The injury bug has bit the NFL hard through the first two weeks, leaving fantasy managers looking everywhere for players to try and fill the voids. Never fear, we will make it through this together to week three and beyond. I have the week 3 running back rankings for fantasy football at your service.
Fantasy Football Week 3 Running Back Rankings
Tier 1: Lineup Locks
1.Saquon Barkley vs. New Orleans Saints
2.Bijan Robinson vs. Kansas City Chiefs
3.Jordan Mason vs. Los Angeles Rams
4.Alvin Kamara vs. Philadelphia Eagles
If you told me that in week three this would be my tier 1 for fantasy running backs for the week, I would have laughed. But alas, expect the unexpected with the unpredictable world of fantasy football.
Barkley and Robinson don’t have the best matchups but are absolute opportunity hogs in their backfields. Per PlayerProfiler, Barkley is the no.3 back in opportunity share and Robinson no.8. Without touchdowns, they make it to low-end RB1 status every week.
Mason is taking McCaffrey’s job and running with it, for now. Plus, a big bonus is that he gets a juicy matchup against a Rams defense that through two weeks is giving up over 30 points per week to fantasy running backs. This is the 4th worst. And now throw in that Deebo will miss a bit of time. Mason is locked in the top 10 for weekly running backs until McCaffrey is back.
Tier 2: Solid RB1
5.Jonathan Taylor vs. Chicago Bears
6.Breece Hall vs. New England Patriots
7.Travis Etienne vs. Buffalo Bills
8.Derrick Henry vs. Dallas Cowboys
9.De’Von Achane vs. Seattle Seahawks
10.Josh Jacobs vs. Tennessee Titans
11.Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Arizona Cardinals
12.James Cook vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
13.Kenneth Walker vs. Miami Dolphins
14.James Conner vs. Detroit Lions
15.Rhamondre Stevenson vs. New York Jets
The likes of Hall and Taylor move to tier two this week purely due to tougher matchups. Hall also saw Braelon Allen’s workload increase including two touchdowns for Allen week two. This isn’t an overreaction and dropping Hall aggressively down rankings. It is rather a situation worth watching as through two weeks a couple interesting trends are emerging. Time to see if they continue over the coming weeks.
Love Braelon Allen. But was still a bit surprised by the split yesterday.
Snaps: Breece Hall 41-of-57, Braelon Allen 20
Routes: Breece 21-of-33, Braelon 12
Opportunities: Breece 22, Braelon 11 pic.twitter.com/nQrCWOkmW7
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 16, 2024
The remaining names will be mainly stalwarts in this tier for the season barring injuries. A couple of notes on some names to watch in this tier: If Kenneth Walker is a no-go again this week against Miami, Zach Charbonnet goes from tier 4 into tier 2 and replaces Walker. The Seahawks have had a top-12 running back in both weeks with Walker in week one and Charbonnet in week two.
Travis Etienne hasn’t exactly excited managers the first two weeks after last year’s showing where he finished the RB3. He gets a chance to turn the ship around against the Buffalo Bills. They have allowed 29 points per game or 5th most to fantasy running backs. Etienne is seeing a lesser opportunity share versus last season but is a key red zone target for the Jaguars. He has 2 touchdowns already and ranks no.2 among running backs with 5 red zone touches. This could buoy him for managers if he can continue to see the red zone opportunities and find the end zone.
Tier 3: RB2
16.Brian Robinson vs. Cincinnati Bengals
17.JK Dobbins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
18.Jerome Ford vs. New York Giants
19.Kyren Williams vs. San Francisco 49ers
20.Rachaad White vs. Denver Broncos
21.Javonte Williams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22.Tony Pollard vs. Green Bay Packers
23.Chuba Hubbard vs. Las Vegas Raiders
JK Dobbins has been a revelation in the Chargers backfield with back-to-back 100-yard games with a touchdown. Despite limited involvement in the passing game with only four targets and a near 50/50 split in opportunity share, he leads the NFL in rushing yards through two weeks. He dips in my rankings this week due to a tough matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. The Steelers have yet to allow a running back to find the end zone and haven’t allowed a rusher to get over 70 yards.
Rachaad White and Javonte Williams not only play each other this week, but both matchups are very nice for the respective backs. They have upside to out produce their week 3 running back rankings. White has Bucky Irving close behind him but has managed to continue to earn 70%-plus snaps on the offense through two weeks. Against a tough run defense in the Lions last week, White finished as expected, a dud. Week one against against the Commanders is likely a closer preview to what we see from White this week, an RB2 finish with the upside for more.
Tier 4: RB3/Flex Options
24.Aaron Jones vs. Houston Texans
25.Devin Singletary vs. Cleveland Browns
26.Najee Harris vs. Los Angeles Chargers
27.Austin Ekeler vs. Cincinnati Bengals
28.Zach Moss vs. Washington Commanders
29.Zach Charbonnet vs. Miami Dolphins
30.Zamir White vs. Carolina Panthers
31.David Montgomery vs. Arizona Cardinals
32.Samaje Perine vs. Atlanta Falcons
33.D’Andre Swift vs.Indianapolis Colts
34.Antonio Gibson vs. New York Jets
Devin Singletary looks to be getting a nice long leash to work within New York. The offense is struggling overall, so it will be tough to trust him in one of your running back spots. But as a flex, he gets a mediocre matchup against the Cleveland Browns. The bonus is they have allowed a touchdown to a team’s lead running back in back-to-back weeks. Singletary is touchdown-dependent, with a nice matchup to get it and if so, is a respectable flex play.
RB yards after contact and missed tackles forced per carry in 2024 (PFF, min. 10 carries)
JK Dobbins and Devin Singletary absolutely balling just like we all expected pic.twitter.com/h9Tkua4Z1X
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 17, 2024
Alexander Mattison or Zamir White, was the greatest debate of the week 3 running back rankings. The matchup against the Panthers is juicy. But more likely juicy for White. The Panthers have been bad against fantasy running backs especially on the ground giving up 333 yards over two weeks. Maybe, just maybe it might be Zamir White time. Or else a Zamir White game.
Main Image: Eric Hartline – USA Today Sports
