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With some of the most talented running backs in fantasy football on the shelf, even the most experienced managers are being tested with crucial decisions leading up to Week 3 action. Fantasy top dog Christian McCaffrey will be out a couple more weeks, while Isiah Pacheco and Kenneth Walker won't be available to stabilize our lineups this week.
Playing the right matchup with potential fill-ins is the key to having a successful week, and Sportskeeda is here to provide Half-PPR ranks and the best plays for the running back position.
Week 3 Fantasy Football RB Rankings
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Fantasy Football RB picks: Best plays of the week
1] Alvin Kamara vs Philadelphia Eagles
We've all heard about the age cliff for NFL running backs. Once a player approaches his age-30 season, the wear and tear starts to show on the body, and production typically starts to fall off. It seems Father Time begins building a robust RB lineup before anyone else. Even the most-feared fantasy backs like Derrick Henry have shown signs of a weary career this year.
But Alvin Kamara is out to prove that theory doesn't apply to everyone. Kamara turned 29 last July and has never looked better for an upstart Saints team looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 2013. The eight-year veteran has turned back the clock with seven explosive runs of 10-plus yards and recorded nine avoided tackles this season, which was sixth-best among all running backs.
I know it's easy to pick the running back with the most fantasy points after two weeks for our top play of the week, but what he's doing is remarkable. He passed the eye test this year with two vintage Kamara performances. His 66 fantasy points were 13.5 points more than the second-highest scoring running back in 22-year-old De'Von Achane (52.5) and three points ahead of 23-year-old Breece Hall's 63 points. That's impressive, considering Hall has already finished his third game of the season, and Kamara is still ahead of him on fantasy points.
Of course, running back success has much to do with the play of the big guys up front. Kamara is third in the league with 3.5 yards before contact average through two games. The hog-mollies have been moving some mass up front and will look to continue their success this week with a Philadelphia defensive line that has allowed the league-worst average in yards before contact (3.2).
The Eagles have given up the 8th-most rushing yards (315) and third-most explosive runs of 10-plus yards or more (11). Philadelphia just gave up six explosive runs of 10-plus yards on Monday Night Football to Bijan Robinson (4) and Tyler Allgeier (2) for 150 rushing yards. Chalk up Kamara as the best running back play of the week, coming off a white-hot start and facing a struggling defense on a short week.
2] Jordan Mason vs Los Angeles Rams
Everyone knew the Los Angeles Rams would struggle to replace Aaron Donald. It's cliche, but you don't replace a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year overnight. But we never expected the Rams to struggle this badly without the eight-time All-Pro.
Los Angeles has had a nightmarish start to its season, especially stopping the run against the Lions and Cardinals. The Rams have given up the third-most yards to running backs (394) and are fourth-worst in the league with ten explosive runs of 10-plus yards or more. The Rams have the second-worst rate in Stuff percentage (11.3) and have given up the fourth-worst yards before contact rate at 2.4. Los Angeles also has the sixth-worst 21.1% avoided tackles rate in two games and will face divisional rival San Francisco 49ers featuring waiver-wire star Jordan Mason.
Mason has run for 247 yards in two games filling in for injured fantasy star Christian McCaffrey and already has seven explosive runs of 10-plus yards or more — the most by any running back heading into Week 3 action. Look for San Francisco to lean heavily on Mason again, especially with Deebo Samuel out with a calf strain and George Kittle doubtful for Sunday's game in Los Angeles.
3] D'Andre Swift vs Indianapolis Colts
It's tough to recommend a running back with just one rushing first down all season but bear with me. Chicago enters Week 3 with an intriguing matchup against an Indianapolis defense which has been the most advantageous unit against running backs this season. Shane Steichen's squad has allowed the most rushing yards (474) and a whopping 15 explosive runs of 10-plus yards or more. According to its avoided tackles rate, the Colts are the worst team in the league, with 25 missed opportunities in two games this season.
Last week, Green Bay's Josh Jacobs destroyed the Colts' defense with 151 rushing yards in a game where it was short-handed and missing starting quarterback Jordan Love. Jacobs finished with ten avoided tackles and had four explosive runs of 10 yards or more. Jacobs could've had a more significant day than his 15.1 fantasy points last Sunday if it wasn't for a goalline fumble.
You'd need two things to happen for this play to work. First, there must be a paradigm shift with the Bears' offense and it needs to take pressure off Caleb Williams. There's no better way to do that than to lean on your veteran running back against the worst rush defense in the league after two weeks. Swift has only 48 rushing yards this season and one explosive play of 10-plus yards. He has avoided three tackles but hasn't had much room to operate, as Chicago's offensive line averages 1.9 yards before contact this season.
Williams has struggled in his first two games as a pro. He enters Week 3 with a league-worst 4.0 yards per attempt and owns the sixth-worst completion percentage (56.1%). Only recently benched Bryce Young (11.6) has scored fewer fantasy points by starting quarterbacks than Williams (12.6). I'm willing to give Swift another chance this week, at least in DFS, but if the Bears continue to put the ball in Williams' hands and hope for some magic to happen, it will continue to fail like it did last week. Offensive Shane Waldron needs to find some answers this week, and it would be wise for him to take the ball out of Williams' hands and lean on his veteran backfield in this matchup.
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