Ranking The Top 40 Running Backs for Week 1 Fantasy Football

week one is here and you need to know who you should be starting in your lineup well the most important position in fantasy football is the running back position so today we're going to be ranking the top 40 guys to help you with all of your lineup decisions and we're going to be doing it by tier my top tier is right here these four players I think we can tackle this tier all at once and then go one by one for the rest of the players my rankings for this week are bejan then mcaffrey then Bree Hall then Jonathan Taylor and I know some people might say oh it should be Christian mcaffry number one that's fine if you want to put it that way for me personally though I just like the fact that bean has not been injured like Christian mcaffrey who's dealing with a calf and has still not participated in practice as recent as one week ago and even if they're going to say mcaffry will play for this one which he should maybe there's a chance he sees 10% less snaps than he usually would and I like Bean over mcaffry and Bree Hall just because both of those guys are facing each other this week in mcaffrey and Bree Hall in tough matchups the Jets and the San Francisco 49ers probably have coming into the season the top two defensive lines in football you can argue that the Eagles should be up there as well but still some of the top units now overall all these guys are obviously great put them in any order that you want I think we start to actually have a talk in a competition maybe here a little bit when we talk about Jonathan Taylor who I would consider a tier one player for this week and here's why this week Hill faced the Texans he's a slight Underdog but that could lead to some more receptions and the game has a 48 and 1 half point total which is actually one of the higher ones on the week and let's not forget that he's going to come into this game with a healthy Anthony Richardson behind a top five offensive line Jonathan Taylor sets up nicely and by the way last year in this Shane styen offense Taylor over his final five games averaged over 100 yards per game all right now this takes us to tier two where we have Sequon Barkley who's going to play on Friday night this week so I'll go a little bit quicker Because by the time you're watching this he might have already played he'll have a match up against the Green Bay Packers who have a fine defensive line but not the greatest linebackers the Packers are solid in the interior against the run mainly because Kenny Clark is fantastic still below 30 years old he's just been dominating for years as a run stop option but I'm expecting the Giants to know that and boun saquin to the outside the fact that he also has Jaylen Herz handing off some RPO should help him get a little bit more time when those linebackers in defensive ends are hesitating and the place that I actually think saquon's the sneakiest in this game is the passing game his line of set at 18 and 1 half receiving yards for this I already took that over because I think he can take advantage of the Packers linebackers in this matchup now this this is where I assume my rankings will differ from a lot of people because in tier 2 for me I do have Rashad white as my number six overall running back in week one I'm expecting a very large workload and I actually think he has a solid match up quietly this is a very good match up because he's a home favorite three and a half Point favorite against the Washington commanders that have an old defensive line I mean arguably you can say that this is a bottom five defensive line in the league there's a lot of big names on it but they're older like a 34y old linebacker and Bobby Wagner now there is a new offensive coordinator that Rashad white will have this year in Liam colem he doesn't have his same coordinator in Dave Canales who fed Rashad white the second most touches in the league last year but the nice thing about Liam con is he likes to feed his running backs as well last year he fed Ray Davis in college at Kentucky 18 and a half touches per game and two years ago with the Rams once cam Acres got healthy he was averaging 20 touches per game the second half of the season two years ago so I like the upside in this one for Rashad white to be seeing somewhere around 20 touches what I have him projected for about 15 16 carries and around three to four receptions my running back seven for week one is going to be Travis Ean who's just been steady Edy this off season I mean he had a solid off season there's really no threats to his touches even if tank bigs be the running back behind him entering his second year starts to see more snaps and opportunities etan's still going to see nearly 70% of the snaps and now he's going to have a match up against a Miami defensive line that's coming into the air with a lot of injuries you're talking about Bradley chub you're talking about guys recently in Camp battling nagging injuries might not be ready for week one and as a three and a half Point Underdog as you can see right here according to at least DraftKings for Jacksonville that could lead to a couple of more Targets in this game if if Jacksonville is going to have to pass more and the Jags Would Trevor Lawrence and if you get an extra one or two Targets for etan that's going to go a long way now of course my biggest question in this game is also the biggest question I had for etn this offseason and it's right here PFF has Jacksonville as the 23rd ranked offensive line entering the season they lost a lot of pieces to the offensive line this year they're already dealing with multiple injuries entering the season it is definitely a weaker offensive line but it does help that they might be facing a banging up Miami defensive line but still a