Week 1 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, & Must-Starts (Ep. 1685)

Summary

FantasyPros Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: Week 1 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, & Must-Starts (Ep. 1685)

Release Date: September 4, 2025
Hosts: Chris Welsh, Pat Fitzmaurice, Andrew Erickson

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Overview

This episode dives deep into the Week 1 running back (RB) rankings for fantasy football, breaking down every tier—from the can't-miss studs to high-upside sleepers and riskier flex plays. Chris Welsh is joined by top-ranked experts Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson, as they debate player projections, workload concerns, and matchup details, while also highlighting discrepancies in their rankings and giving actionable start/sit advice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Confidence in Running Backs vs. Wide Receivers (00:35–03:12)

• Top 25 RBs are generally trustworthy: After that, things get “murky” and unpredictable.
  • Pat Fitzmaurice: "You’re pretty comfortable with everyone inside the top 25. Beyond that, who knows? It’s kind of ugly." [02:44]
• Wide Receivers perceived as messier for Week 1.
  • Andrew Erickson: “Receivers are a little more messy… for running backs, with the top guys I think we feel pretty confident about projected workloads.” [01:38]

Strategy Note:

• In Week 1, consider leaning towards WRs in your flex spot for safety unless an RB presents a clear advantage.

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RB1 Tier Breakdown (Top 12) (05:01–09:46)

Consensus Top 5:

• Saquon Barkley
• Christian McCaffrey
• Bijan Robinson
• Jameer Gibbs
• Derrick Henry

Major Debates:

• Ashton Jeanty (Raiders)

  • Pat (“the high guy”): Has Jeanty at RB6 due to elite talent and likely workload.
    • Quote: “The four best running back prospects we have seen come into the NFL in the last 10 years: Saquon Barkley, Bijan Robinson, Ezekiel Elliott, Ashton Jeanty.” [05:15]
  • Erickson: More cautious (RB13), citing Patriots’ run defense improvements and Jeanty's rookie status.
    • Quote: “I want to see how Chip Kelly is using him, is there another running back that's playing on third downs?...I feel really confident about the other guys’ workloads.” [06:09]

• James Conner (RB12)

  • Erickson (higher on Conner): Cites workhorse role and Saints’ weak run defense.
    • Quote: “He is their war daddy, he is their workhorse and he is going to eat in this matchup and you need to start him because you’re only going to get so many James Conner weeks.” [08:22]
  • Pat (RB14, but willing to move him up): Agrees touch volume won’t be an issue; expects Saints’ run D struggles to continue. [09:21]

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RB2 (13–24): Workload Trust and Rookie Projections (09:46–15:39)

• Travion Henderson (Patriots):
  • Fitz: “Doesn’t need a lot of touches to go over because of the big play potential.” [10:54]
  • Erickson: Slightly lower rank but admits Henderson is “the best player on their offense besides Drake May,” sees a split with Stevenson/Gibson but projects enough weekly touches. [11:25]
• Chuba Hubbard (Panthers): Both hosts like his workload and floor for Week 1 over upside rookies.
  • Erickson: “He’s pretty much going to be a lock for 15 points... I think his projection is a little bit safer, a higher floor play.” [13:51]
  • Fitz (on why he trusts Hubbard over potential committee back Rico Dowdle): “Follow the money. Hubbard signed a massive contract extension in the offseason. Dowdle signed a contract that was worth a little more than the veterans minimum.” [15:39]

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RB3 & Flex Range (25–36): Volatility and Value (23:51–34:03)

• David Montgomery (Lions), RB25:

  • Pat (RB22): “Monty has had some success against the Packers… averaged 98 yards and five touchdowns in four games since joining the Lions.” [24:52]
  • Erickson (RB27): Views Monty as a strong flex play and would start him over all but the most compelling WR options in his tier, citing touchdown potential and matchup. [25:22]

• Travis Etienne & Tank Bigsby (Jaguars, RB28 & 32):

  • Erickson: Both can be flex plays depending on shootout/gameflow. Etienne gets more looks if a pass-heavy script, Bigsby gets carries if Jaguars lead.
  • Pat: “It’s folly for us to try to figure out what the Etienne-Bigsby split is going to look like in Week 1… But a half share of touches against this Panthers defense… reasonable to consider Etienne a high-end RB3.” [30:10]

• J.K. Dobbins (Broncos, RB30):

  • Erickson (RB22!): Loves the matchup vs. Titans; expects Broncos to make a statement with the run game. “I think Harvey and Dobbins are both going to eat in this matchup.” [31:46]
  • Fitz (RB26): Dobbins will have the goal line and touch edge over Harvey this week. [33:12]

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Notable Sleepers & Off-the-Radar Plays (34:35–35:30)

