Top 10 Running Back Studs - Best Fantasy Football RB Performances from Week 1

Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season came and went in a fury while some familiar faces in the running back landscape re-emerged as the potential dominant backs of 2022. As many of the bell-cow types of running backs have become fewer in recent years, those who are left getting the lion's share of their team's carries were often your 1st Round Pick in fantasy drafts and will be counted on all season long.

Players that many in the fantasy community had a difficult time rostering after their prior injury history: Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, D'Andre Swift all showed some promise in Week 1 and looked healthy. While CMC finished outside of the top 10, he showed some incredible athleticism on a goal-line carry where he easily pole-vaulted himself over the top of the Browns' defense and got in for the score.

Here are the Top 10 running back from Week 1, based on fantasy points scored in half-PPR formats. 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 after as well.

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Top 10 Running Backs - Fantasy Football Week 1

Here were the top 10 running back from Week 1 of the NFL season:

1. Saquon Barkley

Finally looking like his old self, Saquon had himself a day against Tennessee. Barkley rushed 18 times for 164 yards and a TD while hauling 7 of his 6 targets for 30 yards. Barkley also added the game-winning 2-point conversion as the Giants were victorious on opening day with a 21-20 victory, something that wasn't often seen in the Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge tenures.

It was a moment of validation for Saquon truthers as he has frustrated the fantasy community the last two seasons after missing time with injuries on top of being the focal piece of some bad offenses mixed in with some poor play-calling and offensive line play.

With new head coach Brian Daboll running the show in The Big Apple, the Giants' offense looked much better. Can we expect this from Saquon every week? It looks promising as long as he is healthy as there isn't much competition for RB snaps on the Giants roster.

2. Jonathan Taylor

A familiar face in the fantasy ranks as many had him as either the RB1 or RB2 heading into the season, Taylor was relied upon heavily by the Colts in a Week 1 tie with the Texans at 20-20. Taylor rushed 31 times for 161 yards and 1 TD. He also hauled in 4 of his 7 targets for 14 yards.

Nyheim Hines caught all six of his targets for 50 yards. Many have been concerned about Taylor's lack of passing work cutting into his fantasy efficiency and overall production for 2022 as Hines is expected to be heavily involved in that area.

However, Hines had just 3 carries for 4 yards in the running game. Given Taylor's incredible talent and youth, we should be aware of Hines taking some receptions away, but overall not very concerned.

3. D'Andre Swift

If Week 1 is any indication, fantasy managers all over are going to be scratching their heads as to why they let Swift fall into the 2nd Round of their league's fantasy draft. Swift had 15 carries for 144 yards and 1 touchdown. He also added 3 receptions for 31 yards.

Jamaal Williams vultured two touchdowns away from Swift in the red zone, but fantasy managers should be very happy with how Swift played in Week 1. He looked fresh and showed the kind of burst that had many excited this season.

While Williams will undoubtedly take away from production from Swift, it's probably good for his longevity as it will help to keep him fresh throughout the season.

Sometimes you can't help but wonder if the consistent wear and tear that happened to Christian McCaffrey playing 90%-plus of his team's snaps in 2018 and 2019 was the reason why his body broke down in 2020 and 2021. Sometimes less is more.

4. Cordarelle Patterson

One of the world's greatest mysteries that will befuddle future NFL historians is why it took so long for NFL offenses to figure out how to use C-Patt. While many running backs are already receiving their NFL pensions at age 31, Cordarelle is running with the prowess of Carl Lewis and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.

C-Patt had 22 carries for 120 yards and a TD while catching three of his five targets for 16 yards. Backup Damien Williams had just 2 rushes for 2 yards and rookie running back, Tyler Allgeier was inactive as a healthy scratch for Week 1, which tells us a lot about how the Falcons view Patterson as the lead dog going forward. While Atlanta lost a heartbreaker, Patterson is more game-script-proof than other running backs across the league due to his receiving ability. If you got him late in your fantasy drafts you should be thrilled. While we likely can't expect this kind of production every week from Patterson, he should be viewed as a solid RB2/RB3 or Flex play in most formats.

5. Kareem Hunt

One of the most talented running backs in the league, Kareem Hunt showed why it didn't make sense for the Browns to trade him given they likely wouldn't receive equal compensation in return. A free agent after the 2022 season, Hunt is also playing for a payday in what will likely be his new home in 2023.

