It's week 1 of the 2019 fantasy football season and you're wondering where your guy ranks. Well I'll do you one better. I'm going to give you my running back rankings for PPR formats and tell you who I have on my watch list. If you're not using your watch list then you're doing it all wrong. Week 1 through 4 are where fantasy championships are won or lost. Having a solid watch list helps you catch guys before they move up the rankings. But before I divulge my watch list let's dive into our week 1 RB rankings.
The Week 1 RB Rankings
Obviously take Ezekiel Elliott off this list if he doesn't sign very soon and move Tony Pollard up to the 15th spot. I've got Fournette pretty high but this is based on the assumption the Jags will be improved with Foles at the helm and Fournette gets several more targets per game. As far as the top 3 running backs are concerned I'd be willing to call them 1a, 1b and 1c. All three should finish top 5 in PPR leagues. Cook has a chance if he can stay upright and Chubb could easily finish as RB1 if Hunt doesn't steal to many touches come week 10.
| Rank | Running Backs | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | vs. LAR |
| 2 | Saquon Barkley | NYG | at DAL |
| 3 | Alvin Kamara | NO | vs. HOU |
| 4 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | vs. ATL |
| 5 | Nick Chubb | CLE | vs. TEN |
| 6 | David Johnson | ARI | vs. DET |
| 7 | Leonard Fournette | JAC | vs. KC |
| 8 | James Conner | PIT | at NE |
| 9 | Chris Carson | SEA | vs. CIN |
| 10 | Le'Veon Bell | NYJ | vs. BUF |
| 11 | Kerryon Johnson | DET | at ARI |
| 12 | Todd Gurley | LAR | at CAR |
| 13 | Joe Mixon | CIN | at SEA |
| 14 | Mark Ingram | BAL | at MIA |
| 15 | Damien Williams | KC | at JAC |
| 16 | David Montgomery | CHI | vs. GB |
| 17 | Aaron Jones | GB | at CHI |
| 18 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | at OAK |
| 19 | Sony Michel | NE | vs. PIT |
| 20 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | at MIN |
| 21 | Tevin Coleman | SF | at TB |
| 22 | James White | NE | vs. PIT |
| 23 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | vs. IND |
| 24 | Marlon Mack | IND | at LAC |
| 25 | Duke Johnson | HOU | at NO |
| 26 | Derrick Henry | TEN | at CLE |
| 27 | Tony Pollard | DAL | vs. NYG |
| 28 | Josh Jacobs | OAK | vs. DEN |
| 29 | Miles Sanders | PHI | vs. WAS |
| 30 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | vs. GB |
| 31 | Latavius Murray | NO | vs. HOU |
| 32 | Rashaad Penny | SEA | vs. CIN |
| 33 | Matt Breida | SF | at TB |
| 34 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | vs. BAL |
| 35 | Devin Singletary | BUF | at NYJ |
| 36 | Royce Freeman | DEN | at OAK |
| 37 | Jordan Howard | PHI | vs. WAS |
| 38 | Derrius Guice | WAS | at PHI |
| 39 | LeSean McCoy | KC | at JAC |
| 40 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | vs. NYG |
| 41 | Justin Jackson | LAC | vs. IND |
| 42 | Dion Lewis | TEN | at CLE |
| 43 | Peyton Barber | TB | vs. SF |
| 44 | Chris Thompson | WAS | at PHI |
| 45 | Nyheim Hines | IND | at LAC |
| 46 | Darrell Henderson | LAR | at CAR |
| 47 | Adrian Peterson | WAS | at PHI |
| 48 | Jaylen Samuels | PIT | at NE |
| 49 | Ty Montgomery | NYJ | vs. BUF |
| 50 | Kalen Ballage | MIA | vs. BAL |
My Week 1 Watch List
As I stated you want to add these running backs to your watch list. This is an effort to be one step ahead of your league in identifying RB's before they move up the rankings.
- Ty Montgomery - I don't buy into the hype that TY will get 15 touches per game. But if he does for a couple games I'm considering him in my deeper leagues as a flex option.
- Derrius Guice - If coach didn't lie to us the offense is going to flow through Guice. I'm thinking we will see more of AP and CT than everyone thinks. This watch is more about CT and AP than Guice, so maybe just add them.
- Ito Smith - If he gets the Tevin Coleman treatment then he's a flex add.
- Dare Oqunbowale - is he going to be this years Lindsay? He was dynamic in the pre-season.
- Peyton Barber - see above.
- Jaylen Samuels - just how much workload will he be sharing behind Conner? Add to your watch list and see.