• Jordan Mason (RB33):
  • *Fitz & Erickson both highlight Mason as an overlooked option who could see double-digit carries and goal line work, especially since he’s splitting time with Aaron Jones on the Vikings.
  • Fitz: “Mason is going to split time with Aaron Jones so he has a good chance to get double digit carries.” [34:51]
  • Erickson: “He also has more touchdown equity than Aaron Jones does in this lineup. Especially in half PPR.” [35:11]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “War daddy. Fitz is our war daddy here.” – Chris Welsh, coining a new James Conner nickname. [09:05]
• “If a receiver doesn’t have a very compelling reason for me to start them, then I’ll just start Montgomery and hope he finds the end zone.” – Andrew Erickson on RB/WR low-end flex dilemmas. [27:14]
• “Football is back!” – Greg Rosenthal cameo, NFL Daily plug, but Welsh brings focus back to RB ranking analysis. [15:58]

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:35–03:12: Early RB vs. WR confidence and Week 1 flex strategy
• 05:01–09:46: RB1s: Ashton Jeanty & James Conner debates
• 09:46–15:39: RB2s: Rookie outlooks and Chuba Hubbard vs. Henderson
• 23:51–28:43: RB3/Flex range: David Montgomery value and WR comparison
• 28:43–31:09: Etienne/Bigsby volatility in Jaguars’ backfield
• 31:09–34:03: J.K. Dobbins and other deep plays
• 34:35–35:30: “Squad ride” sleeper pick: Jordan Mason

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Summary Table: Notable RB Stance Discrepancies

| Player | Fitz Rank | Erickson Rank | ECR | Notes | |--------------------|-----------|---------------|-------|-------| | Ashton Jeanty | 6 | 13 | 10 | Fitz very bullish; Erickson cautious rookie RB1 | | James Conner | 14 | 11 | 12 | Both high; “War daddy” matchup vs. Saints | | Travion Henderson | 20 | 23 (updated 21)| 21 | Both see as strong RB2 | | Chuba Hubbard | 15 | 16 | 16 | Floor play, well paid, safe over riskier upside| | Isaiah Pacheco | 21 | 18 | 22 | Erickson expecting “top-15” upside if healthy| | J.K. Dobbins | 26 | 22 | 30 | Both higher than consensus |

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Final Takeaways

• Top 25 RBs are set-and-forget, but rankings get messy after that—be ready to pivot if news breaks.
• Trust known workloads (Hubbard, Conner) over uncertain rookie/committee situations—at least for Week 1.
• Ashton Jeanty, Travion Henderson and Jordan Mason are upside rookie plays worth monitoring, differing views on trust level.
• Jaguars’ RB split and Broncos’ new backfield are volatile but juicy for fantasy value.
• When in doubt on a close flex call, play the RB with best projected workload or clearest path to a TD.
• As always, track live updates and news up to kickoff, and don’t be afraid to flex a reliable RB over low-floor/volatile WRs.

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For full, up-to-the-minute rankings, check fantasypros.com/rankings and tune into their Thursday livestream for advice on lineup dilemmas.

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Transcript

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[Chris Welsh]

What's up friends and welcome into Fantasy pros. This is the fantasy football podcast. I'm Chris Welsh and welcome into running back ranks for week one. Pat Fitzmaurice, Andrew Erickson, both in the house. These two gentlemen ranked pretty dang high in RVs last year. Fitzy, you were number eight. We talked about your overall in season was 20 last season. Top 10 top eight for RB ranks. Erickson, you were in the 30s, which is still pretty respectable. Remember there's like 200 plus people that are doing this.

[Andrew Erickson]

I was in the 50s.

[Chris Welsh]

That's okay. I had my best rank year last year and that was simply because I was sitting next to the guru, Pat Fitzmorris and all those smart minds. But now I got two big brains next to me every single week. So I got to keep going up. So we got a lot of good juice on the running back ranks in this house for from last season. And by the way, shout out to Derek Brown, who I believe also was like number 10 in there. So RB house is ready. Erickson, are you ready to even tackle Arby's for this week? Do you think RB's are wide receivers? Which one is more messy for week one?

[Andrew Erickson]

I still think the receivers are a little bit more messy just because a lot with the running backs, especially some of the top guys, I think that we feel pretty confident about projected workloads. Why running backs were so popular going in round one, Round two, while we were advocating that as a strong draft strategy was, hey, try to at least get one running back in the top two rounds. Unless you can hit on two of your favorite receivers just because a lot of these guys are teed up in a really good way and some good matchups for week one. So it's a matter of when we get to those messy backfields where we're going to have to have conversations about the rankings very in depth. But for the top guys, I think you're feeling pretty good.

[Chris Welsh]

Fitzy, what's your comfort level on the Arby's? I do feel like there's it is a little bit more land mining. It's a little bit more explosive there. You know, there's these like dual army situations that we're all just kind of holding our breath on. There's also, you know, everyone's joking about that. We're going to wake up Sunday to the tweet that's going to be like, you know, Bill Crosky's inactive. You know, it's going to just be some nonsense that's going to be out there and blow it all up. But what is your confidence level, wide receivers versus running backs as far as ranks for this week?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, first of all, Welsh, thank you for the big brain compliment. I don't know that my wife would agree with that assessment, but I appreciate it anyway. Yeah, I just think running back gets really murky outside the top 25. You're pretty comfortable with everyone inside the top 25. Beyond that, who knows? It's kind of ugly. So wide receiver maybe goes a little deeper with the trust level. But, you know, like, I have a lot of trust in that top 25 after that look out below.

