Top 10 Running Back Studs - Best Fantasy Football RB Performances Including Aaron Jones, Tyler Allgeier, Austin Ekeler, more

Fantasy football is back! With so many wide receivers going in the first two rounds of 2023 fantasy drafts, many drafters across the fantasy landscape simply just didn't view running backs as the safer commodity that they were in years past. This inevitably caused a ripple effect across the fantasy landscape as many running backs were going later in drafts than usual.

One of the most important things to remember in Week 1 is to not overreact. While we want to be conscious of how certain backfields look as well as individual running back snap shares, the truth is it is only one week. Defenses tend to be ahead of offenses this early in the season, so if your favorite team or fantasy running back had a down week, there is no need to panic.

Here are the Top 10 running backs from Week 1 based on fantasy points scored in half-PPR formats (excluding MNF). Make sure to bookmark our live fantasy football scoreboard so you can see all the live scoring and top fantasy football performances each week, during the games, and afterward as well.

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Top 10 Running Backs Of The Week

Here are the top 10 running back from Week 1 of the NFL season in half-PPR scoring:

1. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers

New year, same Aaron Jones. Despite going lower in fantasy drafts than he has in the past five years, Jones showed just how versatile of a weapon he is rushing 9 times for 41 yards and a TD on top of being targeted 4 times with 2 receptions for 86 yards and another TD as the Packers in the new-look Jordan Love era trounced the Chicago Bears 38-20. It's probably true that Jones might have gotten a boost with WR Christian Watson sidelined for Week 1, but nonetheless, it was an impressive performance from Jones. Even now at 28 years of age, he still has an impressive burst to his game and should be in your fantasy lineup every week.

2. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

Still the G.O.A.T. for fantasy purposes, CMC picked up right where he left off in 2022 as he gashed the Steelers defense with 22 rushes for 152 yards and a TD on top of seeing 5 targets where he caught 3 of them for 17 yards. It was a very impressive performance from the 49ers offense who went into Pittsburgh and dominated from the jump. CMC is a very talented RB in his own right and is such a great receiver out of the backfield that he is relatively game-script-proof. There have been some rumblings about the 49ers giving CMC a lighter workload in 2023, but as long as the offense maintains its level of efficiency he should be just fine.

3. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers

So far we have three very familiar faces to top-end RB performances showing up in Week 1 of 2023. The RB2 off the board in most fantasy drafts, Ekeler shined with 16 rushes for 117 yards and 1 TD on top of seeing 5 targets with 4 receptions for 47 yards. The Chargers lost a thriller to the Dolphins by a score of 36-34, but it's clear that Ekeler is entrenched as the RB1 in a high-powered offense. What makes Ekeler so great for fantasy purposes is he tends to get all of the high-value touches whether it's getting the receiving work or the goal-line carries. The Chargers face the Titans in Week 2.

4. Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith and Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell just don't want to let us have nice things, do they? After rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs was out snapped by David Montgomery on TNF, the same thing happened in the Falcons game with Tyler Allgeier and rookie RB Bijan Robinson, who was drafted No. 8 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Allgeier was being drafted incredibly late in fantasy drafts in 2023 and while I'm not going to sit here and say he is just as talented as Robinson, he is no slouch in his own right. Last season, Allgeier ran for almost 5.0 yards per carry while rushing for over 1,000 yards. He is talented enough to be a thorn in Robinson's side for the 2023 season.

On Sunday, the Falcons handily took down the Panthers 24-10 in their home opener and Allgeier carried the ball 15 times for 75 yards and 2 TDs while catching all 3 of his targets for 19 yards. It's no secret that while the Falcons offense features plenty of talent, we simply don't know enough about this backfield yet to be able to play Allgeier with confidence for Week 2. He is arguably the most valuable handcuff in all of fantasy football as he could absolutely smash if Robinson were to miss any time.

5. Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys

After flashing during his coming out campaign in 2022, Pollard's season ended when he broke his foot in the NFC Divisional Round against the 49ers. He didn't play much in the preseason and some had concerns about his readiness for Week 1. However, Pollard put all of those fears to rest as he shined in a blowout win over the New York Giants. The Cowboys dominated and won in convincing fashion, 40-0.

Pollard carried the ball just 14 times for 70 yards, but had 2 rushing TDs. He also saw 3 targets in the passing game and had 2 receptions for 14 yards. Backup running backs Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn played, but only after the game was well in hand. While we still don't know how good the Dallas offense will be without former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore (now with the Chargers), it's pretty evident that Pollard is going to receive a massive workload this year. At this rate he could be a league winner.

6. Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

There was a bit of controversy with the Jaguars backfield this offseason when the front office spent a third round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on RB Tank Bigsby. However, that didn't impact Etienne much in Week 1 as he played 80 percent of the team's offensive snaps. This Jaguars offense with the addition of WR Calvin Ridley has all the makings of a juggernaut in 2023, which is great for Etienne. On Sunday, he carried the ball 18 times for 77 yards and a TD on top of catching all 5 of his targets for 27 yards.

Etienne looked explosive on his TD run as he found an open hole and sprinted towards daylight. While Bigsby is a player you need to be aware of in fantasy, the bulk of the backfield carries look like they will belong to Etienne in 2023. He could prove to be a massive value this season considering where he was being drafted. Now 2-plus years removed from the Lisfranc injury that sidelined him for all of 2021, Etienne has the burst that very few backs in the NFL display.

7. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

While he may not have had the monster fantasy football debut that many were hoping for, Bijan's first NFL touchdown was a thing of beauty. Robinson caught a pass in the flat, then completely juked a defender and sidestepped another before finding the end zone. Robinson had 10 carries for 56 yards, but had 6 targets and finished with 6 receptions for 27 yards and a TD. Bijan is such a natural pass catcher on top of being the complete runner. For this reason he has multiple ways of scoring fantasy points. The only downside? Falcons HC Arthur Smith can be unpredictable. Tyler Allgeier played 63 percent of the offensive snaps while Robinson played just 55 percent. It's not a situation we should be worried about, but it's one worth being aware of.

8. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

A bit of a surprise on Sunday, the Rams offense looked like the units of old we have been accustomed to seeing under Sean McVay. Any talks of the Rams tanking the entire 2023 season seem silly right now, at least for another week. Running back Cam Akers is in the final year of his contract and Williams saw the bulk of the carries on Sunday, out-snapping Akers 65 to 35 percent. Was there an injury to Akers that we don't know about, or is Williams expected to be the starter for 2023?

He isn't an explosive back by any means, but Williams had an impressive college career at Notre Dame. He ran a 4.65 forty yard dash at the NFL Combine, which is on the low-end for running backs, but Williams has plenty of the intangibles that make him the kind of player coaches will love. Williams is a stellar receiver out of the backfield and has the willingness to pass protect. Can we expect the Rams offense to stay at this level for all of 2023? Nonetheless, Williams is worth targeting on your league's waiver wire this week and could become a massive value for fantasy this season. He likely won't be a star, but he could be a solid RB2 if he continues to see the usage that he did on Sunday.

9. Joshua Kelley, Los Angeles Chargers

A fourth round pick of the Chargers in 2020, Kelley appears to finally be carving himself out a role in the Chargers offense. The team has desperately been looking for someone to shoulder some of the load from Austin Ekeler, and Kelley might just be the guy to do it. While he isn't worth starting in any fantasy football formats at this time, Kelley is one of the best handcuffs you can have on your bench in deeper leagues should Ekeler miss any time for whatever reason.

On Sunday, Kelley had 16 rushing attempts for 91 yards and a TD. He was targeted once but didn't have a reception. With Ekeler being such a dynamic pass catcher out of the backfield, don't expect much from Kelley in terms of receiving, but he could provide value as a runner this season. At the very least, he should be added in 14 team or deeper fantasy formats.

10. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns

Now that RB Kareem Hunt is no longer on the Browns, many had believed that the Cleveland backfield for all of 2023 would belong to Nick Chubb. He carried the ball 18 times for 106 yards, but was more involved as a receiver than usual. On Sunday, Chubb saw 4 targets and finished with 4 receptions for 21 yards. While it might not seem significant, Chubb has finished the last 5 seasons with just 20, 36, 16, 20, and 27 receptions. If he were to start seeing an average of 3-4 targets per game, it would be a massive boost to his fantasy ceiling for 2023.

Backup RB Jerome Ford played 40 percent of the offensive snaps on Sunday while Chubb played 49 percent. The Browns have historically never given Chubb a complete workload, but in 2023 they may not have the luxury of sparing him with just Ford and Pierre Strong the only other RBs on the depth chart. In deeper formats, Ford is worth rostering as a potential starting RB should anything happen to Chubb.

Looking Forward

How did you do in Week 1? It is important not to overreact to what happened in the first week of the season for fantasy football and to trust the team you drafted. While we don't ever want to wait too long to make important decisions regarding our fantasy football roster, with the NFL lowering the number of preseason games from 4 down to 3, it is only reasonable to expect that most defenses were ahead of the offenses in Week 1. Be sure to follow us here at RotoBaller with up-to-date fantasy news and team reports.

Are there any running backs not on this list who you expect to bounce back in Week Two? If you have any FAAB or waiver questions as well, feel free to get at me on Twitter.

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