equal four targets a piece with Ekeler. Something worth monitoring going forward. The matchup with the Giants is noteworthy since the Giants look bad, really bad.
Tier 3: RB2
16. Kenneth Walker vs. New England Patriots
17. Aaron Jones vs. San Francisco 49ers
18. Derrick Henry vs. Las Vegas Raiders
19. Najee Harris vs. Denver Broncos
20. Travis Etienne vs. Cleveland Browns
21. Isaiah Pacheco vs. Cincinnati Bengals
22. James Cook vs. Miami Dolphins
23. Tony Pollard vs. New York Jets
Derrick Henry‘s usage in week one was suspect and frustrating for fantasy managers. He was outsnapped by Justice Hill. And for a guy who can literally carry an offense, didn’t really get that opportunity with only 13 carries. The Raiders are a matchup to get him back on track after allowing Dobbins and Edwards to rush for 161 total yards. Will the snaps and touches come with the matchup?
Through week one Najee Harris was able to keep Jaylen Warren at a distance from his RB1 job in Pittsburgh. He ended up out-snapping Warren 38-to-21. Plus out touched Warren, getting 22 of a possible 30 opportunities. This week if Harris continues to dominate the backfield opportunities he can feast against this Denver Broncos defense. They were third worst against running backs in fantasy last season and started out with the fourth worst week-one performance. Another backfield situation worth monitoring. However, don’t count Harris out anytime soon, especially after seeing significant snap and opportunity share in week one.
Najee Harris is the BELLCOW RB for the Steelers… Expect bigger games from him in the future. pic.twitter.com/RjC2tzsXFA
— Dynasty Nerds (@DynastyNerds) September 11, 2024
Tier 4: RB3/Flex Option
24. Jeff Wilson vs. Buffalo Bills
25. David Montgomery vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
26. Devin Singletary vs. Washington Commanders
27. Austin Ekeler vs. New York Giants
28. Rachaad White vs. Detroit Lions
29. Alexander Mattison vs. Baltimore Ravens
30. Zach Moss vs. Kansas City Chiefs
31. D’Andre Swift vs. Houston Texans
32. Tank Bigsby vs. Cleveland Browns
33. Jaleel McLaughlin vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
34. Ezekiel Elliot vs. New Orleans Saints
35. Jamaal Williams vs. Dallas Cowboys
The flex option tier will always be jam-packed with those guys in mediocre or worse offenses with bad matchups or are more touchdown or reception-dependent backs. For the week 2 running back rankings, the likes of Montgomery, Elliot, and Williams will be in need of a touchdown to salvage their weeks. Ekeler, Mattison, and McLaughlin can salvage their weeks with high target shares and receptions.
Despite all the speculation, Devin Singletary came out the clear leader in the clubhouse. Unfortunately, it is a terrible New York Giants offense so his 70% of snaps and only 10 carries led to a 9.2 fantasy points output, RB34. Singletary will be tough to trust from week to week beyond being a flex option. However, there will be an opportunity in the right matchup if he sticks as the RB1 for the Giants.
Main Image: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