[Chris Welsh]

And that also what I'm leading into by doing that is this might be a week, especially week one, that flex should be way more wide receiver heavy than rb. Not to say that because we're going to be going deeper here. The structure of this show is going to be looking at the big boards of the top 36 on Fantasy Pro's ECR. So it's not to be dismissive of some of those names, but if you're looking at like chalk versus kind of the chaos that you might be a little bit safer in your flexes this week at wide receiver, but we'll have that discussion and we'll see if that is necessarily the case. So we are going to be going through those top 12 and then, you know, boom, boom, boom, wide receiver, running back, twos and threes. Do you guys want to follow along? Fantasypros.com rankings you can see the expert consensus rankings where all the experts are. They're continuously putting in their week one ranks, so it's going to kind of ebb and flow as far as what it looks like. But you can follow along all the way up until kickoff for whether it's the Thursday, Friday or especially the Sunday games. And you can check out where everybody has got them ranked. Let's go see where we've got these ranks, gentlemen. Starting with our big board of RB1s. Saquon Barkley leads the way. Christian McCaffrey comes in at number two, Bijon Robinson at three, Jameer Gibbs and then Derrick Henry pretty standard there for top five. Jonathan Taylor, Bucky Irving, Chase Brown, Ashton Genty, Devon Achan, Josh Jacobs and James Conner. So there's. We're definitely going to talk about Connor here in a second. I was about to say through the first 11, we're like, yep, yep, you know, all the names you pretty much expect nothing too crazy going into week one and then James Connor comes in, which we'll talk about. But you guys have got a discrepancy difference here. I love it. There's a high and a low and the ECR for Ashton Genty only represents the average between you two. Fitzy, let's start with you. You're a high guy on Ashton Genti. You've got him at RB6 this week. That is where Jonathan Taylor is on that list. So you are all in. None of these guys are probably sits or anything like that. When we talk about RB1s but just you know, for fun conversation on all of these. You really seem to be into Genti going off in week one.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, well, the four best running back prospects we have seen come into the NFL in the last 10 years, Saquon Barkley, Bijon Robinson, Ezekiel Elliott, Ashton Genty. Genti makes it onto the Mount Rushmore for RB prospects of the last decade. Do we really think the Raiders aren't going to give ample touches to the guy they just drafted 6th overall? Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly likes to play at a fast pace, which should be good for Genti's touch volume. And the Patriots gave up the third most rushing yards to running backs last year.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, you are not as enthused about Ashton Genti. You don't hate him. You roll your eyes because you knew you thought I was going to be like you hate him. You just don't like him as an RB1. You've got him at RB13 so you're right outside that list. But you don't have him as a top 10. You don't have him as an RB1. You are officially listing him as an RB2. So why do you hate him? Yeah, why do you hate him?

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I hate Ashton Genti even though he was my RB3 in redraft season. So clearly I hate him and I'm going to be finding ways to put him on my bench and all my leagues that I have him in. Clearly kidding, of course. So for me, I do think the Patriots defense specific, their run defense is vastly superior than it was last year. I think they were missing a lot of guys last season. They obviously brought in Milton Williams signing him from the Philadelphia Eagles, bringing in Mike Vrabel. So I don't think that that run defense is going to be nearly as much as a pushover as it was last season. And again to the point, Ashengendi is still a rookie and I still want to see what his role is. I want to see how Chip Kelly is using him is or another running back that's playing on third downs where these other running backs that I ranked ahead of him. I have no concerns about what their roles are. I feel really confident about what each guy is doing in their respective offenses and how much of a workload they are going to see. So they're that's the only reason why I have him down to 13 and I will be the first one to move him up in week two if I get confirmation of everything that I was hoping for with Ashton Genti if it all comes to fruition in week one. So I'm willing to be wrong in week one just to be a little bit more safe when it comes to his ranking.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

So Erickson is expecting a platoon with Zemir White and Ashton Genty.

