Week 2 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 2194)
September 16, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readWeek 2 Running Back Rankings: The Chiefs' New Identity and the Bucky Irving Breakout
The Monday night game changed everything for how the analysts are thinking about Kenneth Walker. On that first drive, Andy Reid simply handed the ball to Walker over and over, making a statement that the Chiefs offense now runs through their running back. Walker forced 14 missed tackles against a Broncos defense that was supposed to be tough, and he operated on all three downs including goal line work—something he rarely saw in Seattle. As Andrew Erickson put it, "the complete engine to the Chiefs offense." The matchup against the Colts, who couldn't stop Derrick Henry last week, only reinforces the case. Erickson has Walker at RB4, while the consensus ranks have him at RB6. The hesitation from the hosts isn't about this week—it's about the long view. Chris Welsh pointed out that Walker has never handled more than 225 carries in a season, and backup Emmett Johnson looked excellent. But for Week 2, the logic is straightforward: the Chiefs passing game is still a work in progress with Mahomes coming off an ACL injury, and the run game looks like a top-five unit.
The Devon Achane Dilemma
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:45) **Welcome and Week 2 RB Episode Setup** - Chris Welsh, Pat FitzMorris, and Andrew Erickson introduce the week 2 running back rankings episode, covering the top 36 RBs and the expert consensus ranks (ECR).
- 2 (05:10) **RB Big Board: Top 12 Tiers** - The hosts run through the top 12 RBs for Week 2, led by Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, and Ken Walker.
- 3 (09:51) **De'Von Achane vs. 49ers: Risk or RB1?** - De'Von Achane sits at RB11 in ECR, with a four-star matchup grade, but the hosts question the 49ers defense.
- 4 (16:42) **Ad Break & Polymarket Promotion** - A brief ad for Polymarket, a legal prediction market, with a promo code for a $50 bonus.
- 5 (19:48) **RB2s: Running Backs 13-24** - The board shows Chase Brown, DeAndre Swift, Kyren Williams, Breece Hall, David Montgomery, and Bucky Irving in the RB2 tier.
- 6 (24:10) **Jeremiah Love vs. Jadarian Price: Split Opinions** - The hosts are sharply divided on these two backs in tough matchups.
- 7 (31:08) **Rhamondre Stevenson's Value with TreViyon Henderson** - A quick aside on whether TreViyon Henderson's return hurts Rhamondre Stevenson's RB2 status.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Chris Welsh, Pat Fitzmaurice, and Andrew Erickson break down the biggest Week 2 running back ranking decisions, including which early-season workloads you can trust and where matchup concerns should change your expectations.
Kenneth Walker’s expanded role takes center stage, while the guys also debate how much confidence to have in De’Von Achane, Bucky Irving, and several volatile RB2 and flex options.
Plus, they identify a few deeper running backs who could outperform consensus and help fantasy managers navigate difficult Week 2 lineup calls.
Timestamps: (May be off due to ads)
Intro - 0:00:00
Week 1 Rankings Recap - 0:00:32
RBs 1-12 - 0:04:37
Kenneth Walker - 0:05:14
De’Von Achane - 0:09:09
Polymarket - 0:16:07
RBs 13-24 - 0:17:09
Bucky Irving - 0:17:41
Jeremiah Love - 0:21:31
Jadarian Price - 0:25:12
Rhamondre Stevenson - 0:28:48
RBs 25-36 - 0:30:47
Jacory Croskey-Merritt - 0:31:13
Rico Dowdle - 0:34:23
MarShawn Lloyd - 0:37:28
Blake Corum - 0:39:37
Deeper Plays - 0:41:55
Kaelon Black - 0:42:08
TreVeyon Henderson - 0:43:57
Outro - 0:44:43
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