Having too many quality RBs on your roster is a good problem to have in fantasy football, but for those managers who have great depth at the position, you could find yourself stressing over who to start or sit for Week 1.
Fear not, my friend, I’m here with some strong start/sit options at the RB position for Week 1 of the NFL season. Let’s take a closer look.
Which RBs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
AJ Dillon, Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers offense has been flying under the fantasy radar for most of the offseason. That’s because this will be the first time since 2008 that Aaron Rodgers won’t be the starting QB for the Packers heading into the year.
Never forget when AJ Dillon ran over a DEFENSIVE TACKLE on his way to scoring a touchdown🚂 #Quadzilla pic.twitter.com/1qrh3nQxEz
— IKE Packers Podcast (@IKE_Packers) January 14, 2022
Well, good thing the Packers can rely on the running game in their season opener. Last year, AJ Dillon saw 18 carries in both games against the Chicago Bears — a team that gave up the second-most rushing yards in the league in 2022 — and should be in line for plenty of work alongside Aaron Jones.
Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins RB room has been decimated by injuries this preseason. Jeff Wilson Jr. is on injured reserve (IR), De’Von Achane is dealing with a shoulder injury, and Salvon Ahmed is dealing with a neck injury. That leaves Raheem Mostert and undrafted free agent Chris Brooks as the only healthy options heading into the season.
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With Mostert in line to see a ton of work against the Los Angeles Chargers — who allowed 145 yards per game on the ground in 2022 — in a game that many expect to be among the highest scoring in Week 1 … insert him into your lineup with confidence to start the season.
Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears
The Bears led the league in rushing yards in 2022 and have Khalil Herbert slated as the starting RB to begin the season. His leading role against a Packers defense that struggled at times against opposing rushing attacks, giving up 139 yards on the ground per game, means this is a great week to insert Herbert into your starting lineup.
Which RBs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals offense is a complete question mark heading into the 2023 NFL season, and I mean that quite literally … the team has not even officially named a starting QB yet for Week 1.
Whether it’s Clayton Tune or Joshua Dobbs, that doesn’t bode well for Arizona’s offense scoring many points against a very talented Washington Commanders defense.
James Conner should see plenty of volume. However, in what should be a low-scoring game, I’d rather go in other directions until we have some sort of idea of what the QB play will look like in Arizona for 2023.
Breece Hall, New York Jets
These unsettled committees are sure to give fantasy managers anxiety heading into Week 1, but perhaps none more so than the New York Jets’ duo of Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook.
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In addition to having no realistic idea of how this timeshare is going to play out, the matchup isn’t exactly favorable either. The Buffalo Bills were fifth in the league against opposing rushing attacks — giving up just 104 yards on the ground per game — which means it could be tough sledding for both running backs.
While we got some glimpses of Hall looking spry in his return to practice, we still haven’t seen how explosive he looks in full-blown game action yet. I’d prefer to take a cautious wait-and-see approach before deploying him into my lineup.
Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
Speaking of RBs coming off of knee injuries, Javonte Williams is another player I find myself hesitating to trust in Week 1. To be fair, in comparison to Hall, we did see Williams in preseason action, and his matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders isn’t nearly as daunting to start the season.
Unfortunately, the Denver Broncos have Samaje Perine, who is fully capable of handling a high volume of work, as their backup RB. It doesn’t help matters that Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi suggested Williams could be a little limited to start the season.
While it’s encouraging that he returned to the field this preseason, I’m concerned about William’s workload and efficiency to start the year.
Trending Searches for RB Start/Sit
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use and it allows you to enter in up to six players to find the best player to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, which we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity on!
Should You Start Rhamondre Stevenson or Jahmyr Gibbs?
The New England Patriots decided to muddy up the fantasy outlook of this backfield considerably when they signed RB Ezekiel Elliott this summer.
Rhamondre Stevenson proved capable as a three-down option out of the backfield last season, but there is certainly concern he could lose work in goal-line situations to Zeke this season.
Unfortunately for the Pats, I don’t see them having a plethora of scoring opportunities against one of the most talented defensive units in the league.
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Sure, Jahmyr Gibbs is likely to lose a bit of work to David Montgomery, but his dynamic playmaking ability as a pass catcher should produce fantasy points in a high-scoring game against a middle-of-the-road defensive unit.
In this scenario, I’m willing to roll with Gibbs’ upside over Stevenson’s projected advantage in the volume department.
Should You Start Antonio Gibson or James Cook?
The Bills cleared the way for James Cook to be their leading back when Devin Singletary left via free agency this offseason.
The problem lies with how much work Cook will see once the high-powered Bills offense gets inside the 10-yard line.
There are similar usage concerns for Antonio Gibson, but in a Week 1 showdown against a Cardinals team that doesn’t project to win that many games this season, Gibson could see plenty of work with a favorable game script.
Should You Start David Montgomery or Miles Sanders?
Miles Sanders has been dealing with a groin injury for the majority of the preseason and lost a considerable amount of reps with his new team.
Not to mention, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young will be making his NFL debut against a division rival in a game that has one of the lowest over/under lines of Week 1.
Do you know what game has the highest over/under line in Week 1? The Detroit Lions versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
David Montgomery is the back better suited for short yardage work in a quality offense running behind one of the best offensive lines in the league.
I’d much rather go with Montgomery until we get a closer look at how this Panthers offense will look with Young under center.