While Nick Chubb had himself a day, Hunt was the more versatile of the two backs rushing 11 times for 46 yards and a touchdown while hauling in all 4 of his targets for 24 yards and another score.

It's no secret that the Browns' offense will struggle against teams with better quarterback play with Deshaun Watson sidelined until Week 12. This reality makes Hunt a good value in fantasy since he is the pass catcher on the roster compared to Nick Chubb.

6. Clyde Edwards-Helaire

One of the most polarizing players in 2022 drafts, CEH silenced the doubters with a solid Week One. While he was out carried by Isiah Pacheco 12 to 7, likely that was due to the reality that the Chiefs had the game well in hand midway through the 3rd Quarter and wanted to keep him fresh.

CEH only had 7 carries for 42 yards but showed some flashes in the passing game where he does best catching all 3 of his targets for 32 yards and 2 scores.

While CEH is certainly not out of the woods yet in living up to the hype that saw him go in the 1st Round of drafts in 2020, fantasy managers should be happy with how he performed given how far he slid in drafts in 2022. While Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon saw work, we should expect CEH to be the starting running back for now.

7. Dontrell Hilliard

A bit of a surprise to see him on this list, Hilliard had a fantastic Week One after hauling in 3 passes for 61 yards and 2 scores. However, he only had 2 carries for 8 yards.

The good news for Hilliard is that he adds an element to the Titans' offense that Derrick Henry does not in being a solid pass catcher out of the backfield. The Titans were near the top in vacated targets from 2021 with close to 350 and we have seen in recent years that running backs tend to be the biggest beneficiaries of them in the following season.

While Hillard is far from a starting RB for fantasy at this point, he is a solid bench player in deeper formats due to his pass-catching. While many aren't sure how the Titans' offense will be this season without AJ Brown, Hilliard would stand to benefit the most from negative game scripts that result in the Titans having to pass more. Hilliard would become an immediate Top 15 RB if an injury were to occur to Henry.

8. James Robinson

It feels like the normal rules of medical science no longer apply in the year 2022 anymore. James Robinson was back in action and looking good on Sunday after rupturing his Achilles tendon just nine months prior. The Bucs Chris Godwin suited up in Week 1 after a fairly recent ACL tear and the Rams' Cam Akers played on TNF after tearing his Achilles just 15 months ago as well.

Robinson had 11 carries on the ground for 66 yards and 1 TD while hauling in another reception in the red zone for a 3-yard score. Fantasy managers should be ecstatic given how well he looked on Sunday considering how late he was going in fantasy drafts all summer.

Robinson out carried Etienne 11 to 4 and looks to be a serious threat to Etienne's fantasy value this season. While it is still too early to completely jump back on the J-Rob train, we saw in 2020 what he is capable of when fully healthy as he finished as the RB7 in all of fantasy.

9. Joe Mixon

While not incredibly efficient on Sunday, Mixon showed us why he is a relatively safe pick for fantasy this year.

The backfield work is just about all his, he was featured more in the passing game than he was in 2021, and the Bengals' offense should be pretty good this season despite a bad performance from Joe Burrow in Week One.

Mixon had 27 carries for 82 yards while catching 7 of his 9 targets for 63 yards. While his fantasy performance wasn't great, it was still within the top 10 of running back scores which is all you can ask for on a weekly basis.

10. AJ Dillon

A rough day for Packers fans as they lost handily in Minnesota 23-7, AJ Dillon showed why he will have some fantasy value this season.

While Jones had more rushing yards, Dillon was heavily involved in the offense rushing 10 times for 45 yards and a TD on top of hauling in 5 passes for 46 yards. It might be reasonable to expect that Dillon will see more goal line carries than Jones than this year given he is the much bigger running back as well.

It's no secret that Dillon will likely have some of his upside capped each week from Aaron Jones, but he has a great chance of being a solid RB2 for your teams this season and should well outperform his ADP. If an injury were to occur to Jones, Dillon would arguably be a Top 5 start each week.

Looking Forward

How did you fare in Week 1? The good news is there is still plenty of season left to go.

While we shouldn't expect all of these running backs to finish in the Top 10 each week, it's important to remember that for some of them their opportunity cost in drafts as low.

If a player like James Robinson was drafted outside of the top 40 running backs in drafts, but he ends up finishing within the top 24 that is a win for your team.

Are there any running backs not on this list who you expect to bounce back in Week Two? Feel free to get at me on Twitter.

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