[Chris Welsh]

Got it, Got it. You don't like him. So sit will be the big answer from Erickson this week on Ashton Genty. Where did James Conner come from? James Conner comes in at 12 on this list. I mentioned this in the Wide Receiver episode but we've got matchup ratings. A cool thing you can check out on the rankings page where just straight up five star ratings between what their matchup looks like and in the top 12 running backs the highest rating any RB gets is a four. So there's no fives and there are six and James Conner is one of those that gets a four star rating. So the rating obviously against New Orleans, I mean I think some of it speaks for itself but James Conner could have been maybe a little fringy for some people this week in smaller like 10 team leagues. But the ranks are dictating like you, you are starting at all cost here at RB12. You guys for the most part agree. Fitzy a little bit lower but Erickson you're even higher. So let's start with you. You've got James Conner. You love James. You like James Conner over Ashton Genti. That just clicked for me. You like James Conner a lot this week.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, because I know that with the fact that James Connor is the bell cow when he's healthy and he's one of these other players that the reason he was ranked in the mid RB2 range 3 redraft is well, we know it's not going to last with James Connor. He's going to get banged up at some point, but he's not banged up for week one. He is ready to go. So he's going to be a top 12 running back against the Saints. The Saints per PFF, 32nd ranked defensive line entering this year. Their defensive line was bad last year and unlike the Patriots, they didn't actually change it in the off season. Like they didn't do anything significant to make their defensive line better against the run. So I think James Conner, he is their war daddy, he is their workhorse and he is going to eat in this matchup and you need to start him because you're only going to get so many James Conner weeks.

[Chris Welsh]

Hashtag war daddy. Fitz. Fitz is our war daddy here. 14 RB 14 so you're just a tiny bit lower, but that's probably still like a little bit higher I think, than people like perceptually would have thought. What's your, what's your feeling on Connor versus The Saints defense?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, sometimes I get onto the show and I look at my rankings and I just realize I'm probably wrong with one of them and I should probably get with the program here and move up Connor. A couple of spots to get in line with ECR at least is the clear number one at running back for the Cardinals. Touch volume shouldn't be an issue in a game where the Cardinals are favored by almost a touchdown. And the Saints were really bad against the run last year. I mean, it's hard to imagine they fixed all those problems.

[Chris Welsh]

All right, well, James Conner, Suit him up. RBS 13 through 24. Let's go. Take a look at this next list and the big board. Kyron Williams jumps in at number 13. For your RB2, Alvin Camara at 14, Ken Walker, Chuba Hubbard, James Cook, Omarion Hampton at 18. We got Tony Pollard, Breeze hall at 20, Travion Henderson at 21, Pacheco, Aaron Jones and DeAndre Swift. Boy, there are lots of conversations we could have. We could only have so many though. But let's start with one of the rookies and let's make it Trayvon Henderson here ECR21. Fitch you've got him at 20. Erickson you've got him at 23. You guys are pretty close, but there definitely is kind of the split that's staring at us. And what is the usage? I think the same thing kind of applies for, for Hampton as well. I don't think we should be necessarily dismissive of it, but Fitz, why don't we start with on expectations for Travion this week and you know you having him at 20 definitely is going to put him as a starter, but is there, is there any hesitation at all and like what week one might look like as far as the workload goes?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, role could be hard to pin down right away, but we know that Travion Henderson is the kind of guy who doesn't need a lot of touches to go over because of the big play potential and you know, home opener against the Raiders. Do we really think Trey Henderson isn't going to break off at least one big play? And Erickson, aren't you, aren't you supposed to be the Patriots fan here? Like how unpatriotic of you to have Traymion Henderson ranked below ecr.

[Chris Welsh]

What happened? What happened Erickson?

[Andrew Erickson]

Clearly my rankings didn't update because I did update it so that he was a little bit closer to the ECR. Actually I did move him up to RB21 so I'm right in line with ECR. And to Fitz's point about the role that he's going to have, I don't think that we're ever going to see Henderson in this full blown bell cow role just because the way that he's built and the fact that when Ohio State put him in this massive volume role he got injured and broke down. So I think there's either going to be Stevenson or Antonio Gibson. Somebody's going to be there just to make sure that Henderson doesn't break down. But I think weekly he's going to see enough volume where more likely and more often than not you're going to be happy that he was in your starting lineup because of the explosiveness and the fact that when you look up and down the Patriots roster, I'm pretty sure he's just the best player on their offense besides Drake May. And Josh McDaniels is not a dummy. Like he knows that he needs to get the ball to Henderson, especially in high value, high leverage situations in the red zone, out of the backfield, catching passes. And yeah, the Raiders defense up and yeah, they got Max Crosby. Who else do they have? Like not a lot of guys that you're really fearing. So McDaniels obviously knows a lot of these players too. Again, he used to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, so I think they'll have good intel. So I like the Patriots offense here and yeah, and Henderson is a strong RB2.

[Chris Welsh]

Let me just quick, aside from what's on our show Sheet. Let me do this game with you. You guys don't have to do crazy breakdowns on it. Yay or nay, Should Breece hall be above Travion Henderson Erickson?

[Andrew Erickson]

No he should not.

[Chris Welsh]

Fitz.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I've got him one spot lower.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay, yay or nay. Should I Marian Hampton clearly be a tier above Treveon Henderson? Fitz? Yay or nay.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

He is one tier above in my tears article which is forthcoming that should be up Thursday morning.

[Chris Welsh]

Tease, tease, Master tease. Love that Erickson should Is Omarion Hampton a tier above Treveon Henderson for week one?

[Andrew Erickson]

I have him a spot ranked ahead of Travan Henderson rank one, but not a tier per se, but one rank.

