NFL Week 2 – RB Rankings (Top 15)

by: Domagoj Erbežnik

We are in Week 2 and there aren’t any surprises for the RB position as most of the high draft picks are still high on our rankings and will look to perform well for your fantasy team. One player who was drafted high and isn’t in the top 15 in Najee Harris and if you own him he is a pretty risk start at the moment with a suspect offensive line and a young QB. CMC heads our rankings as he looks like a league winner (weird to say for a guy going in the top 3 in most fantasy drafts. Chubb, Barkley, and Ekeler are one tier down but still amazing options in Week 2. A matchup in Atlanta between the Falcons and the Packers could be a gold mine for RBs (make sure you start them if you own any of them).

1
Christian McCaffrey vs Los Angeles Rams
Grade: A+

McCaffrey saw 85% of snaps in a blowout win in week 1 and reminded us of his performances from a few years ago when he was a clear no. fantasy option. He had a total of 169 yards going along with one TD. There were high expectations from Stellers’ defense and he had a fantastic day so don’t worry about him as he looks to be a clear no. RB for the 2023 fantasy season.

22
Nick Chubb vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Grade: A

Chubb is a clear top-3 RB this season most weeks in my eyes as he will constantly deliver solid fantasy points behind one of the best offensive lines in the game. He finished week 1 with a total of 127 yards and without scoring a TD he collected 16.7 fantasy points. That is a clear indication of what his owners can expect from him even on weeks where he isn’t scoring TDs and those types of weeks won’t be many. He goes against the Stellers’ defense that got thorched by McCaffrey in week one and similar numbers can be expected from Chubb in week two.

Saquon Barkley vs Arizona Cardinals
Grade: A

Saquon and the NY Giants are looking for a bounce-back weekend as they travel to Arizona and play against one of the worst teams in the league. in Week 1 Barkley had 51 rushing yards on 12 attempts and considering how the game went that wasn’t as bad as you would think. Start Barkley and expect him to be a focal point of the Giants’ offense in Arizona.

Austin Ekeler vs Tennessee Titans
Grade: A

The Chargers’ offense is going to be at the top of the NFL this season as they showed in week 1 and the surprising thing was that their rushing game was amazing as both RBs totaled over 100 rushing yards. Ekeler had 164 total yards and a similar thing can be expected again as he is a clear candidate to finish in the top 5 at the position again. It is expected that the Chargers will lead most of the game and Ekeler will be a featured player in their offense again.

Tony Pollard vs New York Jets
Grade: A-

Pollard had a great first game of the season but most of his fantasy production came from 2 TDs and I wouldn’t expect that to be a regular occurrence for him but he is still a clear lead back for a team that will lead in most games and one example can be this week as the Cowboys are favored by more then one TD. He should again be a top 10 RB in week two as his floor is very high and he is one of the safest options in fantasy football at RB position.

Joe Mixon vs Baltimore Ravens
Grade: A-

Mixon totaled 10.3 fantasy points in week one and that was the highest on the Bengals as they were able to score only 3 points in Cleveland. It was a rainy game and for an offense as good as Cinniciantis I would expect a bounce-back game as they face the Ravens at home. It is only the second week of the season but for the Bengals, this is a very important game as they don’t want to go 0-2 in the first two games against their division rivals. Expect Mixon to be on the field most of the game and he will be heavily involved in both rushing and passing game.

Derrick Henry vs Los Angeles Chargers
Grade: B+

Henry is a player I would be careful this week as he goes against a solid defense and will be in a game where will his Titans play from behind most of the time. I am not comfortable ranking him any higher and he could finish outside of the top 15 at position his week very easily if he doesn’t break a big run or he becomes a part of the passing game. He will be started in most leagues but don’t expect him to score his usual 15+ points. He will still get 15+ carries but the question is what can he do with that carries?

Bijan Robinson vs Green Bay Packers
Grade: B+

Bijan saw 63% of snaps in week 1 and that is very encouraging for his owners despite Tyler Allgeier’s big day on the ground. He has 6 receptions and looks like he will be a primary receiver in this offense as Ryder isn’t throwing the ball down the field. He goes against the Packers whose defense had an amazing week 1 against the Bears and will definitely be a difficult matchup for Bijan and the Falcons.

Aaron Jones vs Atlanta Falcons
Grade: B+

If healthy Jones is a top 10 RB for this week as he dominated the new Packers offense in week 1. A similar thing can be expected in week 2 as well a similar game script will likely be in play. If he isn’t available be sure to start AJ Dillon as he becomes a top 15 RB for week 2 if Jones can’t go.

Rhamondre Stevenson vs Miami Dolphins
Grade: B

Stevenson is going against the Dolphins this week and this is a great thing for the best players on the other team as they will likely have great games as well. Rhamondre Stevenson is the best offensive option for the Patriots and he had 6 receptions in week 1 for 64 yards. His rushing game wasn’t as effective but as long as he is a big part of the passing attack he will have a high RB2 value.

Travis Etienne Jr. vs Kansas City Chiefs
Grade: B

Etienne had 18 carries and 5 targets in Week 1 and that was the performance his fantasy owners wanted to see and expected when they drafted him. He is going against the Chiefs in what can be a high-scoring game with many fantasy points on both sides. Etienne looks to be no. 2 option in the Jags’ offense behind Ridley but he will continue to get consistent touches and with that, he should be a high-end RB2 going forward.

Kenneth Walker III vs Detroit Lions
Grade: B
Josh Jacobs vs Buffalo Bills
Grade: B-
Jahmyr Gibbs vs Seattle Seahawks
Grade: B-
James Cook vs Las Vegas Raiders
Grade: C+