The 2021 NFL regular season is finally upon us, which means it’s time to fire up those Fantasy Football lineups. In our running back rankings for Week 1, we discuss how to handle the New York Giants backfield with Saquon Barkley trending upwards ahead of the opener. Plus, is Najee Harris a must-start in his first real NFL action?
Reminder: These rankings are based on full-PPR scoring formats.
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Running Back Outlook Week 1
Najee Harris (RB11) at BUF
- When the Steelers have a dude in the backfield, they’re not afraid to feature him. Harris is that type of talent. His volume should quickly make him a near-weekly top-eight play. However, his matchup in Week 1 leaves a bit to be desired — but just a bit. The Bills allowed the 16th-most points to running backs last season. Yet, they did surrender 21 rushing touchdowns (tied eighth-most in NFL) and allowed an average of 142.3 rushing yards over the final three games of the year.
Saquon Barkley (RB15) vs. DEN
- Barkley is “gearing up to play Week 1” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. With that in mind, his volume is a question. I’d still rather have him in my lineup and risk a dud than risk him shouldering a sizeable workload on my bench. Chances are you’ll see a healthy dose of both Barkley and backup Devontae Booker (RB30) in Week 1. Both are worth a look against a Denver team who ranked in the bottom-11 in both rushing yards (1,615) and rushing touchdowns (14) allowed to running backs last season.
Week 1 Fantasy Rankings: Running Back
|
# |
Running Back |
Opp. |
|
1 |
Christian McCaffrey CAR |
vs. NYJ |
|
2 |
Alvin Kamara NO |
vs. GB |
|
3 |
Derrick Henry TEN |
vs. ARI |
|
4 |
Dalvin Cook MIN |
at CIN |
|
5 |
Jonathan Taylor IND |
vs. SEA |
|
6 |
Nick Chubb CLE |
at KC |
|
7 |
Aaron Jones GB |
at NO |
|
8 |
Ezekiel Elliott DAL |
at TB |
|
9 |
James Robinson JAC |
at HOU |
|
10 |
Antonio Gibson WAS |
vs. LAC |
|
11 |
Najee Harris PIT |
at BUF |
|
12 |
Austin Ekeler LAC INJ |
at WAS |
|
13 |
Joe Mixon CIN |
vs. MIN |
|
14 |
Chris Carson SEA |
at IND |
|
15 |
Saquon Barkley NYG |
vs. DEN |
|
16 |
Damien Harris NE |
vs. MIA |
|
17 |
C. Edwards-Helaire KC |
vs. CLE |
|
18 |
Miles Sanders PHI |
at ATL |
|
19 |
Myles Gaskin MIA |
at NE |
|
20 |
Josh Jacobs LV |
vs. BAL |
|
21 |
David Montgomery CHI |
at LAR |
|
22 |
Kareem Hunt CLE |
at KC |
|
23 |
Mike Davis ATL |
vs. PHI |
|
24 |
D’Andre Swift DET |
vs. SF |
|
25 |
Nyheim Hines IND |
vs. SEA |
|
26 |
Leonard Fournette TB |
vs. DAL |
|
27 |
Chase Edmonds ARI |
at TEN |
|
28 |
Phillip Lindsay HOU |
vs. JAC |
|
29 |
Devontae Booker NYG |
vs. DEN |
|
30 |
Raheem Mostert SF |
at DET |
|
31 |
Javonte Williams DEN |
at NYG |
|
32 |
Darrell Henderson LAR |
vs. CHI |
|
33 |
Kenyan Drake LV |
vs. BAL |
|
34 |
J.D. McKissic WAS |
vs. LAC |
|
35 |
Trey Sermon SF |
at DET |
|
36 |
Melvin Gordon III DEN |
