Week 1 features 36 running backs that demand fantasy-starter consideration. Hopefully you invested heavily in the position, as mid-to-late round picks Matt Breida, Justice Hill, and sleeper-favorite Dare Ogunbowale are set to have themselves a day. Known quantities like Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey are primed to lead the field overall, but 3rd and 4th-round picks Leonard Fournette and Chris Carson are right behind them — ahead of the showstoppers Le’Veon Bell and Todd Gurley II.
Where does you RB1 rank?
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Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s |
1 | Alvin Kamara | NO | HOU | Kamara takes the top spot as the Saints square off for a smoke show at home against Houston in a game primed to go over 50 total points. |
2 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | LAR | CMC is the new LT -- it'll be Dump-Off City to negate the Rams' D-Line. |
3 | Saquon Barkley | NYG | at DAL | Shurmer will acquiesce to John Mara & Dave Gettleman's wishes and feature their stud RB, even when getting blown out in the 4th. |
4 | Nick Chubb | CLE | TEN | The Browns will live in the Titans' red-zone. Chubb has multi-TD upside. |
5 | James Conner | PIT | at NE | Despite the stout defenses, this game has major shootout potential. Conner's the real deal and is a locked-in passing game weapon. |
6 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | ATL | Dan Quinn schemes his defense to allow passes to running backs -- feast on them all year long. |
7 | David Johnson | ARI | DET | The Prodigal Son returns in Kliff Kingsbury's newly installed offense. |
8 | Leonard Fournette | JAX | KC | This is the week that Fournette announces his presence as a true 3-down back, as Jacksonville tries to keep pace with KC. |
9 | Chris Carson | SEA | CIN | Cincinatti's defense won't know what hit them. If the rumors are true about Schotty learning how to throw to RBs, the sky is the limit. |
Theoretical High-end RB1s | ||||
10 | Le'Veon Bell | NYJ | BUF | A tough defense and an unknown offense puts Bell in shaky territory. If he's featured, he's a no-problem RB1. |
11 | Todd Gurley II | LAR | at CAR | Gurley should be as 100% as he'll ever be in Week 1. Expect 15-18 highly efficient touches. |
12 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | NYG | Even on 20-25 snaps, Zeke can easily rack up 15+ touches and close the Week as an RB1 against the Giants. |
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s | ||||
13 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | at MIN | 20 touches against a tough opponent drops Freeman to the premier RB2 slot. |
14 | Mark Ingram II | BAL | at MIA | Ingram will feast against Miami's nonexistent defense. |
15 | Joe Mixon | CIN | at SEA | Usage and talent keep Mixon in the mix as a top-end RB2 against a tough Seattle run-defense. |
16 | Kerryon Johnson | DET | at ARI | Workload questions abound but the matchup is too good for Johnson to fail. |
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s | ||||
17 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | IND | The Chargers' 1A is a rock-solid RB2. |
18 | Sony Michel | NE | PIT | Michel can be safely pencilled in for 80 yards and a score on most weeks. |
19 | David Montgomery | CHI | GB | Matt Nagy can't wait to show off his new toy. |
20 | Aaron Jones | GB | at CHI | He'll have his work cut out for him but should see 18+ touches. |
21 | Josh Jacobs | OAK | DEN | Usage keeps Jacobs afloat against a brutal Denver defense. |
22 | Matt Breida | SF | at TB | Breida ends up running as the featured back as SF is forced to throw to keep pace in this surefire shootout. |
23 | Duke Johnson Jr. | HOU | at NO | Duke will be featured in a high-scoring affair at the race-track-Super Dome on Monday night. |
24 | Royce Freeman | DEN | at OAK | Freeman rumbles for 75+ and a score against a bad Oakland defense, running as the 1A in Shanahan-disciple-Rich Scangarello's new-look offense |
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s | ||||
25 | Tevin Coleman | SF | at TB | The nominal lead back will eat too. |
26 | Miles Sanders | PHI | WAS | Being a rookie, Sanders will have to wrestle touches away from Jordan Howard but he's like to see 15 or so against a weak Washington Football Team. |
27 | Derrick Henry | TEN | at CLE | A terrifying CLE front keeps Henry as his 20+ touches at the back-end of his normal RB2 range. |
28 | Marlon Mack | IND | at LAC | Mack is in line for 18 or so touches behind a dominant offensive line, albeit against a downright scary defense. |
29 | Latavius Murray | NO | HOU | The only question for this matchup is "How many points won't be scored?". |
30 | Damien Williams | KC | at JAX | Williams should still lead this backfield and the KC lead back is an excellent option as a high-end flex. |
31 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | at OAK | Lindsay's in line for a Falcons'-style Tevin Coleman workload of 10-12 highly efficient touches. |
32 | James White | NE | PIT | Consider him a low-end RB2 in .5PPR and PPR. |
33 | Darrell Henderson | LAR | at CAR | The new James White. |
34 | Justice Hill | BAL | at MIA | Look for Hill to make the most of his 8-10 touches with his lightning quicks against this bad, bad defense. |
35 | Lesean McCoy | KC | at JAX | Both KC backs will eat in your Flex spot. |
36 | Tony Pollard | DAL | NYG | Pollard should see 8-10 high-value touches, closing out the win. |
Sneaky Boom-Play RB4s | ||||
37 | Dare Ogunbowale | TB | SF | The pass catcher will have to contend with Barber and Jones to start the year but this game could clear 50 points and it'll be a passing game boon. |
38 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | BAL | Drake should see 60% of the backfield work. |
39 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | GB | HC Matt Nagy made it a point to say they'll be using Cohen less this year but he'll still have a defined role in the offense. |
40 | Devin Singletary | BUF | at NYJ | Shady's departure locks Singletary in for 12+ touches. |
41 | C.J. Anderson | DET | at ARI | The big fella's undoubtedly won the heart of HC Matt Patricia. Look for CJA to Establish The Worry over Kerryon Johnson's ceiling. |
Remaining RB4s | ||||
42 | Justin Jackson | LAC | IND | Should take on 1/3 of the backfield work and may rise in the rankings as the week progresses. |
43 | Adrian Peterson | WAS | at PHI | Guice and his shaky knee have been talked up by HC Jay Gruden. The 2-down banger will bang for 2-downs. |
44 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | at SEA | Recently inked a contract much bigger than he is. |
45 | Jordan Howard | PHI | WAS | Could rumble for 50 yards and a score. |
46 | Chase Edmonds | ARI | DET | Could see 5-6 touches in a high-octane offense. |
47 | Ty Montgomery | NYJ | BUF | May need to be bumped to the late RB3 range -- Gase loves him. |
48 | Frank Gore | BUF | at NYJ | Week-in and week-out, this spot belongs to Frank Gore. |