Fantasy football rankings:Top 75 PPR running backs for Week 2

Week 1 in is the books and we’ve learned a few things that should help us moving forward.

1. Derrick Henry is still him.

2. Travis Etienne isn’t going anywhere after his Week 1 performance.

3. Kenneth Walker’s usage was hurt by Zach Charbonnet, while Charbonnet also outplayed him. These two will continue to share work unless Charbonnet continues to play a lot better than him.

4. The Steelers backfield is a fantasy mess, with Kenny Gainwell and Jaylen Warren splitting work. Warren was able to score a touchdown and led in touches with 13 to Gainwell’s 10, but it looks like a muddy situation, as Gainwell had more snaps and with Kaleb Johnson in the wings.

5. Christian McCaffrey’s calf appears to be just fine.

6. Rookie RJ Harvey rushed 6 times for 70 yards, but was clearly behind JK Dobbins, who played 52% of the snaps and rushed 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown. Dobbins remains the trusted back, but Harvey’s work could easily rise over the next few weeks.

7. The Lions backfield was led by Jahmyr Gibbs, but was split evenly until the Lions had to go full catchup mode with their receiving back Gibbs. David Montgomery still had 15 touches to Gibbs’ 19 and 10 of Gibbs touches were receptions, which he only gained 31 yards on. Montgomery isn’t going away in the early part of games and games where the Lions are in the lead.

Shipley hurt his ribs and was forced from the game and subsequently, the team traded with the Jaguars for Tank Bigsby. That’s not exactly a rousing endorsement for Shipley’s injury. I’d expect Bigsby to beat out AJ Dillon for the coveted No. 2 role in Philadelphia behind Saquon Barkley, but that is still to be seen.

Ekeler is dealing with a shoulder injury ahead of the Commanders’ Thursday night matchup at the Packers and was estimated as a limited participant for their walkthrough on Monday. The veteran was active in the team’s 21-6 victory over the Giants in their Week 1 opener this past Sunday, registering six carries for 26 rushing yards and three receptions for 31 receiving yards. That still ended up being less touches than rookie breakout Jacory Croskey-Merritt and we’ll find out real soon if Ekeler has already been surpassed on the depth chart.

Johnson sat out of the team’s 27-24 loss to the Vikings on Monday night and could be absent from their Week 2 showdown at the Lions this Sunday. Starter D’Andre Swift was the only Bears running back to register any carries in the opener and we’ll see if that’s once again the case this weekend.

For early and every-down backs, we want high point totals and big favorites. This week Derrick Henry fits that description perfectly. For passing down backs, you’d rather not have your fantasy back on a team who should roll, as they won’t need to pass much late in the game.

Jaguars at Bengals (49.5)
Commanders at Packers (48.5)
Bears at Lions (47.5)
Chargers at Raiders (46.5)
Eagles at Chiefs (46.5)

Ravens (28.5)
Lions (26.5)
Bengals (26.5)
Bills (26.3)
Packers (26)

Seahawks at Steelers (39.5)
Buccaneers at Texans (42.5)
Broncos at Colts (42.5)
49ers at Saints (42.5)
Rams at Titans (42.5)

Browns (17)
Seahawks (18.5)
Titans (18.5)
Panthers (19)
Saints (19)

Browns at Ravens (-11.5)
Bills (-7.0) at Jets
Panthers at Cardinals (-6.5)
Bears at Lions (-5.5)
Giants at Cowboys (-5.5)
Rams (-5.5) at Titans

Sampson was a huge contributor in Week 1 as a receiver, catching 8-of-8 targets for 64 yards. If he can keep up his usage in the receiving game, he will likely see plenty of work in a game the Ravens are 11.5-point favorites. Joe Flacco is going to need to throw about 50 times in this one.

Gainwell led the Steelers in snaps and ended up with ten touches to Jaylen Warren’s 13 in Week 1. There aren’t a ton of waiver wire running backs to play this week, so hopefully you aren’t forced to start Gainwell, but his usage was much better than expected. He’s worth grabbing if you need running back help moving forward.