Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings and Projections Foresee a Javonte Williams Spike, MarShawn Lloyd Slide
Who will break out in Week 2 fantasy football? Week 1 saw Ashton Jeanty, Derrick Henry, and Kenneth Walker III get lethal. It also saw flubs from Quinshon Judkins, MarShawn Lloyd, and Omarion Hampton. The good news is that today is a new day, and this week is a new week. In Week 2, I project the following at the running back position.
Top-12 Running Backs
Jahmyr Gibbs retains RB1 status this week. He is the most likely touchdown scorer (72.1%) this week. Facing the Bills on Thursday Night, as the new Highmark Stadium opens, Gibbs gets Buffalo's bottom-half-rated, run-stopping defense and is very low risk.
Javonte Williams has skyrocketed to RB4 in Week 2. He was originally slated to play a very small portion of the Cowboys' passing offense. Yet, in Week 1, Williams ran 20 routes, saw 5 targets, and caught all 5 targets for 31 yards and a touchdown. If Williams remains this involved in the pass game, he will have usage at the top of the NFL.
Ashton Jeanty's huge Week 1 was also a pleasant sight in the face of injury concerns. Jeanty touched the football on 29 of the Raiders' 68 offensive snaps (42.6%). His opposition, the LA Chargers, are the FPI 11th-rated defense, and my own projections find them outside the top half, 11th-ranked in half the league, after a very bad Week 1 26-14 loss to the Cardinals.
Best Upside Plays
The Jets had a picture-perfect Week 1. The team ran the ball over 62% of the time. Breece Hall ran the ball 22 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. I now rank the Jets' run game as the 14th-best in the NFL, and the Packers' run stop as the 26th-best. It shall be another big week for Hall.
Chuba Hubbard played 48 snaps to Jonathan Brooks' 13, compared in Week 1. Hubbard scored 2 touchdowns: 1 rushing and 1 receiving. Quite clearly, he is the Panthers' lead back until further notice. We can look happily upon this offense after a 37-point season debut. Atlanta is one of the most average defenses in the NFL.
Fade these Running Backs
Jeremiyah Love might have an issue in Arizona.
— Tom Carelli | Fantasy Football (@TCarelliTakes) September 14, 2026
He was out-rushed 17 carries to 11 by Tyler Allgeier
Love did score the teams sole rushing touchdown. He was also expected to have a reduced role first game back post-injury
My season-long snap-split was anticipated as:
• Love…
Tyler Allgeier out-rushed Jeremiyah Love 17-to-11 in their season debut. Despite a second-half run script, Love did not benefit quite as much as fantasy managers would have liked. A touchdown scored is great, but he went for less than 4 yards per attempt. It looks like this split is not as hoped, for now. Not to mention, the Seahawks play host this week; an elite defense on 11 days' rest.
MarShawn Lloyd underwhelmed us in Week 1 with just 13 rushing attempts for 37 yards. I have the Jets' defense rated as the best run-stopping defense in the NFL. After all, they allowed 68 rushing yards in Week 1.
Sleeper of the Week
Kaelon Black ran the ball 14 times in Week 1. It was 4 more attempts than Christian McCaffrey. It was 14 more than Jordan James' goose egg. I cannot tell you that Black will continue to out-rush McCaffrey, as it will not happen. Nonetheless, Black's rushing yard share has been boosted to about 21% of the 49ers' offense in my projections.
One of the NFL's worst defenses resides down in Miami. As massive favorites, the 49ers may enter a second-half run script. In doing so, they may not wish to risk too much contact with McCaffrey's body. Thus, Black will have a respectable chance of scoring this Sunday.
Week 1 Projection Leaders
- Rushing Attempts: Jahmyr Gibbs (23.8)
- Rushing Yards: Jahmyr Gibbs (102.4)
- Rushing Touchdowns: Gibbs, Derrick Henry (1.0)
- Receptions: Christian McCaffrey, Ashton Jeanty (5.4)
- Receiving Yards: Christian McCaffrey (48.6)
- Receiving Touchdowns: Bijan Robinson, McCaffrey, Jeanty (0.3)
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.