Fantasy Football Rushing Report: Touches, schemes, matchups, more ahead of Week 3

• Indianapolis Colts RB Zack Moss earns a workhorse role: As long as Jonathan Taylor is out, the Colts have made it clear that Moss is the guy.

• Jerome Ford is a must-add in all formats: Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb has suffered a season-ending knee injury, and Ford is the next man up.

• Tony Jones Jr. saw significant usage following a hamstring injury to Jamaal Williams: With New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara out for another week while serving a suspension, backup Tony Jones Jr. could be in for a significant workload in Week 3.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Week 2 was a brutal one for the running back position, seeing several injuries to highly drafted fantasy assets, including a season-ending knee injury to Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb. There’s also an ankle injury to Saquon Barkley that will likely keep him out for several weeks, meaning it’s as important now as ever to understand the usage of running backs to keep your fantasy football teams in tip-top shape. 

Here are eight running back takeaways from Week 2’s targets and touches report that could bear a significant impact on running back outlooks in Week 3 and beyond.

Fantasy Football Rushing Report

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Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard has reached workhorse status.

No Zeke, no problem! The Cowboys are riding their franchise-tagged running back off into the sunset, giving him all the work he can handle to the delight of fantasy football managers. 

Pollard saw a career-high 32 touches in Week 2, including plenty of work as a receiver and in the red zone for some of those high-value touches fantasy managers love to see. It’s not a surprise, necessarily, as most fantasy managers drafted him as a presumed workhorse, but the significant gap between Pollard and the rest of the depth chart is encouraging for a top-five finish in fantasy, as long as he remains healthy. 

In case fantasy managers are looking for the Pollard “handcuff”, it’s still been a bit of a wash between rookies Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke and veteran Rico Dowdle.

Upcoming matchups: at Cardinals, vs. Patriots, at 49ers

Indianapolis Colts RB Zack Moss is a workhorse, too.

In case it wasn’t clear how unhappy the Colts were with Deon Jackson’s performance in Week 1, they made sure to do so with the workload given to RB Zack Moss in his first game returning from a broken arm suffered this offseason. Moss played 56-of-57 offensive snaps – the only running back on the team to see a single snap on the day. He totaled 22 touches for 107 yards and a score in his season debut, finishing as the overall RB10 in half-PPR scoring formats. 

Unfortunately, Moss has a difficult upcoming schedule, but for those in need of a volume-based play, you could do worse, especially given the injury bug making its way around the running back position.

Upcoming matchups: at Ravens, vs. Rams, vs. Titans

Jerome Ford is the next man up for the Cleveland Browns.

Unfortunately, in the NFL, it’s always about the next-man-up mentality. That remains true for the Cleveland Browns, who’ve lost lead RB Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury suffered on Monday Night Football. Though there’s no direct replacement for Chubb, fantasy managers can look to backup Jerome Ford as a must-add in all league formats. Following Chubb’s injury from the start of the second quarter onward, Ford led the team with 40 offensive snaps, tallying 19 touches and averaging 6.7 yards per carry as the team’s lead back. Working behind him is former New England Patriots RB Pierre Strong Jr., though it seems likely it’s Ford’s job to lose. The Browns do have a few tough matchups against some of the league’s best rushing defenses in the coming weeks, but he’ll be a suitable volume play for those in need of depth at running back.

Upcoming matchups: vs. Titans, vs. Ravens, vs 49ers

The gap widens between Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren… in a bad way.

Steelers RB Najee Harris led the backfield with 31 snaps in Week 1, but not too far behind him was back Jaylen Warren… and Warren continues to look much better in virtually all facets of the game. Warren led the entire offense with an 85.1 PFF receiving grade on the week, and though Harris and Warren ran 15 routes on the day, Warren was targeted on 33.3% of routes in comparison to Harris’ 20%. 

Warren has the clear edge in the Steelers offense as a receiver, seeing 11 targets and catching nine for 78 receiving yards. Through two games, Warren is averaging 2.36 yards per route run, third-best among running backs with at least five targets. 

Interestingly, it’s been Harris who has the edge in efficiency metrics as a runner, but the stats are a bit more deceiving than you’d guess when watching the two play. However, the answer to which Steelers running back is the one you want to roster, the answer might just very well be “neither” if the offense continues to struggle as it has so far this season.

Upcoming matchups: at Raiders, at Texans, vs. Ravens

The Los Angeles Rams are officially in their Kyren Williams era.

After leading all running backs with an 84.6% touch rate in Week 1 (which was noted in last week’s column as one of the most deceiving stats on the week), the Rams made former second-round pick Cam Akers a healthy scratch on the day. They proceeded full steam ahead with Kyren Williams, who finished as the overall RB1 on the week with 20 total touches for 100 yards and two touchdowns – one on the ground and another through the air. He played 95% of the available snaps, with Ronnie Rivers the next man up behind him. Akers is droppable in all redraft league formats.

Upcoming matchups: at Benglas, at Colts, vs. Eagles

Detroit Lions RB David Montgomery’s usage remained significant.

Lions RB David Montgomery was carted off the field in Week 2 due to a thigh injury, labeled as “day-to-day” by HC Dan Campbell, though Montgomery himself noted he’ll “probably need a couple of weeks” to bounce back at 100%. Though many are looking at this as an opportunity for Gibbs to take over the backfield entirely, don’t be surprised if backup Craig Reynolds puts a hold on those plans. In the fourth quarter through overtime, Reynolds saw four touches (albeit inefficient ones), receiving all first and second down rush attempts in that time span. 

Upcoming matchups: vs. Falcons, at Packers, vs. Panthers

New Orleans Saints RB Tony Jones Jr. could be in for a monster Week 3.

A three-game suspension to Saints RB Alvin Kamara opened up some opportunities within the offense for another running back to start the year hot for fantasy managers. It seemed likely that it would be Jamaal Williams to shoulder the load, but unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 that could force New Orleans to continue working its way down the depth chart. Former UDFA Tony Jones Jr. stepped up in his absence following the injury, finishing Week 2 with 14 touches and two touchdowns on the day while converting each of his two carries inside the five.

Upcoming matchups: at Packers, vs. Buccaneers, at Patriots

#LetJamesCookCook.

The Bills got the run game going with the running backs room in Week 2, and second-year RB James Cook has shined with his opportunities. Cook led the team with 18 attempts, producing 125 rushing yards for a 6.9 yards per carry average. His 28% missed forced tackle rate and 4.7 yards after contact per attempt were a big help in that, while his 5.6% stuff rate was well below that of Damien Harris and Latavius Murray, both of whom finished Week 2 over 14%. The biggest concern for Cook is the lack of red zone usage, where Murray and Harris have combined for eight attempts to Cook’s two, including five carries inside the five, where Cook has yet to see work this season. 

Upcoming matchups: at Commanders, vs. Dolphins, vs. Jaguars