concern is that o line but etn should win on volume alone over 19 touches per game last year even if that drops a little bit this year and he sees 16 or 17 it makes him a top 10 back for week one all right now we get to my running back eight8 Derrick Henry he plays on Thursday night so I'll be brief because he might have already played depending on when you're watching this I mean this is a guy who last year he led the NFL in carries still despite being older and now he plays for the team that led the entire NFL in carries last year so I think Henry has some pretty good touch upside in this one to see 16 plus touches and he's going to see all the red zone opportunities in this game Lamar Jackson last year only had five carries inside the five yard line all right now I already know this is the guy that you've been waiting for and saying in the comments section you forgot about Jamir Gibbs no jir Gibbs you can argue with me that he's a top five running back this week if you wanted to either way you're starting him but for me I have him as my running back nine and here's the deal this guy has been injured for the past month of the season we don't know what his role is going to be in week one I mean the last time that we got a concrete update about Jamir Gibbs status a couple weeks back was from Jordan Schultz on Twitter and he said that sources say the injury he suffered is not considered to be significant okay we already know that but the team is going to be very cautious with rest in rehab I think this will probably flow into week one because if you're talking about jir gabes not going 100% in practice with a soft tissue hamstring injury and then going 100% in week one there's going to be re injury risk I think instead they might limit his role maybe he'll see 20% less snaps and touches than he normally would because they have a very capable back in David Montgomery in this back field who averaged 80 yards per game for this team last year and was their running back one to start the season oh yeah also had 13 touchdowns everything else for Gibbs looks great though the offensive line is number one in the league his offensive coordinator Ben Johnson's coming back Gibs himself is great but that injury alone is enough to dock him a couple spots you're still starting him though we're still in tier two here with my running back 10 and this is one of my favorite starts on the entire week James Cook is somebody you probably took in like the fourth or fifth round of your fantasy draft he is one of the best he's a top 10 player for me this week at the running back position he has one of the best matchups on the entire week I would actually argue that it is the best matchup on the week first off he's a six-point favorite at home anytime you're a favorite in general for the running back position that's great it might lead to more overall opportunities and his team is projected for 27 points which is up there as one of the top three teams on the week so they're supposed to score a lot more meaning he has a better chance at a touchdown or two but not only that if we pull up the matchup right here he faces the Arizona defensive line that I would argue right now as we're entering the season if they're not the worst defensive line on paper in the league we'll see what happens week one when they actually get on the field and they're definitely a bottom three unit so a nice match up for running lanes and this is a guy in cook who is kind of disrespected finished top five in rushing yards last year over 1100 rushing yards over 400 receiving yards this guy finished top five in total yardage last year nearly 1,600 total yards and it's like nobody even cares and he's going to be on oh yeah another top five offense this year in Buffalo based on what they're projected for points wise in 2024 so it's a six-point favorite with a high team total and a good matchup you're starting James Cook he's a top 10 player this week of course now before we get into my next tier of players and there's a ton of guys who you probably don't think you should be starting but you definitely need to be I just want to let you know about the fantasy blueprint a lot of you already have it actually 15,000 of you already have it but here's the deal if you want the fantasy blueprint which comes with every single tool you need during the week w wire tiers rankings projections matchup notes for every single fantasy player and more well all you got to do is click the link in the description below and then you can get the blueprint risk-free this year if you sign up through one of our two partners they'll be linked up on this page and now what does that mean s risk-free means it's a onetime payment of $10 when you sign up through our partners and if you don't make your fantasy PLS I refund that one time payment of $10 again over 15,000 people have access to this you can too with the QR code on the screen that are the tools that I use in all my leagues as well or you can click the link in the description below to get access to that and I have to let you know that one of those Partners is Underdog and they do have this free pick of a half a total yard for Travis Kelce for Thursday 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no matter which day you're signing up and the blueprint again go get it linked down below with the QR code on the screen all right we're close to finishing up tier two it's a big tier and we're going to go to the veteran Joe Mixon who's going to make his debut with the Texans against a Colts defensive line that you can win against look I won't lie on paper the Colts defensive line is good but they do have some younger players that might actually be better as the year goes on so if you're going to face this team at least week one is probably the time