at NYG |
|
37 |
James Conner ARI |
at TEN |
|
38 |
Sony Michel LAR |
vs. CHI |
|
39 |
Ty’Son Williams BAL |
at LV |
|
40 |
Devin Singletary BUF |
vs. PIT |
|
41 |
Jamaal Williams DET |
vs. SF |
|
42 |
David Johnson HOU |
vs. JAC |
|
43 |
Zack Moss BUF |
vs. PIT |
|
44 |
Ronald Jones II TB |
vs. DAL |
|
45 |
AJ Dillon GB |
at NO |
|
46 |
Tevin Coleman NYJ |
at CAR |
|
47 |
Ty Johnson NYJ |
at CAR |
|
48 |
Latavius Murray NO |
vs. GB |
|
49 |
Tony Pollard DAL |
at TB |
|
50 |
James White NE |
vs. MIA |
|
51 |
Michael Carter NYJ |
at CAR |
|
52 |
Carlos Hyde JAC |
at HOU |
|
53 |
Kenneth Gainwell PHI |
at ATL |
|
54 |
Salvon Ahmed MIA |
at NE |
|
55 |
Alexander Mattison MIN |
at CIN |
|
56 |
Rashaad Penny SEA |
at IND |
|
57 |
Darrel Williams KC |
vs. CLE |
|
58 |
Giovani Bernard TB |
vs. DAL |
|
59 |
Le’Veon Bell BAL |
at LV |
|
60 |
Boston Scott PHI |
at ATL |
|
61 |
Mark Ingram II HOU |
vs. JAC |
|
62 |
Rhamondre Stevenson NE |
vs. MIA |
|
63 |
Marlon Mack IND |
vs. SEA |
|
64 |
Damien Williams CHI |
at LAR |
|
65 |
Chris Evans CIN |
vs. MIN |
|
66 |
Wayne Gallman Jr. ATL |
vs. PHI |
|
67 |
Joshua Kelley LAC |
at WAS |
|
68 |
Kylin Hill GB |
at NO |
|
69 |
Justin Jackson LAC |
at WAS |
|
70 |
Malcolm Brown MIA |
at NE |
|
71 |
Chuba Hubbard CAR |
vs. NYJ |
|
72 |
Benny Snell Jr. PIT |
at BUF |
|
73 |
Matt Breida BUF |
vs. PIT |
|
74 |
Jerick McKinnon KC |
vs. CLE |
|
75 |
Justice Hill BAL |
at LV |
|
76 |
Tony Jones Jr. NO |
vs. GB |
|
77 |
DeeJay Dallas SEA |
at IND |
|
78 |
La’Mical Perine NYJ |
at CAR |
|
79 |
Ke’Shawn Vaughn TB |
vs. DAL |
|
80 |
Kalen Ballage PIT |
at BUF |
|
81 |
Larry Rountree III LAC |
at WAS |
|
82 |
Samaje Perine CIN |
vs. MIN |
|
83 |
Rex Burkhead HOU |
vs. JAC |
|
84 |
Jordan Wilkins IND |
vs. SEA |
|
85 |
Eno Benjamin ARI |
at TEN |
|
86 |
Jaret Patterson WAS |
vs. LAC |
|
87 |
Devine Ozigbo JAC |
at HOU |
|
88 |
Dare Ogunbowale JAC |
at HOU |
|
89 |
Jake Funk LAR |
vs. CHI |
|
90 |
Javian Hawkins TEN |
vs. ARI |
|
91 |
Alex Collins SEA |
at IND |
|
92 |
Jordan Howard PHI |
at ATL |
|
93 |
Travis Homer SEA |
at IND |
|
94 |
Kyle Juszczyk SF |
at DET |
|
95 |
J.J. Taylor NE |
vs. MIA |
|
96 |
Royce Freeman CAR |
vs. NYJ |
|
97 |
Jermar Jefferson DET |
vs. SF |
|
98 |
Khalil Herbert CHI |
at LAR |
|
99 |
Elijah Mitchell SF |
at DET |
|
100 |
Alec Ingold LV |
vs. BAL |
|
101 |
Trayveon Williams CIN |
vs. MIN |
|
102 |
JaMycal Hasty SF |
at DET |
|
103 |
D’Ernest Johnson CLE |
at KC |
|
104 |
C.J. Ham MIN |
at CIN |
|
105 |
Corey Clement DAL |
at TB |
|
106 |
Khari Blasingame TEN |
vs. ARI |
|
107 |
Patrick Ricard BAL |
at LV |
|
108 |
Keith Smith ATL |
vs. PHI |
|
109 |
Andy Janovich CLE |
at KC |
|
110 |
Ty Montgomery NO |
vs. GB |
|
111 |
Taiwan Jones BUF |
vs. PIT |
|
112 |
Dwayne Washington NO |
vs. GB |
|
113 |
Peyton Barber LV |
vs. BAL |
Comments
Fantasy Football Week 1 RB Rankings: Trust Saquon Barkley & Najee Harris?