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All the hard work is either about to pay off or blow up in our faces. Draft position officially stops mattering in 24 hours, so we are taking a hard look at matchups and potential usage for week 1. Here are my superflex RB rankings.
UPDATED: Removed Gus Edwards following injury Thursday.
Running Backs
Rank | Name | Opponent |
1 | Dalvin Cook | Bengals |
2 | Derrick Henry | Cardinals |
3 | Christian McCaffrey | Jets |
4 | Nick Chubb | Chiefs |
5 | Austin Ekeler | Washington |
6 | Alvin Kamara | Packers |
7 | James Robinson | Texans |
8 | Ezekial Elliot | Buccaneers |
9 | Najee Harris | Bills |
10 | Antonio Gibson | Chargers |
11 | Jonathan Taylor | Seahawks |
12 | Joe Mixon | Vikings |
13 | Aaron Jones | Buccaneers |
14 | Clyde Edwards Helaire | Browns |
15 | Darrell Henderson | Bears |
16 | Myles Gaskin | Patriots |
17 | Raheem Mostert | Lions |
18 | Mike Davis | Eagles |
19 | Chris Carson | Colts |
20 | Josh Jacobs | Ravens |
21 | Kareem Hunt | Chiefs |
22 | Damien Harris | Dolphins |
23 | Chase Edmonds | Titans |
24 | Ty’Son Williams | Raiders |
25 | Trey Sermon | Lions |
26 | Ronald Jones II | Cowboys |
27 | Miles Sanders | Falcons |
28 | Zack Moss | Steelers |
29 | DeAndre Swift | 49ers |
30 | Melvin Gordon | Giants |
31 | Saquon Barkley | Broncos |
32 | David Montgomery | Rams |
33 | Ty Johnson | Panthers |
34 | Phillip Lindsay | Jaguars |
35 | Devin Singletary | Steelers |
36 | James White | Dolphins |
37 | Giovanni Bernard | Cowboys |
38 | Tony Jones Jr. | Packers |
39 | Kenyan Drake | Ravens |
40 | Boston Scott | Falcons |
41 | Mark Ingram | Jaguars |
42 | Nyhiem Hines | Seahawks |
43 | Devontae Booker | Broncos |
44 | Javonte Williams | Giants |
45 | Jamaal Williams | 49ers |
Dalvin Cook going against the Bengals defense is just unfair to anyone who has to play against him week 1. He is going to absolutely feast on the Bengals 29th ranked 2020 run defense. Derrick Henry has a similarly juicy matchup against an Arizona squad that probably isn’t as good as it was last year when it finished 21st against the run. Christian McCaffrey gets dinged just a bit as the Jets have been clogging the middle for years, and I doubt having Robert Saleh as head coach has made them worse in that department. I’m really feeling Nick Chubb this week against the Chiefs as they finished 19th against the run last year and I see him being the key to keeping Mahomes off the field for Cleveland.
Surprisingly, WFT gave up a lot of yards on the ground last year, and I see Austin Ekeler as being a much needed safety valve for a rusty Herbert as he looks to escape the ferocious pass rush of Washington. I see a lot of dump offs and lots of receiving yards for Ekeler in this one. Right on his heels will be Alvin Kamara who should see plenty of usage regardless of whether the Packers jump out to a big lead or not. Hint, they will.
James Robinson has the Jacksonville backfield all to himself and will eat the Texans’ last placed run defense alive. I really don’t like Zeke this week, as Dak will have some rust and Tampa Bay was just brutal against the run last year. I could see a sub-4.0 ypc day with no touchdowns. But he is Zeke so I could also see a much higher range, so I can’t rank him lower than ninth.
10 is high for a rookie back with a suspect o-line, but I believe in Najee Harris and also believe Buffalo has not improved much as a run defense. Both Mixon and Gibson have favorable matchups, while Aaron Jones and Jonathan Taylor do not. I think CEH could start on his comeback campaign early, while I expect Darrell Henderson to see tons of run as the Rams absolutely humiliate the Bears and run out the clock for most of the second half.
I expect Gaskin and Mostert to take advantage of favorable matchups, and Chris Carson and Josh Jacobs to disappoint against much tougher opponents. I probably have Damien Harris too low given news that Stevenson will likely not play, meaning it’s all Harris and James White taking the pressure off rookie QB Mac Jones. If the Chiefs get off to a big lead, Kareem Hunt should benefit, and I have no problem having both Browns running backs ranked in the top 20. Ty’Son Williams is next man up for the Ravens, hopefully he makes it through the game.
Saquon Barkley news just has not been positive at all this week, and I don’t expect much usage at all. I think Montgomery and the entire Bears offense is going to suffer greatly from a declining o-line and subpar QB play.
I like Tony Jones Jr, James White, Gio Bernard, and Boston Scott to all outperform expectations this weekend.