Fire up your running backs for Week 1. Well, maybe be careful of a few of your star and key players you selected in your fantasy football draft.
Running backs still make the fantasy football world ... well, run, and delineating how to manage your top two RB spots and your all-important flex lineup spot will help set a clear path to your league playoffs.
Keep scrolling for our full allotment of RB rankings for the opening NFL week.
FANTASY WEEK 1 RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | DST | PK | Non-PPR Flex
Fantasy Football RB Rankings Week 1: PPR tips on who to start, sit at running back
This list positions running backs for Week 1 expected value in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues.
Note: Players who have already had their game are in italicized, strikethrough font.
| Rk | Tr | Running Back | TM | OPP | Week 1 Value | RkChg ↕️ |
| 1 | 1 | Bijan Robinson | ATL | TB | Elite RB1 | |
| 2 | 1 | Saquon Barkley | PHI | DAL | Elite RB1 | |
| 3 | 1 | Jahmyr Gibbs | DET | @GB | Elite RB1 | |
| 4 | 2 | Chase Brown | CIN | @CLE | RB1 | |
| 5 | 2 | De'Von Achane | MIA | @IND | RB1 | |
| 6 | 2 | Bucky Irving | TB | @ATL | RB1 | |
| 7 | 2 | Derrick Henry | BAL | @BUF | RB1 | |
| 8 | 2 | Christian McCaffrey | SF | @SEA | RB1 | ⬇️ 6 |
| 9 | 2 | Jonathan Taylor | IND | MIA | RB1 | |
| 10 | 2 | Ashton Jeanty | LV | @NE | RB1 | |
| 11 | 3 | Alvin Kamara | NO | ARI | RB1/RB2 | |
| 12 | 3 | Josh Jacobs | GB | DET | RB1/RB2 | |
| 13 | 3 | James Conner | ARI | @NO | RB1/RB2 | |
| 14 | 3 | Kyren Williams | LAR | HOU | RB1/RB2 | |
| 15 | 4 | Breece Hall | NYJ | PIT | Strong RB2 | |
| 16 | 4 | Chuba Hubbard | CAR | @JAC | Strong RB2 | |
| 17 | 4 | Kenneth Walker III | SEA | SF | Strong RB2 | |
| 18 | 4 | RJ Harvey | DEN | TEN | Strong RB2 | |
| 19 | 4 | James Cook | BUF | BAL | Strong RB2 | |
| 20 | 5 | Jaylen Warren | PIT | @NYJ | RB2/Flex | |
| 21 | 5 | TreVeyon Henderson | NE | LV | RB2/Flex | |
| 22 | 5 | Aaron Jones Sr. | MIN | @CHI | RB2/Flex | |
| 23 | 5 | Tony Pollard | TEN | @DEN | RB2/Flex | |
| 24 | 6 | Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG | @WAS | RB2/Flex | |
| 25 | 6 | Travis Etienne Jr. | JAC | CAR | RB2/Flex | |
| 26 | 6 | Austin Ekeler | WAS | NYG | RB2/Flex | |
| 27 | 6 | D'Andre Swift | CHI | MIN | RB2/Flex | |
| 28 | 6 | Omarion Hampton | LAC | KC | RB2/Flex | |
| 29 | 7 | Isiah Pacheco | KC | @LAC | Strong Flex | |
| 30 | 7 | J.K. Dobbins | DEN | TEN | Strong Flex | |
| 31 | 7 | David Montgomery | DET | @GB | Strong Flex | |
| 32 | 7 | Zach Charbonnet | SEA | SF | Strong Flex | |
| 33 | 8 | Nick Chubb | HOU | @LAR | Strong Flex | |
| 34 | 8 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt | WAS | NYG | Strong Flex | |
| 36 | 8 | Javonte Williams | DAL | @PHI | Strong Flex | |
| 37 | 8 | Jerome Ford | CLE | CIN | Strong Flex | |
| 38 | 8 | Rachaad White | TB | @ATL | Flex | |
| 39 | 9 | Cam Skattebo | NYG | @WAS | Flex | |
| 40 | 9 | Brian Robinson Jr. | SF | @SEA | Flex | |
| 41 | 9 | Ollie Gordon II | MIA | @IND | Flex | |
| 42 | 9 | Dylan Sampson | CLE | CIN | Flex | |
| 43 | 9 | Tank Bigsby | JAC | CAR | Flex | |
| 44 | 9 | Rico Dowdle | CAR | @JAC | Flex | |
| 45 | 9 | Rhamondre Stevenson | NE | LV | Flex | |
| 46 | 9 | Jordan Mason | MIN | @CHI | Flex | |
| 47 | 9 | Kaleb Johnson | PIT | @NYJ | Flex | |
| 48 | 10 | Bhayshul Tuten | JAC | CAR | Flex/Bench | |
| 49 | 10 | Woody Marks | HOU | @LAR | Flex/Bench | |
| 50 | 10 | Braelon Allen | NYJ | PIT | Flex/Bench | |
| 51 | 10 | Trey Benson | ARI | @NO | Flex/Bench | |
| 52 | 10 | Tyler Allgeier | ATL | TB | Flex/Bench | |
| 53 | 10 | Isaac Guerendo | SF | @SEA | Flex/Bench | |
| 55 | 10 | Ray Davis | BUF | BAL | Flex/Bench | |
| 56 | 11 | Justice Hill | BAL | @BUF | Flex/Bench | |
| 57 | 11 | Roschon Johnson | CHI | MIN | Flex/Bench | |
| 58 | 11 | Miles Sanders | DAL | @PHI | Flex/Bench | |
| 59 | 11 | Tahj Brooks | CIN | @CLE | Flex/Bench | |
| 60 | 11 | Dameon Pierce | HOU | @LAR | Flex/Bench | |
| 61 | 11 | Blake Corum | LAR | HOU | Flex/Bench | |
| 62 | 11 | Will Shipley | PHI | DAL | Flex/Bench | |
| 63 | 11 | Kendre Miller | NO | ARI | Flex/Bench | |
| 64 | 11 | Kyle Monangai | CHI | MIN | Flex/Bench | |
| 66 | 12 | Emanuel Wilson | GB | DET | Bench | |