for mixing to see them he'll see them again since they're in the division later on in the year but it honestly doesn't matter he's going to be out there in all situations the veteran is trusted in passing down situations the Red Zone and to pass protect as well so Mixon he's a solid just workload guy he makes his way into the top 12 and rounding out my top 12 and the final guy in tier 2 for us is Kenneth Walker who is going to be the lead back on a Seahawks offense that could be ascending this year with a new play caller and Ryan grub there now Walker's already averag in his first two NFL seasons 1200 yards per year and he should see some more passing game usage with Ryan grub in this offense grub wants to throw the ball more but I'll be honest with I'm concerned about this Seahawks offensive line because look at this right here they lose will dley that's a very he's not an offensive lineman but he's a very good blocking tight end Damen Lewis and and Evan Brown those are guards who were big pieces for them on the interior they tried to replace him in free agency and the NFL draft but that's going to be a big question mark this was not a great unit last year and they lost some of their uh let's just say most established starters on that offensive line in key pieces like a tight end will dley so I'm a little bit concerned as the year goes on and in this matchup for that offensive line we start off tier three with Isaiah Peko my number 13 ranked running back for this week is a clear Workhorse for Kansas City I know that some people are concerned right now with what's happening in terms of the samaji perion signing this signing right here that pan is expected to sign with the chief's practice squad and I assume that he'll be activated for this game and playing in this game right away week one even though he was picked up a little bit later maybe there's some limitations for week one which would help us but overall this is Isaiah Peko who he himself was a solid pass Catcher And also pass protector last year which is the whole reason you would bring in per Ryan who's just an older less explosive back I'm not too concerned about Peko losing a massive role to Peron and to start the season off I think fresh peo is going to see at least 16 touches behind a top 10 offensive line in this great Chief's offense yeah we like that now we go to my running back 14 we're in tier three here with Josh Jacobs who does play on Friday night and look this is going to be a guy who probably sees a massive workload for the Packers to start the year because AJ Dylan's done for the year and Marshon Lloyd the third round rookie is dealing with a hamstring injury even if he's able to play which I don't think he will it probably won't be much but this is not a good match up by any means for Josh Jacobs Josh Jacobs finds himself behind a Packers offensive line that is not as good as it has been maybe the last three or four years and he finds himself in a match up against the Eagles who PFF has as the third third best defensive line entering the season we know that they ended up losing aan reic but they get it right back in that deal or really the offseason transaction a Bryce Huff they have great players along their defensive line as well like Jaylen Carter we talked about Bryce HFF as well this is just a spot where I really don't want to be testing too much Josh Jacobs obviously you drafted him probably in the third hopefully not the second but third or fourth or fifth rounds of your draft so you're starting him here but this could be a brutal matchup if he doesn't get involved in the passing game but the good news for Jacobs is he should see all the red zone Touches at the position and he should maybe see three to five Targets in this game by running back 15 was was the most dynamic running back in football last year and that's Devon aain who comes into this week actually as an underdog which maybe he'll get a little bit of receptions he had 27 catches in just 10 games last year which is a nice number a Chain LED all running backs and fantasy points per opportunity last year in this offseason he's reportedly put on more muscle which should only help him stay healthier when he's taking on those big hits from linebackers and defensive ends and he'll have a really good match up he's a home favorite ATT tribute a higher scoring game over 49 some spots 50 points projected for this one it's like top three in points projected for the week so should be a nice fantasy environment against a Jaguars defensive line that outside of Josh uh Allen and maybe Eric Armstead there's really not much on this defensive line in my opinion there's a lot of question marks in my opinion against the run it's probably not going to be a great unit which helps this whole Miami offense in aan I'm sorry I said aan I know there's going to be commenters saying all that it's a Chan if you want it to be a Chan H Chan whichever one it's been said both ways now this one might get some people going as to why he's not higher my running back 16 is Kyon Williams this week and honestly it has nothing to do with this punt return thing I think it increases his injury Risk by like 5% if he Fields 15 punts this year and returns them I don't really think he's going to be the returner all season this is not why I'm putting him as 16 overall because I still believe that Shawn McVey trusts him in All situations that's what he said all off season and Kyon Williams was great as a pass protector a pass Catcher in The Red Zone all those situations last season and I'm already expecting a a reduction in snaps last year Williams led the NFL playing 86% of the snaps now third round pick and a great College running back from Michigan the last three years and Blake corm is there so yeah I do think that uh kirn's