Top 30 Running Back Rankings For Week 1 Fantasy Football

the good thing about the running back position at this moment in time is that we're currently sitting here really looking at only one real injury the bad news of running backs is there's a lot of open back fields that can easily have two running backs this week so as we go through these top 30 running back rankings for week one it'll be important to keep that in mind starting out with our first guy here obviously Christian mcaffry is going to top the list at number one he's taking on the New York Jets this week now he's the only guy that really has concerns with injury I guess and even then it's not really a concern from what I'm seeing the Christian mcaffry Saga has been played slow played really to Perfection by the 49ers as they've been extremely cautious with his injury so to not reinjure because it's not like this guy needs actual training camp time or actual preseason time this is a proven veteran who is an elite player for the San Francisco 49ers so they're trying to ensure nothing else happens to him from everything I've seen he looks to be ready to go and even though the Jets defense is strong it's Christian mcaffrey we're talking about so so at number two I've got Bree Hall going up in the same matchup in San Francisco now obviously the matchup here is tougher but the reason I have Bree Hall above a bunch of other guys that I think are in great matchups this week I think that Bree Hall is about to hit the we're going to all recognize that he's an elite player in this league now I think a lot of people kind of know that Bree Hall is an Elite Talent I think everybody knows that he's obviously a top tier running back in fantasy I think what we're going to see from Bree this year is him kind of take that next step towards that Christian mcaffrey maybe had have the torch handed over to him not saying that's this week versus 49ers I'm just saying that's the reason he's number two for me CU I don't really worry about matchup when it comes to Breeze hall now a three and four to round out the first tier I love these matchups Devon hen taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars and saquon Barkley taking on the Green Bay Packers now Devon hen is someone that I've been big on basically all offseason long I get it Raheem Mard is listed as the running back one the reality that people need to know about the Miami Dolphins is that Mike McDaniel the head coach loves a two- running back system this is what he does with the Miami Dolphins two absolute perfection so Raheem moer you'll see him later on this list I just think Devon H and this scheme this game this game the way it goes I think it's going to fit well I think it's going to be one of the highest scoring matchups of the week because neither team really has a great defense and so Devon hent will get a lot of pass catching work and I think that devvon hent is going to be a massive boom play this week now is saquon Barkley haven't been big on saquan all offseason I have him lower my season long rankings this is a good week for saquan I think again with greenbase defense improvements probably have been made with Personnel additions obviously they got a new defensive coordinator we'll see if he works out there I'm still not sold on the Packers defense because I just haven't seen it yet so with a Kell more Leed offense against the Green Bay Packers at home on Friday night I do like sequ on Barkley's upside a lot to get in the end zone maybe once or even twice I'm not going to predict that because I still do think the tush push is a problem but Sequon Barkley against a probably softer defense in my eyes I like Sequon Barkley this week now dropping down to our next tier right here bejan Robinson and James Cook are at five- six here now with bejon Robinson taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers at home this week I really do think that the Steelers are not going to be as great stopping the run as a lot of teams think I think that bejan Robinson is obviously going to have the question mark lingering over him all week how much is Tyler lir involved I don't think it's out of like out of left field that that question is coming about but I just ultimately have more confidence of bean just taking over serious volume and getting in the end zone of the goal line this week against Pittsburgh that I do with some other guys that we'll get to here in a couple tiers now with James Cook here James Cook I think is in a great match up this week James Cook versus the Arizona Cardinals not only do the Cardinals have weak defense I think but we also have to remember James Cook is probably their best weapon as of today I think Dalton concade will rise to be a top weapon in this offense I think he already is I think Keon Coleman eventually probably will rise to be a top Target but we know what we're getting with James Cook James Cook is going to be extremely efficient on the ground and he's also going to get a lot of pass catching opportunities from Josh Allen so Josh Allen James Cook with another year of Joe Brady at coordinator I love love this match up against the Cardinals weaker defense here so when I look at this line on Underdog for him 0.5 rushing plus reception touchdowns and the fact that it's boosted by over 1X this is going to be one that I am going to take advantage of this particular week of fantasy football because like I said I think the weaker defense is going to help him get to this number so if you're as bullish as I am on this one you can join Underdog today using that link in the comments below and when you use code FFN to sign up for Underdog and deposit at least $10 they will give you a 50% deposit match up to $11,000 in free bonus cash and plus you'll get to take advantage of the free Travis Kelce line this week him giving over half a yard obviously that's a great free pick to have now going down to our next guy Travis CN at 7 and jir Gibbs at 8 again Travis etn is a part of this matchup versus the Miami Dolphins I think it's just going to be a fantastic match of this weekend fantasy football and similar to saquon Barkley he's actually up a lot higher than I ranked him during the actual entirety of the season because I think that this week we're going to see a good Travis etn game Travis etn will get pass catching opportunities here in this shootout I do believe and I also do believe that Jacksonville really doesn't have a solid wide receiver option right now Christian Kirk is hurt he may or may not play this week Brian Thomas Jr I think needs some time to evolve into the player he can be and obviously it's going to be Evan Ingram and maybe Christian Kirk so a lot of emphasis will be on Travis etm this week just based out of availability I think so Travis etn I think he has a pretty good game and then with jir Gibbs the guy that a lot of people may have concerns about don't worry jir Gibbs expected to be a full go this week no problems at all and also an opportunity that I love because I think this game could be high scoring against the Los Angeles Rams as well so jir Gibbs just with the upside that he's going to see through the reception totals he'll get plenty of carries to the 20s love jir Gibbs this week now Kiren Williams rounds out this tier at number nine and he taking on the Detroit Lions in Detroit again a part of this high-scoring matchup I think and I think a lot of people will you know fight this ranking and you know say he should be lower or say he should be higher I think there's a we're in a weird position right now with carvon Williams where some people think that the punt returning status is bad for Kiron Williams while me and other people probably think it's not that big of a deal I don't think it's a big deal kyn Williams going to leave this backfield in my opinion and we'll see it against Detroit the only reason he's actually lower for me this week is because I do think the Detroit Lions will have a pretty solid defense in this game now dropping down to our next tier right here Derrik Henry is at 10 and Jonathan Taylor is at 11 so Derrick Henry at the Kansas City Chiefs this week I do I just kind of have a feeling it's sort of like my Mike Evans prediction from the wide receiver video I just kind of feel like Derrick Henry is going to have a good game obviously Derrick Henry is with a much better offense this year with the Baltimore Ravens offensive line a little bit shaky with Baltimore I trust them to to iron this out because they've historically had a good offensive line over the years so I trust that they'll figure it out and I also just think that Derk Henry is uniquely built to continue to be a really good player at this point of his career so I think that Derrick Henry is going to be kind of around this area for a lot of the season and there's going to be weeks where he's HED but the Kansas City Chiefs obviously are really good defense but his opportunity get in the end zone this week I think is going to be there since they'll probably have a couple trips to the red zone now Jonathan Taylor is going to be at 11: here taking on the Houston Texans this week at home so obviously divisional matchup it makes it tougher to really rank him higher than I would like I want to rank Jonathan Taylor higher I would like to but the divisional matchup scares me a little bit and I also think that Houston's defense is going to be really really good this year and I said this on the wide receiver ranking video I still view the Indianapolis Colts offense as a bit of a mystery the reason I do is because when I watched Anthony Bron the preseason he was really shaky it gives me Justin Fields Vibes I think he's a better player than Justin Fields but It ultimately does affect everybody around him including Jonathan Taylor now JT I think will be really efficient but this may not be his best week which is why he's actually lower that I'd like to but obviously you play him now Alvin chimra is at 12 and Isaiah Pacho is at 13 here so with Alvin chimra I think this is going to be a good chamaro week because he's taking on the Carolina Panthers defense which I think could be better this year just because the they were just an organizational disaster last year I think with a stable force with Dave Canalis they get a little more ironed out but obviously they sent away Brian Burns and this defense just looks a little bit weaker overall so I think Alvin chimra gets like seven to eight Targets this week at the very least going to be inefficient on the ground but I do think this is a good Alvin Camaro week to play him right here and then with Isaiah Pacho I actually worry about him in this Baltimore Ravens matchup not only because I think Baltimore is probably going to be the best Fantasy Football defense this year but I also think that there is a legitimate question at this point for me with Clyde oods air he's on the non-f football injury list now so he's going to miss the next four games at least now it's samj perine is number two so what are the chances at some point that samj peran gets more targets at some point in the season I don't know if it's going to happen this week probably not but against the Ravens and just with the Shadow of Doubt I bumped down Isaiah p a little bit now Josh Jacobs is at 14 James Conor is at 15 and Raheem moer is at 16 rounding out this tier and with Josh Jacobs just in this match up versus Philly in Philadelphia against this defense lowers him a little bit for me and there also is news that Marshon Lloyd looks like he probably is going to play this week now do I ultimately think that they're going to give a decent workload for Marshon Lloyd after he's missed basically all offseason probably not this week but Josh Jacobs that think just has better opportunities based on matchups ahead of him and while I do think that Green Bay's offense is going to show everybody their Elite this year probably not the best game for Josh Jacobs in particular because of this strong defensive front now James Connor against Buffalo in this matchup again I think it has potential to be high-scoring I don't love buffalo's defense I probably like them than most people do but I don't love their defense and James Conor was just too like he was so efficient last year he's coming in fully healthy so I just don't see much drop off from last year and I think that just based on him coming in fully healthy right now