| 67 | 12 | Keaton Mitchell | BAL | @BUF | Bench | |
| 68 | 12 | Kenneth Gainwell | PIT | @NYJ | Bench | |
| 69 | 12 | DJ Giddens | IND | MIA | Bench | |
| 71 | 12 | Ty Johnson | BUF | BAL | Bench | |
| 72 | 12 | Brashard Smith | KC | @LAC | Bench | |
| 73 | 12 | Samaje Perine | CIN | @CLE | Bench | |
| 74 | 13 | Sean Tucker | TB | @ATL | Bench | |
| 75 | 13 | Isaiah Davis | NYJ | PIT | Bench | |
| 76 | 13 | Antonio Gibson | NE | LV | Bench | |
| 77 | 13 | Devin Neal | NO | ARI | Bench | |
| 78 | 13 | Jarquez Hunter | LAR | HOU | Bench | |
| 79 | 13 | Trevor Etienne | CAR | @JAC | Bench | |
| 80 | 13 | Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN | TEN | Bench | |
| 81 | 13 | Devin Singletary | NYG | @WAS | Bench | |
| 82 | 13 | Chris Brooks | GB | DET | Bench | |
| 84 | 13 | Julius Chestnut | TEN | @DEN | Bench | |
| 85 | 13 | Kalel Mullings | TEN | @DEN | Bench | |
| 86 | 14 | Dylan Laube | LV | @NE | Bench | ⬆️ 23 |
| 87 | 14 | Craig Reynolds | DET | @GB | Bench | |
| 88 | 14 | Sincere McCormick | SF | @SEA | Bench | |
| 90 | 14 | Dare Ogunbowale | HOU | @LAR | Bench | |
| 91 | 14 | George Holani | SEA | SF | Bench | |
| 92 | 15 | A.J. Dillon | PHI | DAL | Bench | |
| 94 | 15 | Raheim Sanders | CLE | CIN | Bench | |
| 95 | 15 | Ty Chandler | MIN | @CHI | Bench | |
| 96 | 15 | Emari Demercado | ARI | @NO | Bench | |
| 97 | 15 | Audric Estime | PHI | DAL | Bench | |
| 98 | 15 | Kyle Juszczyk | SF | @SEA | Bench | |
| 99 | 15 | Alec Ingold | MIA | @IND | Bench | |
| 100 | 16 | Hunter Luepke | DAL | @PHI | Bench | |
| 101 | 16 | Tyler Badie | DEN | TEN | Bench | |
| 102 | 16 | Donovan Edwards | WAS | NYG | Bench | |
| 103 | 16 | Trey Sermon | PIT | @NYJ | Bench | |
| 104 | 16 | LeQuint Allen Jr. | JAC | CAR | Bench | |
| DBT | -- | Jordan James | SF | @SEA | DBT | |
| OUT | -- | Jaylen Wright | MIA | @IND | OUT | |
| OUT | -- | Sione Vaki | DET | @GB | OUT | |
| OUT | -- | Patrick Ricard | BAL | @BUF | OUT | |
| INACTIVE | -- | Quinshon Judkins | CLE | CIN | INACTIVE | |
| INACTIVE | -- | Jaydon Blue | DAL | @PHI | INACTIVE | |
| INACTIVE | -- | Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS | NYG | INACTIVE | |
| INACTIVE | -- | Raheem Mostert | LV | @NE | INACTIVE | |
| INACTIVE | -- | Tyler Goodson | IND | MIA | INACTIVE | |
| INACTIVE | -- | Zonovan Knight | ARI | @NO | INACTIVE | |
| INACTIVE | -- | Nathan Carter | ATL | TB | INACTIVE |
WEEK 1 FANTASY TIPS: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em | Sleepers | Busts
Who are the best fantasy football running backs to start in Week 1?
The usual suspects sit in Tier 1: Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley, and Christian McCaffrey, with CMC nudging up to second overall despite ranking fourth overall in most fantasy drafts among RBs.
Special shout-out goes to Chase Brown, whose tasty matchup with the Cleveland Browns rockets him into No. 5 to start this week's rankings.
Another boost for the opponent goes to Alvin Kamara, who could find plenty of space to move against the Arizona Cardinals as the New Orleans Saints' unquestioned RB1. He's a borderline RB1 for fantasy this week, too.
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Who are the top fantasy RB sleepers for Week 1?
Major upgrades to note:
- Jaylen Warren should be the target of many Aaron Rodgers checkdowns against the New York Jets.
- On the flip side of that matchup, Breece Hall will be a more effective Jets back than Braelon Allen, despite Allen's obvious season-long ceiling.
- Going deeper, Ollie Gordon could get plenty of work for the Miami Dolphins against the Indianapolis Colts, given De'Von Achane's calf injury. Don't hesitate to flex the rookie even if Achane suits up; this offense has room for two weekly options, with Gordon serving as maybe Miami's next Raheem Mostert.
- Travis Etienne is a sneaky PPR play this week as the Jacksonville Jaguars' lead back. Yes, Bhayshul Tuten remains a stout flex option, but Etienne has low-end RB1 upside in PPR formats.
- More RBs to aggressively click into your lineups this week: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (WAS), Nick Chubb (@LAR), and Zach Charbonnet (SF).
WEEK 1 FANTASY TIPS: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em | Sleepers | Busts