- A change is needed in the New England Patriots‘ backfield: Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson can’t hold onto the ball, which played a huge part in the team losing their Week 3 matchup. Fortunately for the Patriots, they have a explosive rookie running back waiting in the wings.
- Cleveland Browns aren’t messing around with Quinshon Judkins: Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins saw 18 of the Browns' 19 rushing attempts in Week 3. His 94.7% team rushing attempt rate led the league last week by nearly 10%.
- Unlock your edge with PFF+: Access Premium Stats, dominate fantasy with in-season tools and projections and make smarter bets with the new PFF Player Prop Tool.
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Below are the top running back takeaways from the first three weeks of the season that could have a significant impact on fantasy points in Week 4 and beyond.
Omarion Hampton gets 100% of the Los Angeles Chargers RB rush attempts after Najee Harris went down
After a disappointing first two games to start his career, Hampton posted 129 scrimmage yards on 25 touches and scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 3 — he had just 86 scrimmage yards over the first two weeks combined. Hampton also was heavily utilized in the passing game with seven targets, six receptions and 59 receiving yards. His snaps and touches should remain high moving forward, as teammate Harris went down with a season-ending Achilles injury. With Harris sidelined in the second half of Week 3, Hampton had 15 touches for 96 yards and saw all nine running back rushing attempts for the Chargers.
Hampton has week-winning upside with the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins both on the schedule over the next three weeks — two teams that are in the top five for most fantasy points allowed to the running back position so far this season.
Upcoming matchups: at Giants, vs. Commanders, at Dolphins
Rhamondre Stevenson is fumbling the starting job away in New England?
The New England lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week largely thanks to Rhamondre Stevenson’s two fumbles, including one right before crossing the goalline. Stevenson has now fumbled the ball nine times since the start of last season, three more than any other running back in that span. Last season, Stevenson was benched by the Patriots' former coaching staff after fumbling in four straight games to start the year. We will have to wait and see if Josh McDaniels and company will take the same approach with Stevenson, but they can’t keep losing games due to his inability to hold onto the ball, especially when they have an explosive, highly-drafted rookie running back waiting in the wings. After seeing limited work in his first two NFL games, TreVeyon Henderson posted a career-high 34 offensive snaps played, 11 rushing attempts and 14 total touches in Week 3 — he led the backfield in all three metrics.
The Patriots have an amazing upcoming schedule for running backs. They will face the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints over the next three games. The Panthers and Bills defenses have allowed the most and second-most yards per carry to running backs this season, while the Saints have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to the position.
Upcoming matchups: vs. Panthers, at Bills, at Saints
Cleveland Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins is quickly becoming a workhorse back
The Cleveland Browns have wasted no time integrating their second-round rookie into their offense after he missed the entire offseason and preseason. Last week, in his second NFL game, Judkins had 18 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown in a very tough matchup against the elite Green Bay Packers defense. Judkins led the NFL, seeing 94.7% of his team’s rush attempts in Week 3 — he was the only player over 90% and one of just two players above 74% (Christian McCaffrey had 85% of the San Francisco 49ers‘ rushing attempts). Fellow Browns rookie running back Dylan Sampson saw just one carry for two yards in Week 3, while Jerome Ford did not get a rushing attempt in the game.
Judkins' snaps doubled from his first NFL game ot his second, jumping from 26.0% in Week 2 to 54.5% in Week 3 … and there is still room for that number to grow. As long as Judkins avoids the NFL coming down on him with a suspension, he should be in fantasy starting lineups every week moving forward.
Upcoming matchups: at Lions, vs. Vikings, at Steelers, vs. Dolphins
Pittsburgh Steelers RB Jaylen Warren played on a career-high 80% of snaps in Week 3
In Week 3, Jaylen Warren was on the field for 79.6% of the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ offensive snaps while seeing 18 carries and 23 touches in the game. It was the first time in Warren’s career that he played over 70% of the offensive snaps or had 20-plus touches in a game. Both his snaps and touches have increased each game this season:
- Week 1: 44.6% play rate, 13 touches
- Week 2: 59.0% play rate, 18 touches
- Week 3: 79.6% play rate, 23 touches
Warren is one of just eight running backs that has scored at least 13 fantasy points in all three weeks this season. He is looking like one of the best value picks in fantasy drafts this year.
Upcoming matchups: vs. Vikings, bye week, vs. Browns, at Bengals
Three-headed mess in Washington
In the first game without Austin Ekeler (torn Achilles), Jacory Croskey-Merritt (39.7%), Chris Rodriguez Jr. (37.9%) and Jeremy McNichols (25.9%) each played on over 25% of snaps, but none of the three hit 40%.
Rodriguez led the backfield with 11 carries; however, he was the only one of the three to not find the end zone in Week 3, and McNichols led the team with 78 rushing yards (largely thanks to a 60-yard rushing touchdown).
McNichols dominated third-down snaps, playing on eight of the snaps compared to Rodriguez’s two and Croskey-Merritt’s one. The red-zone work was split evenly between Rodriguez and Croskey-Merritt, who both played three snaps and earned two carries each in that area of the field. At least, Croskey-Merritt looks to be the goal-line back, as he saw both of the team’s running backs' rushing attempts inside the opponent's three-yard line in Week 3.
If you need to start a Washington Commanders running back in fantasy, I am still sticking with Croskey-Merritt, who I believe has the most upside and is the most talented back among the group. However, I am not excited to play him until his usage increases.
© 2026 PFF - all rights reserved.