1) Rachaad White vs. Chicago

White saw the workload needed to produce fantasy-worthy numbers, he just didn’t make it happen against Minnesota. The Bears, however, ranked 31st in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs in 2022 (28.5 FPts/G) and Green Bay’s combo of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon amassed 163 total yards and two scores. If White can’t be productive here, he might not be fantasy-worthy this season.

2) Saquon Barkley @ Arizona

Based on what we saw against Dallas, we shouldn’t start any Giants until they prove they are a real football team, but Barkley against a Cardinals’ run defense which ranked 30th last season in RB fantasy points allowed is not to be passed up. Barkley saw 15 touches and like most of the offense wasn’t around for the second half. He turns it around here and combines for 150 yards.

3) James Cook vs. Las Vegas

Cook saw 16 touches against the Jets and produced 63 yards, but what with Josh Allen turning the ball over four times by himself Monday night I’m expecting a more run-oriented attack in Week 2. That means Cook much more than Damien Harris (three touches) or Latavius Murray (three touches). Cook should see 20+ touches in Week 2 and against a weak defense like the Raiders’ run group (ranked 29th in 2022), ne should produce a solid output.

Grab some Pine

1) Cam Akers and Kyren Williams vs. 49ers

It’s nice that they combined for 37 rushing attempts against Seattle, but they ain’t playing Seattle’s defense this weekend. The 49ers were No. 1 against the run last year allowing an average of 16.9 fantasy points a game and they allowed just 37 rushing yards and 51 total yards last Sunday to Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

2) Joshua Kelley @ Tennessee

I liked how Kelley looked on Sunday and got a decent share of the workload (16 carries) behind Austin Ekeler (ankle), but I’m not ready to play Kelley in the flex unless Ekeler is inactive. The Titans’ ranked second behind only the 49ers in fantasy points allowed to running backs in 2022 and dividing up just 17.6 fantasy points among Ekeler and Kelley doesn’t work. Even without Ekeler, I wouldn’t be jumping up and down with joy. The Saints’ Jamaal Williams managed just 2.5 ypc against Tennessee last Sunday (18 carries for 45 yards).

3) Javonte Williams vs. Washington

The Commanders’ ranked third in fantasy points allowed to RBs last season (18.1 FPts/G) and kept James Conner under wraps in Week 1 (19 touches, 70 yards, 12 points). Denver looks to be splitting the workload 60-40 between Williams and Samaje Perine and that’s likely to make both of them low end RB3 fantasy producers.

Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers