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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs for Week 3

How high does Ekeler fly in this weeks’ running back rankings?

By NHB
NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at Detroit Lions Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Austin Ekeler is locked-in as Top 5 running back who’s here to stay. Ezekiel Elliott’s got a shot to post his best performance of the season this week against Miami. What won’t Derrick Henry do against the division rival, Jacksonville Jaguars? And is Aaron Jones back in the RB1 mix?

Week 3 RB Rankings

Rank Running Back Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
Rank Running Back Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
1 Ezekiel Elliott DAL MIA The Miami Bump gets Elliott to overall RB1
2 Dalvin Cook MIN OAK Fantasy's overall RB2 retains his spot.
3 Christian McCaffrey CAR at ARI Look for CMC to get back on track against a workable Cards' defense. With Cam Newton likely Out, expect the running back's touches to go up while his efficiency goes down.
4 Austin Ekeler LAC HOU Fantasy's overall RB1 is a matchup-proof Top 5 running back.
5 Saquon Barkley NYG at TB 20 or so touches should be enough to remain in the Top 5. Eli's play is catastrophic though and the TB front-seven looked good last week.
6 David Johnson ARI CAR A healthy wrist and a date with the generous Panthers run-defense bodes well for DJ's Week 3 production.
7 Alvin Kamara NO at SEA Expect the Saints to lean heavily on their featured back for the duration of QB Drew Brees' absence.
8 Nick Chubb CLE LAR Although backup RB D'Ernest Johnson was on the field for a surprising 39% of Cleveland's offensive snaps, Chubb still saw 22 total touches and looked great with the ball in his hands.
9 Derrick Henry TEN at JAX Fantasy's overall RB3/RB3/RB4 in Standard/.5 PPR/PPR remains a locked-in RB1 against a discombobulated Jaguars' defense.
10 Le'Veon Bell NYJ at NE Similar to Kamara, Conner, and CMC, expect Bell to see 25+ inefficient touches that keep him in the Top 12.
11 Chris Carson SEA NO New Orleans will be unable to push the pace without Drew Brees, setting the table nicely for a Chris Carson-based game plan for Seattle.
12 Aaron Jones GB DEN The Broncos defense has been surprisingly charitable to running backs thus far. This is Aaron Jones', not Aaron Rodgers' offense now that Matt LeFleur is in charge.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s
13 Marlon Mack IND ATL Start your running backs against Atlanta.
14 James Conner PIT at SF Conner is reportedly not dealing with a ligament issue so until we hear otherwise, he's a high-end RB2.
15 Kerryon Johnson DET at PHI Outrageously talented but outrageously underused.
16 Sony Michel NE NYJ Michel's a lock for a rushing score against the banged up Jets' front-seven.
17 Leonard Fournette JAX TEN A tough matchup but the workload will be there for an RB2 finish.
18 Todd Gurley LAR at CLE For good or ill, Gurley's usage increased last week.
19 Mark Ingram BAL at KC Ingram should rumble for 80+ yards and a score on 15, or so, touches.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s
20 Devonta Freeman ATL at IND Ito Smith has stolen a lot of his playing time but the offense overall has underperformed, hurting Freeman in the process.
21 Damien Williams KC BAL Williams should see plenty of work through the air as Kansas City and Baltimore trade blows.
22 Josh Jacobs OAK at MIN A very difficult matchup and a worrisome groin injury drop the bell cow towards the end of the RB2s.
23 Joe Mixon CIN at BUF The theoretical workload is there but a shaky start, a bum ankle, and a bad matchup are all causes for concern.
24 Matt Breida SF PIT Breida turned in an RB2 performance last week but was ultimately a victim of gamescript. While Breida was the lead back and Jeff Wilson Jr. operated as the clear-cut goal-line rusher. Raheem Mostert saw heavy usage as a result of the 49ers getting up early against the hapless Bengals defense.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s
25 David Montgomery CHI at WAS Montgomery's workload significantly improved last week (19 touches). If he receives similar usage against the paper towel Washington run-defense this week, he can easily move into an RB2 finish.
26 Royce Freeman DEN at GB Freeman totalled 16 touches to Phillip Lindsay's 17. Both saw 7 targets in the passing game. Freeman is playing well but is just a flex this week against a stout GB D.
27 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU at LAC A likely high-scoring affair bodes well for Duke's Week 3 touch-opportunities.
28 James White NE NYJ White retains his flex value, no matter the matchup.
29 Phillip Lindsay DEN at GB Given the near even workload, we can't drop the 1B too far from the 1A.
30 Devin Singletary BUF CIN If Singletary and his questionable hammy get the green light, he has RB2 upside.
31 Miles Sanders PHI DET Sanders has operated as the lead back but has been unable to separate himself, from Howard and Sproles, in the box score.
32 Tarik Cohen CHI at WAS Given the soft matchup, it's likely both running backs are able to eat in a flex capacity.
33 Carlos Hyde HOU at LAC Hyde's looked good (at times) in Houston and has been an irritatinly consistent part of the Texans' offensive game plans.
34 Jeff Wilson Jr. SF PIT Given his standalone role in the red zone, Wilson has flex value in a game that the 9ers will score 3-4 times in.
35 Peyton Barber TB NYG A great matchup for the awful bell cow.
36 Chris Thompson WAS CHI Thompson is averaging a whopping 9 targets per game.
Low Floor/Capped Ceiling RB4s
37 Lesean McCoy KC BAL He's like to see 10 or so touches.
38 Rashaad Penny SEA NO Pete Carroll's favorite Seahawk managed to get things going last week.
39 Raheem Mostert SF PIT Mostert is a 2nd-flex option.
40 Malcolm Brown LAR at CLE Gurley's uptick in usage drops Brown's value a bit.
41 Kenyan Drake MIA at DAL The Dolphins may look to showcase their most recent trade block candidate.
42 D'Ernest Johnson CLE LAR Johnson was on the field for 27 of Cleveland's offensive snaps in Week 2.
43 Adrian Peterson WAS CHI Technically Peterson is the starter.
44 Ito Smith ATL at IND Freeman's woes could be Smith's comeuppance.
45 Frank Gore BUF CIN Gore could rumble for another score against the tragic Bengals defense.
46 Latavius Murray NO at SEA Murray's value tumbles with the Saints' likelihood of playing with a lead.
47 Jamaal Williams GB DEN Williams continues to sloth his way into 5-10 touches per game.
48 Rex Burkhead NE NYJ Burkhead should see a little garbage time work.

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