[Chris Welsh]

Ahead only other last one here and this is just a point to draft season. I think Travian Henderson pretty like locked down was going ahead of Chuba Hubbard, but Chuba Hubbard is up here at 16. Pretty good match matchup against Jacksonville. Do you think there is a big difference Erickson in Chuba versus Treveon Henderson in week one?

[Andrew Erickson]

I think it just goes back to you feel more secure about what the projected workload will be like for Chuba Hubbard. Right. We're hoping and expecting Trevin Henderson to rip off and expose a play, but in the case in the 30 percentile outcome that he doesn't, well then he's probably going to disappoint in your lineup. Whereas Hubbard is. I mean he's pretty much going to be a lock for 15 points again. He's probably going to score a touchdown. He's going to be effective on the ground. They're facing the Jaguars and they like to feature him in a game that Panthers and Jaguars, that could be a sneaky shootout. So you're excited about playing parts of that game and Chuba Hubbard's a big part of the Panthers offense, so that's kind of. I think, I think his projection is a little bit safer a higher floor play. See, it's interesting.

[Chris Welsh]

I almost kind of think I felt like the narrative started to turn that Chuba Hubbard wasn't safe and that Rico Dowdle was going to take away. Like, like I agree I'm a Chuba Hubbard guy, but just hearing you say this out loud felt contrary to the draft equity of.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, I guess. I guess it like. Like those things tend to play out like over the season. But yeah, one is like that's kind of why I think week one you're feeling like, okay, it's gonna be Hubbard and it's like maybe doubt will start to like eat in a little bit more as the season progresses or if like Hubbard struggles for some reason. But I could see scenario really if the Panthers fall behind significantly and the Jaguars are up on them and then Hubbard gets game scripted out because we know he doesn't have a receiving role. That's kind of the case of where he does fail in the situation where it's Henderson game script is kind of. He's independent of that because he's probably, I mean actually like the worst games here for Henderson is probably the Patriots are winning or like blowing out the Raiders where they're not feeding him in the second half in between the tackles. So maybe some game script both for both running backs. I think Hubbard just overall has the safer projection just based on you know.

[Chris Welsh]

15 to 20 touches and then Fitzy same thing. Chuba over Travion by a lot.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, by, by five spots. And Erickson summed all this up really well. And I would just add about the, the Hubbard versus Rico Dowdle thing, like follow the money. Hubbard signed a massive contract extension in the off season and Dowdle signed a contract that was worth like a little more than the veterans minimum football is back.

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[Chris Welsh]

Yeah, I'm in full agreement here. For some reason it was like Chuba and James Conner just became boring and not fun for anybody to draft at the end of drafts. And we're looking at Chuba as like Almost a top 15 and James Connors in RB1. So interesting. One more RB to talk about in this range. This is actually a guy that I wasn't super into in draft season ECR 22. You guys are a little bit different. Fitzy, you're right on ecr. Erickson, you are a few spots higher. It's Isaiah Pacheco. So Isaiah Pacheco here. Fitzy, let's actually start with you on this one. You're just about at consensus. No worries of any of the split. I mean I kind of threw it at you when we did some episodes that I don't know, it just felt messy. The like Pacheco is like clearly the best back, but seems like they want to run three out there and it seems like those touches might be limited. Doesn't mean he can't throw thrive with those touches. But it just seemed like they might use Hunt in goal line stuff and they might use Rashard Smith in a passing game. Maybe that's just narrative that stupidly is taking people like me away from Pacheco. You've got him at ecr, so what's your take in week one?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

That's it. While Shoe said it pretty well like Pacheco looked good in the preseason, I think we want him to go back to being the clear lead back for the Chiefs. He wasn't the same last year when he got back from that broken leg after just two and a half months. But it might be annoying. Maybe we're still going to see more of Kareem Haunt than we would like to see. And maybe dbro's guy Burchard Smith plays on passing downs. Like there's still some usage questions with Pacheco and this isn't a really easy matchup this week. Like the Chargers gave up the sixth fewest fantasy points to running backs last season and if last year's Eagles packers game in Brazil was any indication, the field in Sao Paulo might be coated with some sort of nonstick cooking cooking spray because footing was terrible last year and I'm a little worried about that.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, you're not as worried. Not that you're like crazy high 18 for Pacheco. So you've got him a little bit higher here. You've got him higher than Trayvon this week. So talk about what's got you pushing Pacheco up the ranks.