probably going to go down to 65 70% of the snaps corm sees somewhere between 30 and 40% most weeks my bigger concern for Kiron this week is that he's a road Underdog against a lions defensive line that is one of the best units in football in my opinion entering the season that defensive line is going to be very difficult to run against it was difficult to run against last year they brought back a lot of pieces they improved their defense in the secondary as well so that can make it even just harder for an offense to move and sustain drives in general I do think it opens up the pass catching game role for kir and week one he's very close to being a top 12 back for me but he falls outside as my RB 16 overall based on projections Alvin Kamar is my running back 17 the guy was not efficient last year but he just has no competition but seconde player kendre Miller starting the season on the pup list all he has is Jamal Williams taking touches away from him which is an inefficient back over 30 years old look I don't think that Alvin Kamar is going to be lights out that's why he's only my running back 17 because look last year he was pretty terrible in this on this offense and then they did change their play callor but not a lot of their personnel on offense so you're probably going to see a similar role just 3.8 yards per carry 4.5 yards per touch not great he relied on a lot of checkdowns but here's the biggest problem you're going to see this week this offensive line for the Saints is terrible PFF has them as their 32 ranked unit ENT during the season I'd say that makes a makes a lot of sense they're up there probably with the Patriots I would say they're a worse unit than the Patriots and during the season and dealing with some injuries as well losing Ryan RAM for the entire season is a massive blow to an already bad unit it's not the spot that you want to be now he is a favorite so maybe sees a couple extra carries he does have a nice match up against the Carolina Panthers outside of like Derek Brown in the interior there's not many Run Stop threats on this team especially now that Brian Burns is no longer on the team now a member of the New York Giants so the matchup is what helps Kamar the fact that there's not a overall big change in person else so you could still see some dump offs and the bad offensive line could lead to more dump offs in the passing game he's a top 20 back we're still in tier three here with my running back 18 and it's Aaron Jones as long as he's healthy this season most weeks he's going to be a top 20 to top 24 back but I really don't like his week one match up now it should be a close game here you can just see a one-point spread but he's going to have to go on the road against a Giants defensive line that we talked about Brian Burns just leaving the Panthers Brian Burns is now on this Giants defensive line there's dexer Lawrence there as well this is one of the top defensive lines and is going to be very difficult to run against now the good news for Aaron Jones is he actually has a solid offensive line if you're talking about the Vikings offensive line one of the most underrated units Christian Dera is one of the best left tackles that you're going to find the best tackles over all you're going to find in football and then they also still have Brian O'Neal who's a very good right tackle now their guards which is their interior is a little bit sketchy Jones will have to win by getting to the outside which is probably what they're going to want to do with his skill set anyways so Aaron Jones entering week one because of the quality offensive line he's behind and since it's the first week of the season and he's actually healthy he's a top 20 back my running back 19 in tier three is David Montgomery and we kind of already talked about him from the beginning I think we're going to see an increase roll week one against the Rams which is a decent to a great matchup in my opinion because of the fact that jir Gibbs is not going to be 100% that's at least my opinion even if it's a 10 to 20% dip that directly benefits David Montgomery that's why he gets into my top 20 but that's not all because as I mentioned they're facing the Rams as home favorites for David Montgomery which is very good news and this Rams defensive line used to be known as like oh this great defensive line because Aaron Donald's there Aaron Donald is no longer on this unit and because of that there's a lot of question marks and arguably one of the worst defensive lines especially when we get to the red zone that great offensive line of the Lions is going to have a massive Advantage this is without a doubt the biggest offensive line versus defensive line advantage on the entire week in my opinion the Lions o line versus the Rams D line that's going to help David Montgomery now my running back 20 and my final guy in tier three is going to be James Conor who's been one of the most consistent running backs in football the last two seasons having a top five finish towards the end of the year last year those final seven games in fantasy for James Conor now he opens week one against the bills defensive line that doesn't have a lot of standouts especially now that Matt Milano their linebacker one of the best linebackers in the NFL is banged up and hurt but the downside is he's a Sixpoint Underdog he's a six-point Underdog which means maybe a couple less carries instead of a 16 carry game might only be 10 to 12 but it should lead to a couple of more receptions for James Conor who the last two seasons has been a very capable pass catcher and productive in the pass catching game especially when breaking tackles so for this week I'm projecting 15 Touches for Connor with some touchdown upside and passing game upside which means he's a top 20 back now we start tier four and it's my running back 21 Jerome Ford the Browns clear running back one with Nick chub on the pup list going to miss at least four games and look this is going to be a tough defensive line in the Cowboys a lot of people already know that they have Micah Parsons they have Demarcus Lawrence but those are guys in the pass rush game against the run you can get a little bit more benefit especially when you're running behind a quality offensive line like the Browns are and Jerome Ford for this week PFF has this unit now that they're actually healthy had injuries to Wyatt terer was their biggest injury and also jedric Willis last year they're actually healthy this is a top five unit which should only help neutralize that really good defensive line from the Cowboys the Cowboys have a lack of linebackers which helps Ford and his own lack of competition helps him to see maybe 16 to 18 plus touches in this one behind a top offensive line he has top 10 upside this week start him in all your leagues if you drafted him and you should also be starting my running back 22 in tier four and that's going to be the veteran Deon Singletary who's the running back one from the for the Giants after seeing nearly $10 million in guaranteed money this off season and now he's paired back up with really no competition with Brian dble his former coach during their time together in Buffalo and this is a tweet I put out earlier in the offseason this data is courtesy of PFF and Nate yonke dein single played 88% of the starter snaps in the Giants preseason game and handled all 10 of the carries with the first team offense look this guy is the clear running back one now that's a small sample of about 20 snaps that he played but that's still like half of a game's worth of snaps where he was the rb1 playing 88% of the snaps he sees anywhere near that usage week one he's going to definitely be needed in your starting lineup and just keep in mind this is a veteran that Brian D his former coach does trust in all situations is going to put him on the field especially week one over his competition a fifth round picking Tyron Tracy there's a good chance for 20 plus touches week one for Devon Singley and maybe good Chan is in the right word there are 20 touches is a lot but there's actually a route to him seeing 20 plus touches I have't projected for 16 this week so yeah there's a good chance you could see 20 now my running back 23 takes me to Naji Harris who I really wanted to get close to being a a top 20 pick or a top 20 player either way I think you should be starting him week one because his backfield running mate Jaylen waren one very high on this year is coming off of a hamstring injury like a Jamir Gibbs and might be limited meaning more potential work for Naji Harris and nii has a beneficial matchup even though he's on the road as an underdog he's going to be facing the Falcons who have an older defensive line they kind of have a lot of question marks along that defensive line and I think the Steelers offensive line has a massive run blocking advantage and even pass blocking advantage in this one the only reason why Naji Harris doesn't get into my top 20 is the overall offensive environment isn't great the projected to only score like 18 points this week which means less opportunities for a touchdown for Naji Harris now for my running back 24 in tier four it's R Andre Stevenson look I really don't want to be starting any Patriots players at this point in the year like maybe when Drake May starts to play later in the season they'll be more exciting but behind this terrible offensive line that their own head coach Gerard Mayo said that they might not have their starters or starting starting tackles or guards on the team yet like a week before the season that's not encouraging look don't get me wrong I like the fact that amandre Stevenson is still just 26 years old and that he's a bigger back at 230 pounds you can see right here on player profiler who can break tackles and catch passes and is a full red zone back like that's all the great things we want for Fantasy but then you look at the fact that his team is an eight and a half Point Underdog this week against a Cincinnati Bengals team and that's not great you might see less carries maybe you see a couple of more pass catching opportunities but don't forget Antonio Gibson is now on this team a former wide receiver in college who's been a great pass catcher coming off of a career-high year in receptions last year with the commanders Gibson could be sneaking in a little bit more and that hurts the upside of Stevenson I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think he's going to see like 12 to 14 touches which makes him and a red zone upside on this offense which makes him a top 24 back barely for me but if you have a better option maybe start that wide receiver or other player instead my running back 25 is up in tier four and that's DeAndre Swift who I assume he's going to be the week one starter after being paid this off season but in the preseason we saw some Wonka usage where CLE Herbert was seeing some playing time over him now that could just be them trying to give kle Herbert some more snaps for an opportunity to maybe they were trying to trade him or still are trying to trade him we'll see week one I think it's going to be the Andre Swift though there's also some chatter that Swift was dealing with some minor injuries which would explain things now he's going to be a favorite a home favorite week one and which should be a good Bears offense against the Titans defensive line that outside of Jeffrey Simmons there's not a lot to worry about so basically Jeffrey Simmons is on the interior for the Titans on that defensive line so if you run to the outsides which is kind