The primary injuries you need to know about at running back are Isiah Pacheco and Joe Mixon. Some thoughts on them below:
- The Chiefs were also hit by the injury bug in Week 2, losing Isiah Pacheco with a fractured fibula. Pacheco heads to IR, and the Chiefs are now looking to a future with Carson Steele, Samaje Perine, and the newly signed Kareem Hunt. Hunt may be able to get up to speed quickly, but he is a shadow of who he was the last time he played in Kansas City. The unfortunate reality is that we are most likely looking at three or four (with Clyde Edwards-Helaire returning soon) RB4s with RB3 upside. Steele has the athleticism that should allow him to dominate scoring opportunities, but he won’t impact the game as a receiver where Hunt and Perine are going to split touches. It is a tough look for fantasy managers, and I would not be going out of my way to buy any of these backs for now.
- Joe Mixon left Sunday night’s game with an ankle injury. Reports this week say he shouldn’t miss too much time. That being said, I would not be surprised to see the Texans take caution with their veteran running back. For fantasy purposes, Mixon belongs on your bench unless he gets in multiple practices this week. In his stead, Cam Akers and Dameon Pierce should be working in tandem. Neither is too exciting, and Pierce is not a great fit for the Texans’ offensive system. If you are desperate for a running back, Akers is a fine stash, just in case Mixon ends up missing more time than expected.
Outside of injuries, there are some exciting plays for Week 3. In the green tier of players (RB1-RB11), the running backs who stand out as upside plays with a safe floor are Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Robinson Jr. Gibbs faces the Arizona Cardinals, who have let up the sixth-most points to opposing fantasy running backs. They have an offense that should keep Gibbs involved on passing downs often. Week 3 could be a Gibbs BOOM week. Robinson faces the Bengals, who are in the middle of the road against the run. The win with Robinson is his usage. He is averaging over 50% of the snaps; in Week 2, he saw 20 opportunities, averaging over 7.5 yards per carry. The Commanders are committed to running, and Jayden Daniels and Robinson are providing fantasy managers with precisely what they were hoping out of the Ravens, Thunder, and Lightning.
The next tier of running backs (RB12-RB26) is full of high -floor low-upside options to fill the RB2 spot on your rosters. James Conner and David Montgomery stand out of this group with their elevated touchdown potential. One note for JK Dobbins managers: the fall back to earth is likely in Week 3, but don’t overreact to a poor showing in a tough matchup.
The best of the rest among the next two tiers is limited. D’Andre Swift is a potential bounce-back candidate, but you should really be looking at wide receivers this week in your FLEX spots.