[Andrew Erickson]

Just think that he's finally healthy now and when Pacheco was healthy he was more like a top 15 fantasy running back. If you just look at what he did start of 2023 up until his injury in 2024, 14.2 points per game and half PPR. That was good for mid range RB2 fantasy production. I think that he's the clear cut number one running back on the Kansas City Chiefs who are going to be a better offense in 2025. So it would not surprise me at all if we come back on the show in week two and say oh well now Pacheco, he's a top 12 running back right after what we saw, Kareem Hunt got totally dusted. Burchard Smith is a seventh rounder. Yes, we're excited about what he can do as receiver, but the team trusts Pacheco again. Pacheco was also a seventh rounder and it took him some time to get the trust of Patrick Mahomes. He's in a contract year, right? He's got to leave it all on the field, which is concerning sometimes because he runs into other defensive players really, really aggressively and gets banged up, which is always a concern. But if he's got that juice back, I mean, we may even see it on one of the one or two first plays where it's like, oh man, like Pacheco is back. Like that explosiveness was not there last year. But if it's back, I think we can be excited. I think that you may be looking at a supreme value have on your roster when you drafted him in like round six or seven.

[Chris Welsh]

I'm ready to eat crow. Like if we come back and you know he got 20 plus carries and those guys were off the field, it's like, yep, just made a mistake. I'm ready to do that in the next episode. And also a little Easter egg. See if you guys can find the fantasy pros easter egg in that game as well. Maybe not the only thing we're talking about from that Chiefs game next week. Dominate your fantasy football league with Fantasy Pros Premium now available free for six months when you deposit and place your first wager on one of our partner sportsbook. This is the easiest way to get full access to our fantasy tools all season long. Go to fantasypros.com premium to get started today, my friends. Big board time RB's 25 through 36, so call it RB3s or flex running backs. Dave Montgomery kicks us off here. That's pretty much where he was in draft season too. He's just like 25. Just 24. 25. That's where he lives. Tyrone Tracy, R.J. harvey down to 27 versus his draft stock. Travis et and Jalen Warren, J.K. dobbins, Austin Eckler's 31, Tank Bigsby, Javante Williams, Jerome Ford, Nick Chubb and Ramon Dre Stevenson. Interesting list here. Dave Montgomery As I mentioned, 25 pretty much. I felt like across draft boards, Fitzy, you've got him at 22, Erickson at 27. So you guys are a little bit split, but this is the difference between an RB2 and an RB3. Do you think Fitz, that everyone was writing off David Montgomery? A little too soon. He was a very unpopular draft pick. I felt like every time he got into a draft, no one ever wanted. David Montgomery, Are we going to regret that? Maybe, like the Pacheco stuff, different situation? Of course.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, maybe a bit. It depends. I mean, there are some headwinds here with Ben Johnson leaving with center Frank Ragnow retiring, and maybe the, maybe the coaches for the Lions adjust the dials a little bit and say, like, look, Jameer Gibbs is special. We have to give him more, more work. So for me, this week, it's largely matchup based. Like, the packers are going to have a fearsome pass rush with Micah Parsons and Rashawn Gary. But the packers to get Micah Parsons, just traded away the best run stuff around their defensive line. Kenny Clark. So running up the middle, Like, I think you need to do that against the Packers. Like, the way to beat the packers is not to let Jared goff drop back 40 times and be subject to that pass rush. I think you have to balance the offense and run the ball. And Monty has had some success against the packers since joining the Lions. In four games against Green Bay, Montgomery has averaged 98 yards from scrimmage and has scored five touchdowns.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, you've got him at 27, so he's like fringyish type of flex play for you. Not a ton of excitement, lower than ecr. What's your take on what his usage is going to look like? And coming back to what I said at the beginning of this episode, do you think Dave Montgomery is the proper representation of, like, if you've got a wide out versus him, like, I'll throw you a deeper whiteout? We didn't even talk about in the wide receiver episodes. Like, would you rather Dave Montgomery or throw out like, a Jaden Higgins for your flex?

[Andrew Erickson]

I would still roll with Dave Montgomery. Okay. In that scenario, I think that fits. Makes up a good point where no trading away Kenny Clark. Yeah, they have some defensive tackle depth, but how established is that? And now they're kind of. Are they scrambling now to like, oh, well, now we have this massive hole on our defensive line. We got to fill it. And the Lions aren' stupid. Like, oh, yeah, they just traded away their defensive tackle. Like, let's attack the middle. Who's our hammer? Hello, Dave Montgomery. So I think that, yeah, Montgomery could be solved this week. I think ultimately with Montgomery, it's always, does he score a touchdown? Right? Like, that kind of is how you. How he pays off, especially in half ppr. So I think that he is a Good flex play, especially if you drafted him. And he was falling in a lot of drafts too. So there were definitely opportunities where you could have scooped him up. Because I am worried about him season long and what it will be like in tougher matchups. And I do have some question marks about what the role is. What if he's out there who plays like 30 of the snaps because Gibbs has just been fully unleashed. 70% snap guy, maybe Montgomery. He scores two touchdowns, but the usage is bad. And we're talking about him on the trade show as hey, Dave Montgomery, you got to sell high off the touchdowns.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay, I'm going to intertwine that wide receiver ranks episode real quick. Just taking a look here was 36 through 30. Travis Hunter, Debo Samuel, Calvin Ridley, Chris Olave, Ricky Pierasaw, Ameca, Egbuca, George Pickens. Who is David Montgomery starting over from that list?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

PPR or half?