in this match up against Buffalo where I do see a really healthy workload and pass catching opportunities as well I like James Conor this week quite a bit and then rahem Moser against the Jags love the matchup as I said love the opportunity I just have him lower and probably will for a lot of this season than Devon hen because I believe aan is going to gobble up all the reception work and that's going to be a lot of upside in this offense Raheem Moser repeating the touchdown number from last year tall task but possible and I think that this could be a game where he has a touchdown maybe two so he's got a higher ceiling than this but I don't think his four is quite as high because I do believe that Devon hn will ultimately be the guy this week for the Miami Dolphins here now dropping down to our next tier here I've got Rashad white at 17 and Kenneth Walker at 18 so Rashad white is taking on the Washington commanders this week and I love the match up I think I think it's really really strong matchup Rashad white the ultimate concern for me is how does he respond without Dave Canales Dave Canales the offensive coordinator in Tampa last year now the head coach over in Carolina was really responsible for helping Rashad white break out obviously he gave him tons of volume but even then wasn't very efficient still so he struggles with inefficiency obviously will he get the entirety of the targets because Bucky Irving still is a legitimate question in this offense does he take more Targets this week that's why I've got him lower this week but I do think against Washington high ceiling play now with Kenneth Walker here I probably still too low on him according to many of you in the comment section that's totally fine he's going up against the Denver Broncos look I'm getting more and more on board with the notion that Kenneth Walker's a three- down guy I've seen more and more stuff about it from the offensive coordinator Ryan grub and I do ultimately think that sharpan will have a workload that's really not the problem this week the problem I think is Denver's defense is going to be good this year I think Denver's defense is much better than they were at the beginning of last year and people will start to see it at the start of this year so Kenneth Walker I ultimately think this is a lower scoring game and Vegas thinks so too so I just think Kenneth Walker probably doesn't have as many scoring opportunities this week now David Montgomery is at 19 and my guy chuba Hub is at 20 this week so with David Montgomery here obviously we know the workload is going to be there for him he's going to be getting the goal line work he's going to be getting a lot of carries between the the 20s no reception upside whatsoever so naturally he just doesn't have the upside that jir Gibbs does on a given week but obviously can score better than jir Gibbs on any given week so against this Rams front seven without Ernest Jones at the linebacker position I wonder how good this front seven is going to be especially without Raheem Morris as their DC anymore so I'll be curious to see what this Rams defense looks like and Dave Montgomery obviously has a really high floor and a really high ceiling as well now with chuba hubber here I don't know where everybody else ranks him I don't really care chuba hubard against the New Orleans Saints this week I think people start to see that he's actually going to be a good player right now chuba Hub with Dave Canales I think is going to be a good fit against this New Orleans Saints front seven not exactly the best matchup I'm not going to say it's the best matchup it's a divisional game and New Orleans front 7 pretty pretty strong so not exactly the greatest matchup but the workload is going to be there and I trust in Dave Canal's ability to find ways to get Chu har the ball in space and let him work so I just am big on Chu har this week this is probably not going to be popular among a lot of people but I'm going with my guy chupah Harbor this week now Joe Mixon rounds out this tier at 21 against the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis so with Joe Mixon again you probably want to see him higher than chuba hubard my problem with mix and I've made it clear this guy is 28 years old coming into a new team didn't practice with them all off season so what are we expecting his upside to be right away cuz I know a lot of people think it's high I don't and because Houston last year didn't want to run the ball now obviously they had Damon Pierce and dein single ter for a little bit so it's like neither of those guys are on the level of Mixon as a player but this is going to be a pass first team so I just I struggle with this one because he's Miss time hasn't really been able to play in this system at all I'm not off Joe Mixon but I do really want to see him do something first before I actually move him up to respectable territory now dropping down to our next tier right here Zach m is at 22 to start it out and DeAndre Swift is at 23 as well so with Zach Moss he's taking on the New England Patriots so obviously as you can see a lot of this tier is comprised of guys who were in confusing backfield so we don't know what the workload is going to look like exactly with Zach ma this week just based on everything I know about the Cincinnati Bengals them being a split committee backfield and Chase Brown I I think has more reception upside than Zach Moss I think the Bengals are going to win this game and I think there's a decent chance that they're up by a couple touchdowns so I think that Zach Moss has the ability to run out the clock for them maybe better in position than Chase Brown do so I think this might be a Zach Moss type of week here against the New England Patriots with DeAndre Swift DeAndre Swift I do like him this week against the Titans I think he's the running back one by a mile but you know we'll have to see I mean DeAndre Swift has never been a volume heavy guy they signed him to be their guy in Chicago so I think he will be their guy but I don't count out the fact that Roshan Johnson might get some opportunities here but ultimately against a Tennessee defense that is on the right path but maybe takes some