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With Week 1 in the books, it’s time to turn our attention to Week 2. Here are my running back rankings for Week 2.
RB rankings - Week 2
Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | High Floor/High Ceiling |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | High Floor/High Ceiling |
1 | Alvin Kamara | NO | CLE | Unstoppable player, great matchup, featured in all facets of the game. |
2 | Todd Gurley | LAR | ARI | Could easily be this week's RB1. |
3 | James Conner | PIT | KC | The offense ran through Conner and the gameplan should be similar this week. |
4 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | NYG | Great matchup, love the increase in routes run, needs more targets. |
5 | Melvin Gordon | LAC | at BUF | Ekeler usage was higher than desired but Gordon will easily surpass 100 total yards + a TD against paltry BUF D. |
6 | David Johnson | ARI | at LAR | Slight concern with Chase Edmonds touch count, however, short passes to DJ will be necessary this week. |
7 | Saquon Barkley | NYG | at DAL | Barkley should rip Dallas in half. |
8 | Jordan Howard | CHI | SEA | Unquestioned 3-down bellcow against a middling SEA D. |
9 | Kareem Hunt | KC | at PIT | KC will have to involve Hunt in the passing game to win this week's shootout. |
10 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | at ATL | ATL already couldn't stop pass-catching RBs and that was before they lost Keanu Neal and Deion Jones to IR. |
11 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | at GB | No committee here. In line for heavy pass-game usage in what could be a shootout. |
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s | ||||
12 | Joe Mixon | CIN | BAL | Tough matchup but Mixon will be featured in all aspects of the game |
13 | Tevin Coleman | CAR | ATL | With Freeman out, Coleman can easily surpass 20 touches as the featured back in a shootout with CAR. |
14 | Adrian Peterson | WAS | IND | Play all starters who face IND. |
15 | Alex Collins | BAL | at CIN | Locked-in bellcow in a surefire slugfest. |
16 | T.J. Yeldon | JAX | NE | W/ Jags promotion of RB Brandon Wilds to active roster, we assume Fournette is Out. Yeldon locked-in for lead back duties. |
Lower Floor/High Ceiling RB2s | ||||
17 | Jay Ajayi | PHI | at TB | Workload concers but you only need a few touches against TB to produce. |
18 | Dion Lewis | TEN | HOU | Outplayed Derrick Henry last week. TEN will be forced to pass against HOU. |
19 | Lamar Miller | HOU | at TEN | Poached in RZ by Alfred Blue but secure workload between 20s. |
20 | Carlos Hyde | CLE | at NO | Starting RB against the porous NOLA defense. |
21 | Chris Thompson | WAS | IND | Smith quickly showed love for Thompson's receiving prowess. |
22 | Jamaal Williams | GB | MIN | Locked-in RB1 role but workload questions a concern given GB's shotgun offense w/ Rodgers banged up. |
23 | Isaiah Crowell | NYJ | MIA | Ran very well against DET, gets similarly bad MIA run D. |
24 | Marshawn Lynch | OAK | at DEN | Was focal point of early gameplan against LAR. |
Higher Floor/High Ceiling RB3s | ||||
25 | Royce Freeman | DEN | OAK | Have him over Lindsay due to projected gamescript. |
26 | Rex Burkhead | NE | JAX | Featured RB in NE offense, but bad matchup with JAX D. |
27 | Alfred Morris | SF | DET | Good matchup and a gamescript that should allow for ample usage. |
Lower Floor/High Ceiling RB3s | ||||
28 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | at NYJ | Jets D looks like the real deal. Battling Gore for opportunities. |
29 | Derrick Henry | TEN | HOU | Was outplayed by Dion Lewis. |
30 | Chris Carson | SEA | at CHI | Lead RB for SEA but bad situation. |
31 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLE | at NO | Could take over as featured back due to gamescript against NO. |
32 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | LAC | Putrid surrounding cast against a tough Chargers D. |
33 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | BUF | Saw significant work in Week 1. Will likely play frequently in 2nd half against atrocious BUF D. |
34 | Jordan Wilkins | IND | at WAS | Was treated as featured RB initially in Week 1. Gamescript led to Hines usage. |
35 | Matt Breida | SF | DET | Explosive playmaker against a porous defense. |
RB4s | ||||
36 | Philip Lindsay | DEN | OAK | Was the better back against Seattle, expect gamescript to favor Freeman. |
37 | Peyton Barber | TB | PHI | Unfavorable projected gamescript |
38 | James White | NE | JAX | Low floor but high ceiling if NE decides to use frequent dump off to negate JAX pass rush. |
39 | Kerryon Johnson | DET | at SF | My favorite to "lead" the Lions backfield. |
40 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | SEA | Howard is King of the Jungle. Cohen will get the scraps. |
41 | Nyheim Hines | IND | at WAS | Could see work in the 2nd half due to WAS likely pulling ahead. |
42 | Alfred Blue | HOU | at TEN | Need to watch for more goal-line work. Significantly out-touched Miller at the end of '17 season. |
43 | Ty Montgomery | GB | MIN | Could be used more as a pass-catcher out of the backfield to take pressure off Rodgers' and his bad knee. |
44 | Theo Riddick | DET | at SF | Theo Riddick's passing game role, death, and taxes. |
45 | Frank Gore | MIA | at NYJ | The Little Engine That Could. |
46 | Darren Sproles | PHI | at TB | Outplayed Corey Clement in No. 2 RB duties in Week 1. |
47 | C.J. Anderson | CAR | ATL | Could see a handful of touches to spell CMC. |
48 | Latavius Murray | MIN | GB | Murray didn't see much work until the end of last week's game. |
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