[Chris Welsh]

Half.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I'd say most of those guys for me.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay, yeah, I kind of figured you, Fitz, because you've got him higher. So you're going to start him over. Let's. We're going to just say all just for intensive purposes. Erickson, what about you?

[Andrew Erickson]

Can you read the list again or is it.

[Chris Welsh]

It is. It is. Yeah, it's our wide receiver ranks the 25 through 36, but it's 36 up to 30. Travis Hunter, Debo, Ridley, Olave, Purasol, Ameca and Pickens. Who does David Montgomery start over from that list?

[Andrew Erickson]

Okay, so he's probably starting over. Pickens, Piersall, Olave, Ridley, Hunter and probably so. Probably. Yeah, probably mostly all of them except for Egbuca. Okay, that's because that's the guy I'm the most bullish on of the receivers in that group. It's like if. If a receiver doesn't have a very compelling reason for me to start them, then I'll just start Montgomery and hope he finds the end zone. Like I know that that's a solid strategy.

[Chris Welsh]

Fantastic answer because I was trying to lay out like when we get to the RB threes, the flex plays, are they going to be able to beat out some wide receivers? And I think that shows some confidence that you both have. Even though Erickson, your rank is a little bit lower, that is showing some confidence in being able to start him over. What I think is a pretty strong group of wide receivers there maybe with some questions and one of the weirder rank things this kind of screams to me, we don't know what to do here, but two Jaguar running backs are in this range and I would not have guessed at any point or maybe I'll make a statement that there will be any single point where two running backs are going to finish inside the top 36. Travis ETN is 28. Tank Bigsby is 32. ETN is the piece of conversation because he's the top one. But feel free to intertwined Bigsby in this. Fitz, you've got him at 27. Erickson, you've got ETN at 32. Let's start with the lower side of this. With you. Erickson, what's your thoughts as he drops a little bit lower and then intertwining Bigsby into this? Your interest in starting these guys, it seems pretty volatile.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah. I think that when we have these ambiguous situations, it's usually the matchup that will dictate okay. Even though we're not 100% sure what the role is going to be, the matchup says okay, you should start these these guys. And last year that was the recipe for success. Start every single running back against the Carolina Panthers and it end up working out more often than not. Now Carolina has done a lot this offseason to try to improve their defense so it's probably not going to be as bad as it was last year, but let's let them show us that they've improved first. So I think that we can still attack this defense. I think when it comes down to ETN versus Bigsby, it's kind of how this game script goes. If this is more of a shootout, which I kind of feel like it might be, I think you'll see more VTN because they're throwing the ball a little bit more, maybe not relying as much on the ground game and that run defense maybe has improved for Carolina. Getting Derrick Brown back in the middle of the defense matters significantly. Like he's not a pushover at the defensive line position so I think he matters a ton. But if the Jaguars get out to a massive lead, you know they are up 14 nothing. I think they would be happy to feed Bigsby in the second half. And then he also has touchdown equity. So I think it is kind of trying to project how you feel like the game flow is going to go. I think that both guys can be started as flex plays. I know I personally have more ETN than Bigsby so I am hoping that is a more back and forth shootout type of game because we know ETN is going to have the pass catching role so that's kind of how I see it.

[Chris Welsh]

Fitzy, what do you think you've got them one spot higher than ECR for etn. What's your takeaway from these two guys?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, I mean it's folly for us to try to figure out what the ETN Bigsby split is going to look like in Week one. Not that we care about depth charts, but the Jaguars have listed ETN and Bigsby as co starters and I do think they're both going to play but a half share of touches against this Panthers defense. And I do realize getting Derrick Brown back, not, not our Debro, the bigger one, the king of bros that is going to, that is going to help like tighten up the Panthers run defense to some extent. But this defense needs a lot of tightening up. They give up A League worst 27 1/2/2 point PPR fantasy points per game to running backs last season. They give up 2, 520 rushing yards to running backs which was almost 500 yards more than the next worst run defense. So I do think it is reasonable to consider ETN a high end RB3 this week based on a projected half share of the workload here.

[Chris Welsh]

Another really interesting running back for you guys that you are higher than ECR on is J.K. dobbins. J.K. dobbins comes in at ECR RB30, but Erickson's dropping an RB2 and Fitch, you're just not too far off from it. So Erickson, let's go to you since you're the higher one on it. You got J.K. dobbins rocking at 22 this week and I think I've seen conflicting reports. I saw Dobbins was at the top of the depth chart whether you care or not. I saw one that had Harvey but I don't think that was true. I think it's all it Dobbins here. So what's your take on the JK of Dobbins?