of DeAndre Swift's game anyways he should be fine it also helps that the Bears had a quality offensive line last year that should be better this year due to their young tackles in Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright now the real concern for Swift comes down to what happens with the CLE Herbert usage also the fact that Roshan Johnson is there on this team as well might come in on some passing down situations and in pass protection so there's two other running backs and Caleb Williams like we saw in the pre-season can create with his legs which if he steals a rushing touchdown or even just 15 to 20 rushing yards instead of checking it down all these things do hurt Swift that's why he's outside of my top 24 backs all right now we're kicking off my tier five of my running back 26 it's the NFL touchdown leader from last year on the Miami Dolphins that is rahee moart but of course last year was an outlier season we can't just expect mostart to again have all that touchdowns one more than one per game at age 32 now and at least myself I'm expecting a couple more touches per game for hopefully a bigger Devon a chain who's going to hold up more and be more durable and the team drafted a fourth rounder in Jaylen Wright who looked great in the preseason actually sat in their final preseason game showing that he is maybe not a priority but very much involved going to be involved on this offense he led all of college football an explosive run rate last year so if these guys are more involved in the offense this season means less snaps touch outs less snaps touches and touchdown opportunities for most start this season he's outside my top 24 backs for week one now my running back 27 is one that I really like this week because he's available on like 50% of Waiver Wires and it's chuba hubard who's going to be the running back one to start the season for the Carolina Panthers with their second round rookie Jonathan Brooks out and on the pup list for the first four weeks he's going to miss at least and hubard should remain on the field in most situations like my sanders will come on maybe for some passing down situations but hubard is capable in that area in the red zone to pass protect as well and he's behind an upgraded offensive line chuba hubber also gets a quality match up against the Saints defensive line that is not the Saints defensive line from like three or four years ago yes they still have quality linebacker play but along that defensive line it's gotten older and it's it's dealt with its own injuries and the talent just not there as much I think that this offensive line very quietly of the Panthers is actually going to have a beneficial matchup in the trenches against the Saints defensive line and here's just a note and a reminder last season during his final seven games hubard was a top 10 back in fantasy football my running back 28 in tier five is going to be zamir white who a lot of people might have thought was going to be in my top 20 a lot of people like taking him in like the sixth or seventh round of your fantasy draft but week one this is not great this is not a great situation at all like don't get me wrong the match up against the Chargers is fine their defensive line yes it has some big names on it like Bosa but overall this is not a and Khalil Mack but this is an aging defensive line Bosa is dealing with injury overall it's not one that's going to worry me you can run on them last year you can run on them this year but here's the concern for this overall game we know the Chargers want to run the ball we know the Raiders want run the ball if they're going to run the ball a lot it's going to mean less plays and a a slower pace of play and less overall plays in general so now we're looking at a situation where maybe Z zamir white is only seeing like one or two Targets and maybe only 12 carries in this game if the offense isn't as great as we think it doesn't get to the Red Zone a lot so it's a situation where it's really hard to get a good projection on zamir white for week one it starts to turn into if he's not scoring a touchdown it's probably a 13 carry game even if he has a nice game 70 yards or so you're looking at 8 n fantasy points if you add it in a reception that's tough running back 29 is going to be from the Tennessee Titans and that is Tony per who's going to have a tougher matchup in week one because here's the deal he's facing a Bears defensive line that's a top 10 unit entering week one and they have two of the best linebackers probably the best maybe the best linebacking Corp in the entire NFL the 49ers are up there as well but you're talking about TJ Edwards and Tain Edmond this is a brutal match up for the Titans RB now Pard should be the week one starter seeing you know 60% of the snaps or so but don't be shocked if right away week one like they've been saying all off season the head coach here and Brian Callahan the new coach of the Tennessee Titans don't be shocked if this team splits the backfield evenly between him and Spears and then you have the concern that although they did add a first round tackle in JC Lam they do have Peter scaroni a young player on that offensive line the o line in general is a little bit of a concern brutal matchup week one for them for my running back 30 and my final player in tier five before we get into tier six is going to be javante Williams who Javon Williams this week it's really tough for him to get in through anything higher it's honestly surprising he got in my top 30 and not like 36th overall it just says more about the guys behind him than javante skill set to be ranked this highly quote unquote because he's a six-point Underdog this week it's going to be against some quality Seahawks linebackers as well it's just not the best spot