time to jail I like DeAndre Swift okay this week and with drone Ford at 24 and Brian Robinson Jr at 25 so drone Ford's down here because he takes on the Cowboys and I really just don't see a ton of upside for Cleveland's offense especially right away I mean Deshawn Watson this situation is still a mess and of course if you don't have a good quarterback it's harder for a running back to be really really efficient on offense so Jerome Ford is not Bree Hall like he's not playing with Zach Wilson and making it happen all all on his own Jerome for is just not that talented so he needs help against the Cowboys defense this week don't love the matchup and I just really don't like the Browns offense right now so I'm lower on Jerome forter as a result now Brian Robinson Jr at 25 against the Tampa Buccaneers in Tampa this this week this is a week where I don't love Brian Robinson I think Brian Robinson gets better throughout the off season I want to make it clear though it's not because I think Austin Eckler is going to have a good week I think Austin Eckler is not going to have many good weeks if any because he's just with a pass catching running back with a running quarterback so Brian Robinson I think handles the majority of the volume in this backfield maybe not this week because I believe they will get trout Austin Eckler involved in this offense they'll probably try to force him carry and gets a stronger Tampa Bay Front 7 don't love less volume with a rookie quarterback when this offense probably is going to take time to J now Javon Williams at 26 here against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle very similar situation I think he's going to lead the backfield this week I don't know what the workload is going to look like though does he lead the backfield with 13 carries and Julio mlam gets nine carries or is it going to be 17 carries for Javon with four carries for jul mcgoffin and maybe a couple receptions as well for him I don't know quite yet Javonte Williams taking on the Seattle Seahawks defense though I do like the ability for this to get a decent upside play from javante I just don't really trust his workload as of today that's why I'm lower on Javon this week and then with Devon single ter to round out the tier 27 against the Minnesota Vikings the funny thing is he has his workload basically ironed out for him out of all the rest of this tier except for maybe Jerome Ford but with de single T I just don't like the New York Giants def their offense and I actually do think that Minnesota's defense being a little bit slept on Brian Flores runs this defense they've made defensive Personnel moves obviously losing Daniel Hunter is not a good thing but I do think the Minnesota's defense is going to be stronger this year and I just don't like the Giants offense very much so ultimately I just think against a better defense this week he's not going to have too much upside in fantasy football week one now dropping down to our last tier right here Gus Edwards at 28 Rico dowle at 29 and zamir white at 30 now with Gus Edwards here this is the most mysterious backfield to me because they're not only a mystery but I want in on hr's running back I just don't know who is going to be yet I think it's going to be Gus Edwards every indication says it's going to be Gus Edwards but he didn't play all preseason we don't know how he looks yet and against this Las Vegas Raiders defense not a ton of upside in a division matchup to to start this offense is going to take time to Jael and I don't like I said I don't know how effective Gus Edwards will be so I want in I like Gus Edwards I would take him out of the Chargers running backs and I want a Chargers running back but that's why he's a 28 Rico D very important news to highlight here so with Rico D's situation it is important to note that Todd Archer is an inside reporter for the Dallas Cowboys he's been reporting on them since the early 2000s so what t Archer comes out and says just a little bit earlier this week in a room that includes Elliot and dvin cook D should be the favorite to lead the Cowboys in rushing attempts and rushing yards this season so I do think that Zeke will be involved to some extent through Target opportunities and against the Browns I don't love this matchup but I'm ready to take Ric dowo I'm ready to take him if he's on your waiver wire I would go grab him because I think he's playable immediately now with 30 zamir white to round it out at the Los Angeles Chargers hate the matchup and just really don't like this offensive situation zamir white there's no question volume's going to be there for him he's going to monopolize his backfield the question is how valuable are the opportunities and really how many rushing carries is he going to get in this game against the Char where I think they're going to lose so zamir white just really don't like the offensive situation here offensive line is shaky too so I'm lower on him this week now what I do at the end of every single ranking video per week in fantasy football is I give you my favorite under running back pick to pick an underdog weekly draft so you can get in any kind of Sunday main slate drafts or even prime time drafts that are going to be exclusive for The Prime Time games or the NFL Sunday games in any particular week so this week my favorite pick if you are to draft in one of those leagues is Julio moffen Julio moffen taking on the Seattle Seahawks here as I said with javante Williams I think he's going to lead this backfield but I do think that Julia mlin is going to get Target opportunities this week this is going to be a tighter matchup in my opinion this week and also when you look at what is being opened up with samj perine basically 60 targets out of this running back field are open rookie quarterback in his first game probably going to dump the ball off a couple times and jul mcgoffin if he gets the opportunities could get plenty of those opportunities and honestly has touchdown upside getting receiving work this week so let me know how your lineup is looking so far this week and if you want to see the top 30 wide receiver rankings for week one fantasy football click on this video right here