It’s that time of year. If you’re reading this, you have your team pulled up and, even if you don’t want to admit it, you’re wondering, “How am I going to mess up this beautiful roster that I put together?”
We’ve all been there. Don’t worry, I’m a professional.
Well, at the very least, I try hard. Really hard. And with that, I present to you my Week 2 fantasy rankings that have far too much data supporting them to possibly be wrong.
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | WR | TE | K | DEF | FLEX
Top 50 Fantasy Running Back Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons (at PHI)
2) Jonathan Taylor | Indianapolis Colts (at GB)
3) Breece Hall | New York Jets (at TEN)
4) Saquon Barkley | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. ATL)
5) Derrick Henry | Baltimore Ravens (vs. LV)
6) De’Von Achane | Miami Dolphins (vs. BUF)
7) Isiah Pacheco | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CIN)
8) Jahmyr Gibbs | Detroit Lions (vs. TB)
9) Kyren Williams | Los Angeles Rams (at ARI)
10) James Cook | Buffalo Bills (at MIA)
11) Rachaad White | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at DET)
12) Kenneth Walker III | Seattle Seahawks (at NE)
13) James Conner | Arizona Cardinals (vs. LAR)
14) Brian Robinson Jr. | Washington Commanders (vs. NYG)
15) Jordan Mason | San Francisco 49ers (at MIN)
16) Joe Mixon | Houston Texans (vs. CHI)
17) Alvin Kamara | New Orleans Saints (at DAL)
18) Travis Etienne Jr. | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. CLE)
19) Josh Jacobs | Green Bay Packers (vs. IND)
20) J.K. Dobbins | Los Angeles Chargers (at CAR)
21) Najee Harris | Pittsburgh Steelers (at DEN)
22) Aaron Jones | Minnesota Vikings (vs. SF)
23) David Montgomery | Detroit Lions (vs. TB)
24) Rhamondre Stevenson | New England Patriots (vs. SEA)
25) D’Andre Swift | Chicago Bears (at HOU)
26) Zack Moss | Cincinnati Bengals (at KC)
27) Javonte Williams | Denver Broncos (vs. PIT)
28) Tony Pollard | Tennessee Titans (vs. NYJ)
29) Jaylen Wright | Miami Dolphins (vs. BUF)
30) Devin Singletary | New York Giants (at WAS)
31) Ezekiel Elliott | Dallas Cowboys (vs. NO)
32) Jerome Ford | Cleveland Browns (at JAX)
33) Zamir White | Las Vegas Raiders (at BAL)
34) Zach Charbonnet | Seattle Seahawks (at NE)
35) Gus Edwards | Los Angeles Chargers (at CAR)
36) Tank Bigsby | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. CLE)
37) Tyjae Spears | Tennessee Titans (vs. NYJ)
38) Ty Chandler | Minnesota Vikings (vs. SF)
39) Jeff Wilson Jr. | Miami Dolphins (vs. BUF)
40) Chuba Hubbard | Carolina Panthers (vs. LAC)
41) Jaleel McLaughlin | Denver Broncos (vs. PIT)
42) Austin Ekeler | Washington Commanders (vs. NYG)
43) Rico Dowdle | Dallas Cowboys (vs. NO)
44) Trey Benson | Arizona Cardinals (vs. LAR)
45) Chase Brown | Cincinnati Bengals (at KC)
46) Samaje Perine | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CIN)
47) Justice Hill | Baltimore Ravens (vs. LV)
48) Alexander Mattison | Las Vegas Raiders (at BAL)
49) Jaylen Warren | Pittsburgh Steelers (at DEN)
50) Bucky Irving | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at DET)
The Top Running Backs To Start in Week 2
Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders (vs. Giants
This backfield isn’t a committee. The overall snap shares were similar, but break it down further and there is only one answer as to which running back in Washington you want sniffing your lineup.
Snap share between the 30s:
- Brian Robinson Jr.: 50%
- Austin Ekeler: 50%
Snap share inside the 30:
- Robinson: 77.8%
- Ekeler: 33.3%
Robinson has made nice skill set strides up to this point in his career and is a legitimate threat as both a between-the-tackles runner and a receiver in space. He gave fantasy managers 15.2% more production given his area of touches than the average back last season, and that rate was 24.2% in the Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers.
I think it’s fairly safe to assign Robinson a 15-20 opportunity projection with decent scoring equity weekly – that’s going to land him in your fantasy lineups consistently.
Our new Tackle Probability model can evaluate a ball carrier's ability to evade tackles.
In Week 1, @49ers RB Jordan Mason led the league with 13 missed tackles forced—five more than the next closest ball carrier.
📸: Week 1 Leaders in Missed Tackles Forced pic.twitter.com/SP4glhvU5h
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats)
Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers (at Vikings)
Christian McCaffrey was a late scratch on Monday (to us at least; Jordan Mason implied that he knew he’d be featured entering the weekend), and Mason rewarded savvy fantasy managers with an RB5 finish.
The raw counting numbers are one thing, but if you’ve been reading my content, you know that I hardly look at the final results. I prefer to evaluate how the player got to his numbers; in Mason’s case, I’m buying. His production against the Jets was 21.7% over expectation, and he ranked third among running backs (over 15 carries) in our custom elusive rating.
Nothing Mason did last week looks out of place on the surface. He did say in the postgame that he wasn’t sure how McCaffrey handles this role for four straight months, opening the door to speculation about whether he will again assume elite usage this week.
That notion along with the matchup (the Vikings allowed under a foot per carry before contact to running backs last week, third best) dragged Mason down to the average RB2 tier in my rankings, but he remains a fine bet. When it comes to evaluating some of the Week 1 RB breakouts in Rhamondre Stevenson and Tony Pollard, I’d rather start Mason due to the stability of his offensive environment.