the week now since he's a six-point Underdog maybe you see a couple more checkdowns for Javon Williams in this offense with a new quarterback B knck who was known for checking it down in college but there's also a real good chance that javante loses those checkdown snaps to julil mlin who was a top 10 running back in yards per touch in explosive play rate last year and is known as being a very good scat back and somebody who can catch passes and his own head coach Shawn Payton seems to love Julio mofy now I do think gavon Williams has nice touch-ups side for this week maybe 12 to 14 touches but I start to get a little bit skittish when we see how many points are the Broncos going to score how sustained or how good are their Drive is going to be and then is he going to lose snaps to the guy that we mentioned right here Angelo mofin when it comes to those valuable passing down situations so he's my rb30 now before we get into these final few tiers that will really help you sort out your Flex spots I want to let you know that nearly 70% of you are not subscribed to this channel this is the most important time of the year for our YouTube channel hit that subscribe button if you're not already subscribed my goal is to get this closer to 50% by the end of the year I know you watching your TV your tablet you're in the car whatever it might be but just take two seconds here it takes that's all it takes 2 seconds hit that subscribe button it really goes a long way so if you find this helpful hit subscribe we start off tier six with both Bengals running backs I have at rank Chase Brown and then Zach Moss that's how I would start them in that order they're 31 and 32 for me I think this back field to start the season is going to be pretty close to like an even split but as the year goes on I think the more talented and explosive running back and that's going to be pretty obvious will be Chase Brown who was already a top 10 running back in yards per touch last year and was an explosive player on his limited touches compared to Zach Moss who wasn't Zach Moss can get you three and a half four yards per carry was not a good running back the final 10 to 12 games of last year was actually one of the least efficient backs in the NFL and if you're just reading the between the lines it seems like all the hype coming out of Camp especially from his own head coach Zack Taylor for Chase Brown is that this guy looks legit he looks to part he is an explosive weapon who can now pass protect he should start to see more usage right away week one and as the year goes on now for my running back 33 in tier six and that's Rico Dole who look despite Dalvin cook signing to the Cowboys I'm not concerned at all about this this is still the RICO do backfield because we can't honestly be serious about dvin Coke who's now 29 years old continues to battle his chronic shoulder injuries was terrible last year one of the least efficient backs in all of football as you can see right here let's scroll down to it last season during his time with the Jets just 3.2 yards per carry 64th amongst all running backs now he's another year older dealing with even more shoulder injuries last season and here's the deal he's only on the practice squad as of this recording even if he gets elevated to the active roster I'd be more shocked I I I would more likely see him only see one to zero carries or zero to one carries than seeing like five six or more I don't think he's going to be impactful and then you could also make of this what you will but coach Peak index had Mike McCarthy quoted just a couple of days ago saying that there's going to be a lesser role for Reco battle on special teams because of the workload that we need to focus on he's a complete running back plays all three Downs that's important they view this guy Rico do and Mike McCarthy has been saying this for years about Rico do the last two years actually in preseason the dude can pass protect and catch passes he's going to be on the field not dvin Co running back 34 we're starting to get into those nitty-gritty Flex opportunities and who you're starting over who by the way we're going to have the wide receiver video out tomorrow it might already be out depending on the time that you're watching this the top 40 wide receivers for week one but running back 34 is Gus Edwards who look he's going to be playing for the Chargers so that's beneficial they want to run the ball and he's a home favorite against the Raiders who do have a quality defense but the Chargers offensive line has three first round picks on it now so this is going to be a spot including top five overall pick Joe Alt from this year's NFL Draft out of Notre Dame one of the best tackle prospects we've seen in a while this offensive line should be able to hold up and find some running lanes for Gus Edwards I mean you're looking at this offensive line having Zion Johnson Joe alt and also ver Sean Slater some great tackles and overall offensive line play now of course there's going to be other running backs involved in this backfield I do think that Gus Edwards based on the money he was paid this off season and his veteran presence and health based on compared to JK Dobbins thus ever should be the guy to Le lead this backfield in the Red Zone see 13 14 15 carries I do think Dobbins will be involved Kaman vial I'm not expecting to really be involved much week one at least so I'm expecting a nice matchup uh their home favorites 15 carries for Gus Edwards maybe touchdown upside makes him a top 36 pack my running back 35 will be Brian Robinson Jr who in my opinion is the pretty clear early down back on this team compared to his backfield running mate in Austin Eckler and last year as recent as last year this guy was top 10 in yards created per touch he was