Fantasy Football Week 1 RB Rankings: Trust Saquon Barkley & Najee Harris?

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.

Follow the Heavy on Fantasy Facebook page for all the latest rankings, updates, & insight!

---

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

[QBs | RBs | WRs & TEs]

#	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

[QBs | RBs | WRs & TEs]

0 Comments