The Fantasy Football Club with Sal Vetri
The Fantasy Football Club with Sal Vetri

My Top 50 Running Backs for Week 2 Fantasy Football

September 18, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Christian McCaffrey is the biggest favorite on the entire NFL slate in Week 2, with the 49ers implied for 29.5 points and favored by 13.5 against Miami. That sounds great until you hear McCaffrey himself comparing his backfield situation to the Gibbs-Montgomery and Bijan-Allgeier duos, saying "it was so good to see" those splits keep players fresh. Fantasy managers who took McCaffrey in the top five are now staring at rookie Caleb Black, who saw 50% of the backfield work in Week 1. Sal Vetri breaks down his top 50 running backs for the week, explaining which usage signals are real, which are matchup-dependent, and where the market is overreacting to one game.

Why Kenneth Walker Is Already a Top-3 Rest-of-Season Back

Kenneth Walker got 23 carries, caught a touchdown, and posted 36 fantasy points on Monday night. After the game, Travis Kelce said on his podcast that Kansas City had been "talking all spring and summer about running the ball with Kenneth Walker." Vetri ranks him as the RB6 for Week 2 and says if we redrafted today, Walker would be his third overall pick. The concern is durability—25-plus touches per week is a lot for any runner—but the game plan is clear. The Seahawks are going to feature him, and the Chiefs are touchdown favorites against the Colts with the sixth-highest team total on the slate.

The Genty and Achane Overreaction

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:07) **Top 5 Running Backs** - Sal opens with his must-start top five: Gibbs, Bijan, McCaffrey, Henry, and Taylor.
  • 2 (00:23) **Running Backs 6-10: Walker, Cook, Genty, Achane** - Sal ranks Kenneth Walker at #6 and explains his bullish outlook.
  • 3 (01:29) **Running Backs 11-15: Barkley, Irving, Chase Brown, etc.** - Sal lists the next tier, highlighting Bucky Irving as a must-start.
  • 4 (02:28) **Running Backs 16-20: Montgomery, Swift, Hampton, Hall, Hubbard** - Sal breaks down this tier, with DeAndre Swift as a standout.
  • 5 (03:55) **Running Backs 21-25: Lloyd, Scadaboo, Aaron Jones, etc.** - Sal discusses Marshawn Lloyd’s bounce-back potential and Aaron Jones’s new role.
  • 6 (04:55) **Running Backs 26-30: Etienne, Moore, Love, etc.** - Sal dives into Travis Etienne’s concerning situation and a few flex options.
  • 7 (06:08) **Running Backs 31-36: Pollard, Bigsby, Dobbins, etc.** - Sal covers deeper flex options, including a warning on Tony Pollard.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Sal Vetri

Show Notes

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My Top 50 Running Backs for Week 2 Fantasy Football


(Data source credits: Player Profiler)


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