Dynamic last year now he's another year into his prime I think Brian Robins is a quality start this week and now he faces a Buc defensive line that honestly has some Boomer bust Talent on their line they have some younger players who if they take a step forward this year it could be a quality defensive line but right now there's a lot of question marks there's some aging Talent as well on it so I do think week one could be an interesting spot especially with a mobile quarterback in Jaden Daniels for Brian Robinson to have one of those 14 carry 70 yard games a reception or two and then you hope he finds the end zone makes him a top 36 back now we start off tier s with my running back 36 and it's Jaylen Warren look most weeks he's going to be a top 30 if not a top 25 back for me but since he's coming back from his hamstring week one they say he's going to play but maybe they'll limit him 10 to 20 to 30% of his normal role which is why he's dropping a little bit but still a flex option he'll have the same match up as Naji Harris we talked about earlier against an aging Falcons defensive line that has like Ellis is like their their best linebacker who I would say is above average but outside of that not a ton to worry about here in terms of run stop and we know Warren's electric he's going to win the passing game as well and I should mention he's going to be an Arthur Smith's offense that's probably going to run 50% of the time which should lead the week one plays overall and he's going to be in a Revenge game Arthur Smith if you will against uh his former team in the Falcons and then also it's going to be a top 10 offensive line that Jaylen Moren runs behind overall a nice environment the only concern is that hamstring week one if they limit him next up in tier s is my running back 37 it's Taj Spears we mentioned everything earlier about this spot a bad offensive line we talked about with Tony Pard it's a tough offensive line here it's a really difficult match up against a Bears defensive line in linebacker core that's great it's just going to be a mismatch but the nice thing for Taj Spears he's explosive he also wins in the passing game last season as a rookie he ranked fifth in explosive run rate 13th in Fantasy Point points per touch and was top 10 in yards per touch he's a flex option this week my running back 38 is Zack shanet look this guy's a clear running back two on his team so that's not great there's not a ton of upside from that regard he never had more than 10 touches in a game where Kenneth Walker was healthy last year but the one thing he does have going for him it's a new coaching staff we talked about Ryan grub earlier wants to use the passing game more and Zach shanet is a quality pass catcher maybe sees a couple extra Targets in this one the other point that's beneficial is he's a six-point home favorite so maybe later on in this game if indeed the Seahawks are up by maybe multiple scores in the fourth quarter you get Kenneth ER coming off the field for a drive or two and you get a couple extra carries for Zach sbonet again that's not likely that it'll be a blowout but there's at least a chance since they are six-point favorites for an extra one to two to three Touches for charnet and if you're looking at this point in your rankings he's a decent option at that my running back 39 is Austin ekler look it's really difficult to rank him any higher than this because o Brian Robinson you can see right here we talked about Robinson earlier is just going to be the early down back and might even see some third down situations in terms of pass protection and pass catching because Eckler's 29 is coming off of a Down year and at this point it's really hard to see his upside because not only is Brian Robinson there on the early Downs like we said and maybe on just all Downs in general there's also jadden Daniels who's a mobile quarterback and he's not going to check down to his running backs as much as a pocket quarterback he's going to take off and run he didn't check down to his running backs really at all in college last year at LSU and that hurts Eckler if you're not seeing the early Downs you're probably not seeing a lot of the red zone or any of the Red Zone usage and you're not seeing as many checkdowns where do you get your points try and find somebody else here and my Running Back 40 to close things up here is Blake corm who I just think is a very talented player in a game where there should be a lot of points against the Lions Between the Lions and Rams it is a brutal match up against the Lions defensive line we talked about that earlier with Kym Williams but if he's going to see 30 to 40% of the snaps and we're back down in this range where we're talking about backups he's one of the higher end backups in a good offense my entire takeaway for Blake corm here is it's a talented player if he plays 30 to 40% of the snaps and sees six to 8 to 10 touches I'll take that compared to a lot of other guys that start to creep into this range but ideally you maybe have a better receiver to start over him for week one so there you go these are my top 40 running backs for week one I can't believe we made it the most important position for Fantasy that should help you out with all your starting lineup and your Flex options for week one and by the way like I said the wide receiver video will be coming out right over here it'll pop up once it's out it'll be coming out tomorrow if it's not out YouTube will put another video up here for you to check out for the waiver wire this week which is very important before week one believe it or not so be sure to check out these videos on the screen right now I appreciate you all a ton go get those free plays on Underdog in the fantasy blueprint and I'll see you all in the next one