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Fantasy RB Rankings Week 1: Who to start, sit at running back in fantasy football

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The NFL season is upon us with the Bills and Rams’ opening game kicking off on Thursday, Sept. 8, so the time has come for Week 1 fantasy RB rankings. Despite the fact that the NFL is obviously a passing league, the running back position remains the most important position in fantasy football, and making the right start ’em, sit ’em calls at RB — from the top players to the sleepers — is vital to getting your season started right

Not surprisingly, the early storylines revolve around injuries and rotations. Some of the best RBs in football — Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, and JK Dobbins — are coming off huge injuries. Saquon Barkley, Dalvin Cook, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Nick Chubb, and Kareem Hunt have all spent considerable time on the injury reports over the past year. Najee Harris has revealed his training camp injury was actually a sprained Lisfranc in his foot. In Washington, rookie and presumed Commanders RB1 Brian Robinson Jr. was shot during an attempted car-jacking/robbery. That’s a lot to unpack.

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Of course, if the top-15 backs are suiting up, they’re auto-starts. Don’t get cute and “ease in” CMC (Browns) or King Henry (vs. Giants) back to your weekly fantasy lineup. Don’t ever bench Jonathan Taylor, especially against the Texans. The real questions that will pop up for most fantasy owners involve RB2s and flex starts and sits.

WEEK 1 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker

Perhaps most intriguing are the backfields of Baltimore and San Francisco, where Dobbins (@ Jets) and Elijah Mitchell (@ Bears) each have mysterious Week-1 statuses. We think both backs should be ready to roll in favorable matchups on opening Sunday, but as we well know, things can change quickly in the days leading up to the regular season.

WEEK 1 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
QBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker

Committee-wise, there seems to be plenty of ambiguity around the backfields of Green Bay, Philly, Seattle, Miami, and the New York Jets (among others). Our rankings reflect an expected boost in usage for beastly third-year Packers back AJ Dillon (@ Vikings) and a slight distrust in the ability of Eagles RB Miles Sanders to take a step forward despite a favorable matchup (@ Lions). Rashaad Penny (vs. Broncos) should be solid with Kenneth Walker III (hernia) banged up, while Chase Edmonds (vs. Patriots) has a lot of upside — especially in PPR — despite a tough matchup.

We have been quietly optimistic about rookies Breece Hall (vs. Ravens) and James Cook (@ Rams) in terms of season-long outlook, but tread lightly in Week 1 until we get a look at their actual roles. All rookie RBs carry extra risk in Week 1, though the reward can sometimes be great. Michael Carter (vs. Ravens) and Devin Singletary (@ Rams) are slightly better flex plays than Hall and Cook, but even they come with risk.

Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt highlights our top sleepers for the week, as interim QB Jacoby Brissett should be dumping, dinking, and dunking against Carolina’s improved front-seven. We also like Tony Pollard (@ Buccaneers), as we have all offseason — he demonstrated tremendous efficiency in ‘21, and should see increased touches early and often.

Similarly, power-runner Rhamondre Stevenson (@ Dolphins) should also see a boost in volume and production in the early going, but it’s always tough to know what to expect from the Patriots, which is why we’re still being a bit cautious with Stevenson. And don’t forget about Dameon Pierce (vs. Colts), the preseason MVP who looks poised for a massive rookie campaign with a young, run-heavy Houston offense. He’s the best bet among all rookie backs.

We’ll learn a lot from Week 1, both in terms of matchups and usage, but when in doubt, stick with your studs as long as they’re healthy.

Note: We’ll be updating these RB PPR rankings throughout the week, so check back for analysis and the latest player movement.