So, earlier this week, my 2-year-old son and my wife were racing his cars around the kitchen floor having a good ol’ time.
Suddenly, my son got a little too big for his britches and tried to run too fast and wound up crashing into the counter and knocking my wife’s water all over him.
After a bunch of crying, screaming… and my son had a few objections too, he had a mess to clean up.
At the start of the NFL season, most fantasy rosters look like well-oiled Ferraris and everyone can see a clear path to fantasy glory.
But maintaining those starting lineups and making sure the fluids are changed promptly are paramount. With lousy oil and an empty tank of gas, even the shiniest Ferraris will crash and burn.
Landing running back starts keeps that fantasy engine roaring like a lion and purring like a kitten.
Week 2 features a slew of RB starts that might require a little extra fortitude to submit. It’s paramount to appropriately gauge floors, upside, and exploitable matchups.
As always, remember this is just a game. There’s no need to target NFL players on social media for lackluster fantasy performances (ok, maybe sometimes).
Fire up The Wolf’s Week 2 Rankings and LET’S GO!
WEEK 2 RUNNING BACK START ‘EM
BUCKY IRVING, RB, BUCCANEERS VS. BROWNS
Can we trust Bucky? Or can fantasy managers expect to get burned again by the volatile Irving?
Well, for week two I’m deploying The Winter Soldier without hesitation.
Bucky turned eight carries into 45 yards and a score while catching all seven of his targets for a juicy 48 receiving yards.
Yes please.
More importantly, Bucky looked like the Bucky fantasy managers fell in love with in 2024.
He averaged 5.6 yards per carry and 3 yards before contact.
When the chips were down, though, Bucky handled all the red zone and 10-zone work.
Seven targets a week sounds unreasonable, especially with Kenny Gainwell playing nearly half the snaps in week 1.
- Bucky Irving: 62% snaps, 8 carries, 21 routes, 7 targets (93 yds, TD)
- Kenny Gainwell: 46% snaps, 5 carries, 14 routes, 1 target (18 yds)
In fact, it’s entirely likely that Bucky cools off a bit from his Week 1 explosion.
His 15 opportunities were worth an expected 16.4 fantasy points (+4.9 FPOE), suggesting there’s reason to expect a slight downtick in production.
Still, the Browns just let Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez combine for nearly 120 rush yards.
OMARION HAMPTON, RB, CHARGERS VS. RAIDERS
A rough outing has a lot of people prematurely mashing the panic button. Patience people!
This is what happens when preseason hype machines reach epic proportions. A less-than-terrific start and suddenly the sky is falling.
The offense as a whole was a colossal failure and, fumble aside, there’s little to blame Hampton for.
The Raiders managed to contain De’Von Achane last week. A tip of the cap. The former McDaniel jitterbug was limited to 36 yards on 11 carries and four grabs for 30 more.
Keaton Mitchell is not a threat, folks.
Hampton was featured early and almost exclusively in the second half. Mitchell was ineffective, with only 25% of his runs going for at least three yards, while nearly 42% of Hampton’s went for at least five.
Mitchell was stuffed on 75% of his attempts vs. Hampton’s 50% stuff rate.
Last week represented a colossal failure for the offensive line, creating a dysfunctional offense.
Hampton only managed 0.25 YBC/att, but he managed to thrive after contact and still forced a missed tackle on 42% of his rushes.
With the marriage of the run and the pass game a staple of McDaniel’s play-calling repertoire, there are better days ahead for Hampton and the backfield. I’m calling my shot: it’s this week.
AARON JONES, RB, VIKINGS VS. BEARS
Jones looked a little more spry than in 2025 and should still provide some pass-catching juice with Jordan Mason on IR.
It helps that the Bears look like a perfect matchup to exploit.
Ben Johnson is channeling the ghost of former Kentucky Wildcats football coach Hal Mumme and putting all of his chips in on offense.
The Panthers put up the seventh-most RB fantasy points out of the gate as the two teams combined for nearly 100 points.
The corpse of Chuba Hubbard looked like he had a little electricity still in his legs, scoring two touchdowns and going for nearly 90 YFS.
The game script favors a heavy dose of target opportunities for Jones as the Bears, who are favored by nearly a touchdown in an over/under projected for nearly 50 points.
With Carson Wentz in the game, the Vikings ranked second in neutral pass rate
Other RB starts: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (WAS) vs. Cowboys, Rhamondre Stevenson (NE), vs. Steelers
WEEK 2 RUNNING BACK SIT ‘EM
TRAVIS ETIENNE, RB, SAINTS VS. RAVENS
There is a world where this turns into another salvageable day for Etienne, but I’m not willing to hang my hat on it.
The Saints are expected to be down early and often with this nuclear-looking Ravens offense prepared to challenge the Bears for offensive supremacy.
Tyler Shough is likely a strong start with a juicy pass-heavy game script since they’ll be trailing so often. So Etienne could return value as a receiver with Alvin Kamara still questionable at best.
After splitting carries with Kendre Miller and being stuffed on nearly 56% of his attempts, I’m not willing to start him as anything other than a volume-based flex.
After all, a Week 1 17.7 xFP role can’t just be dismissed.
RICO DOWDLE, RB, STEELERS VS. PATRIOTS
Give me a minute and let me fetch the reading glasses that I must suddenly need; there’s no way he fared THIS badly against the Falcons last week.
Okay, I take it back. WOOF!
Eight carries for 15 yards and catching two of five targets for 6 yards? No, thank you.
Jaylen Warren flat-out played Dowdle and made him look bad.
The Patriots allowed 1.77 yards before contact as a unit against the Seahawks and only allowed a missed tackle on 14% of rush attempts.
In other words, it projects to be a long day for Dowdle again.
JK DOBBINS, RB, DENVER BRONCOS VS. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
No. Nope. Negative. No chance.
Last week, the Jags shut down Quinshon Judkins, allowing only 50 yards of total offense on 14 touches.
Talk about another colossal failure on offense?
Bo Nix and company stunk up the joint against the Chiefs. I heard unconfirmed reports that biohazard teams are still working to fumigate the field from that mess.
Dobbins was scarcely used, with a role worth only 4.2 xFP.
In fact, despite leading the backfield in carries, he only played 40.4% of snaps to Harvey’s 55.3%.
Add in some scuttlebutt of a potentially expanded role for rookie Jonah Coleman?
To his credit, he did manage at least one explosive rush, ripping off a 17-yard chunker, accounting for 47% of his total yards. Yikes!
However, in 2025, the Jaguars ranked third in allowing fantasy points to opposing running backs, and it appears that defensive trend has carried over.
We’re on to Week 3 Dobbins!
Other RB sits: Tony Pollard (TEN) vs. PHI, MarShawn Lloyd (GB) vs. NYJ, Bhayshul Tuten (JAX) vs. DEN