[Andrew Erickson]

I just think that this is going to be a statement game for the Denver Broncos and that their run game is back. Last year Sean Payton was desperately trying to establish the run with a bunch of running backs that couldn't get it done and now he went out, got two running backs that he wanted on his roster and I think they're going to tell everyone in the NFL that yeah, we're going to be able to run the football on you and we don't care who you are. The thing that with Denver last year that I could not forget entering this season, they had the number one margin of victory last season. So when they won games they killed the teams that they beat. Usually it was because they were bad teams, but their average margin of victory last year was 19 points. So I'm in a situation where you have a Denver Broncos running back on your team. You're starting them in your lineup. Because I think Harvey and Dobbins are both going to eat in this matchup. And it wouldn't surprise me if they're both running wild at home in Denver's season open against the Tennessee Titans and Cam Warren. I think it's just a really tough spot for Tennessee in Week one.

[Chris Welsh]

Who do you have higher, Harvey or Dobbins?

[Andrew Erickson]

I have Dobbins one spot ahead, 22, but Harvey's right behind him at 23.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay, Fitzy, you've got him at 26. You're still higher than consensus. He's like right in that Dave Montgomery type of range. Do you think he's kind of close to a value of a Dave Montgomery or a tier different?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, I do. I mean, I. I think he's pretty close. I've got him just, what, one spot below Montgomery or is it. I'm sorry.

[Chris Welsh]

Yeah, you have Montgomery at 25. No, you have.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Oh, yeah, you have Montgomery 24 and 26 for Dobbins. So pretty close.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

And I mean, it's just. I think Dobbins is going to be more valuable than RJ Harvey at the onset of the season. And that's not the way I drafted it. I was drafting RJ Harvey over JK Dobbins, although I had both, you know, pretty respectful rankings for both guys. I just. I think Dobbins probably gets the goal line carries for the Broncos early on. I think Dobbins gets more touches than RJ Harvey this week because maybe the Broncos are a little more comfortable with Dobbins and pass protection than they are with Harvey. And the Broncos are favored by more than a touchdown at home against the Titans. It could be a really run friendly game script. So I think it sets up pretty.

[Chris Welsh]

Well for J.K. forgive me if you said it. Do you have Dobbins ahead of Harvey this week?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yes.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay. Yeah, just this week is all.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

And it's. It's several spots, too. It's not, not a one spot difference like Erickson has.

[Chris Welsh]

Okay, the final thing here, plenty of running backs we talked about. There's some that we didn't see. So this is going to be an RB that did not make the top 36. That should be. You guys are doing a squad ride. So, Fitz, we are going to start with you. I'm in complete agreement. And it's funny because this is the guy that made me want to make sure we were doing the like, oh, they didn't make it. Let's make sure we talk about it because I saw this. I will say this guy has moved up just a tiny bit in the like 12 hours. But this player was not inside the top 36 on Tuesday night. And who is that player, Fitz?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

It's Jordan Mason. So he's now inside the top 36.

[Chris Welsh]

He's now moved to 35, I believe like as we started the show.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah. So right when we were figuring this out, he was outside the top but.

[Chris Welsh]

He didn't make the screen, he didn't make our big board.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

So yeah, and I've got him. RB33. I just. Mason is going to split time with Aaron Jones so he has a good chance to get double digit carries. And I know, I think the Vikings can run the ball and the Bears behind their refurbished interior of the offensive line.

[Chris Welsh]

Erickson, what did you want to throw out there? Like how high should Jordan Mason be?

[Andrew Erickson]

I think that fits described it perfectly. I don't really know if have I have much else to add. It's just I think that he also has more touchdown equity than Aaron Jones does in this lineup. So especially in half ppr. Look, Monday night if you're going in, you're down by 10, 13 points. You got toward Mason, that RB2 slot. It's not over yet.

[Chris Welsh]

Not over. Well, especially in your betting market too. And don't you have Jordan Mason to lead the league?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, 75 to 1.

[Chris Welsh]

Oh, just. Just little, little tiny odds you got there. Fantastic. All right. Well there you go. Those are the RB ranks for the week. Top 36. You can check out more of the ranks over on fantasypros.com rankings. You can go and look. Like I said, they update. I mean frankly I don't even know as the graphics are up there. There might be little adjustments here. Week one especially is one of the biggest movers and shakers as far as ranks go because people are transitioning from draft to weekly ranks here. But you can go and check it out and how it moves all the way up until kickoff on Sunday. But don't also forget that we've got some weekly start and sit live streams on our YouTube channel where you can come and ask specific questions. Maybe we'll brought up some questions or maybe we didn't answer something specific that was really hitting you. We'll be there every Thursday at 3pm Eastern. So those listening on the podcast go to YouTube.com fantasypros subscribe and click that bell so you're notified when we do hit those weekly live Streams Thursday at 3pm Eastern. 4. Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmorris, I'm Chris Welch. Thank you guys so much for hanging out for the RB ranks and good luck this week. We'll talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.

[Greg Rosenthal]

Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple [e-mail] review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok Antasypros and subscribe to our YouTube [e-mail] fantasypros Football is back. That's right, the new NFL season is here and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60. It's in the name NFL Daily so you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal in an all star cast of co host for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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