clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 2

Did Derrick Henry parlay his overall RB3 Week 1 finish into surefire Top 12 territory?

By NHB
NFL: Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Our pre-Week 1 questions have been answered. Marlon Mack is out of Flex territory and firmly in the RB2 range and Le’Veon Bell’s workload is secure. The question about the Chargers backfield is no longer about how much Austin Ekeler will eat into Melvin Gordon’s touches upon the Gordon’s return — it’s about how much Gordon will eat into Ekeler’s touches upon Gordon’s return. And Derrick Henry? He’s a locked-in RB1.

Week 2 RB Rankings

Rank Player Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
Rank Player Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
1 Christian McCaffrey CAR TB CMC has a shot to outscore even the quarterbacks in Week 2, at home against Tampa Bay.
2 Ezekiel Elliott DAL at WAS Although he's smartly being eased back into things, Elliott only needs 18 touches to evesicerate Washington.
3 Alvin Kamara NO at LAR CMC posted overall RB2 and RB1 finishes in Standard and PPR, respectively, against the Rams last week.
4 Saquon Barkley NYG BUF A tough matchup but he's running well and the workload will be there.
5 Dalvin Cook MIN at GB HC Mike ZImmer limited Kirk Cousins to 10 pass attempts in Week 1. It's The Dalvin Cook Show in Minnesota.
6 Le'Veon Bell NYJ CLE The usage -- both volume and implementation -- quieted any pre-Week 1 concerns.
7 Chris Carson SEA at PIT Carson had more touches than Russell Wilson had pass attempts.
8 Mark Ingram II BAL ARI The passing game opens up the running game. Ingram will offer a warm welcome to the Cardinals' porous defense as they travel to Baltimore.
9 David Johnson ARI at BAL Kliff Kingsbury deployed DJ brilliantly as a weapon both through the air and on the ground.
10 Derrick Henry TEN IND Austin Ekeler posted overall RB1 and RB2 finishes in Standard and PPR, respectively, against the Colts last week. Henry's 75-yard screen pass score was a rumbling thing of beauty.
11 Austin Ekeler LAC at DET See Derrick Henry's section and couple it with the fact that dual threat RB David Johson just posted 137 all-purpose yards and a touchdown against the Lions in last week.
12 Nick Chubb CLE at NYJ Cleveland's offensive line was pummeled by the Titans' stout front-seven. Should this be the case against the Jets, Chubb may be dropping to the high-end RB2 ranks.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s
13 James Conner PIT SEA A tough matchup and Pittsburgh's offense sputtered all night against New England. The workload should be there though.
14 Leonard Fournette JAX at HOU Nick Foles missing time hurts Fournette. He looked great though and his dual threat usage was evident. Fournette finished Week 1, tied as the 11th-most targeted running back in the league.
15 Sony Michel NE at MIA Miami's defense is a green light for all significant opposing offensive players. Rex Burkhead severely outplayed Michel in Week 1 though. It's a situation to keep an eye on.
16 Josh Jacobs OAK KC Oakland's offensive focal point should continue to see a high workload as the Raiders play catchup to the Chiefs. The rookie had an outstanding debut on Monday night.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s
17 Marlon Mack IND at TEN Tennessee's defensive front is fearsome but Mack's usage was game flow-independent. He's locked in for 20+ touches behind one of the league's most dominant offensive lines.
18 Matt Breida SF at CIN Breida gets a delicious matchup at Cincinnati, operating as the Niners bell cow with Tevin Coleman and his bum ankle shelved.
19 Devonta Freeman ATL PHI The loss of center Chris Lindstrom is bad news for Atlanta. It's a tough matchup too.
20 Joe Mixon CIN SF Mixon looks to have avoided the dreaded high ankle sprain but it would be unsurprising if he's on a pitch count.
21 Todd Gurley LAR NO Gurley's limited 2019 role has been apparent since he was deemed "healthy" for the last 4-5 games of the 2018 season. He's an effective timeshare lead back now.
22 Aaron Jones GB MIN A very tough matchup -- the usage should be there though.
23 Damien Williams KC at OAK Williams is buoyed by his passing down work, high-volume of snaps, and a great matchup. McCoy handily outproduced him on the ground though.
24 Kerryon Johnson DET LAC Johnson lost significant touches and snaps to C.J. Anderson and J.D. McKissic. Matt Patricia was never to be trusted.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s.
25 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU JAX A tough mathcup for Houston's lead back.
26 Royce Freeman OAK KC The timeshare is real. Freeman outplayed Lindsay in Week 1.
27 Devin Singletary BUF at NYG 4 rushes for 70 yards, 5 catches for 28, and stout pass protecting cannot be ignored.
28 David Montgomery CHI at DEN Montgomery looked phenomenal. Coaching is holding him back.
29 James White NE at MIA White will always be involed but he won't be needed much, past the 1st-half.
30 LeSean McCoy KC at OAK McCoy played well and is in line to receive more work as he learns more pass protection responsibilities.
31 Malcolm Brown LAR NO Brown had a fantasy showing and was given featured work inside of Carolina's 5-yard line. He may need to be higher next week.
32 Latavius Murray NO at LAR Mark Ingram role confirmed.
33 Miles Sanders PHI at ATL Always target dual threat RBs facing the Falcons. Sanders had a touchdown called back last week.
34 Phillip Lindsay OAK KC Lindsay did not have the passing down role locked up and was outplayed by Freeman. He'll see flex-worthy work in Week 2 though.
35 Tarik Cohen CHI at DEN Lining up almost exlcusively as a slot receiver (outside the game's first play where he fumbled his carry), Cohen offers PPR intrigue.
36 Gus Edwards BAL ARI Gus The Bus actually lead the Ravens in rushing attempts last week, operating as the breather-back/closer when the game was safel out of hand. It's possilbe he sees a featured workload in the 4th quarter this week.
Low Floor/Capped Ceiling RB4s
37 Chris Thompson WAS DAL Thompson paced Washington is targets last week.
38 Adrian Peterson WAS DAL Peterson should see some work as a 2-down back. Washington managed to roll Guice back into action before he was ready.
39 Justin Jackson LAC at DET Jackson still holds more of a 1B role rather than a pure backup.
40 C.J. Anderson DET LAC CJA saw more than a third of Detroit's rushing work in Week 1.
41 Rex Burkhead NE at MIA Once this game is safely in the bag, Burkhead -- who played very well in Week 1 -- should takever as the clock-killer.
42 Dare Ogunbowale TB at CAR The Week 1 snaps leader at RB for the Bucs.
43 Alexander Mattison MIN at GB Mattison looked good on his 9 carries last week.
44 Raheem Mostert SF at CIN Expect Mostert to total 8-10 touches against a vulnerable Cincy defense.
45 Gio Bernard CIN SF Bernard should see 10 or more touches as HC Zac Taylor lightens the workload asked of Joe Mixon's injured ankle.
46 Kalen Ballage MIA NE Theoretically, Ballage is the starting running back of an NFL team.
47 Ronald Jones II TB at CAR Jones looked like a completely different player than what we've seen thus far, however, Bruce Arians said he's still behind Barber on the depth chart -- yet both backs were outsnapped by Dare Ogunbowale, per Adam Levitan.
48 Frank Gore BUF at NYG Until he officially is relegated to the No. 2 role, Gore will retain his Mr. Irrelevant running back rankings spot.

In This Stream

Everything you need for NFL Week 2

View all 12 stories

Next Up In Fantasy Football