Fantasy football Week 2 RB preview: Kenneth Walker looks like an RB1

Missed tackles are always a little bit tough to diagnose. Did the defender mess up? Did the offensive player create the missed tackle? A lot of times it’s a little bit of both. Whatever the cause, on Monday night in Kansas City, missed tackles were the primary reason the Chiefs blew the doors off the Denver Broncos. The guys creating those missed tackles were predominantly the Chiefs’ two new running backs, Kenneth Walker and Emmett Johnson.

Walker was a revelation early and often in this game. His 60.9% tackle avoid rate was second in Week 1, trailing only Bucky Irving. His 7.78 yards after contact per rush attempt also ranked second, behind Kyle Monangai. And Johnson wasn’t just efficient, he was a bell cow. He had 26 touches in this game despite barely playing in the 4th quarter. He looked like a true RB1 with a chance to challenge the RB1 if this usage keeps up.

Johnson wasn’t as efficient as a rusher, didn’t force as many missed tackles as a rusher, but he picked up 44 yards on his two receptions and made multiple Broncos defenders look foolish in the process. His lower rushing average could at least partially be attributed to the fact that most of his rushes came after the game was in hand and the Broncos knew the Chiefs would be running every play. What became crystal clear is that Johnson is the replacement for Walker, and he looks well-suited to do the job. Brashard Smith spent his night on the sideline and did not receive a touch. For teams that don’t need Week 2 help, Johnson may just be the top waiver wire add this week.

The success of these backs only highlights what an incredible week it was for the position. Six running backs scored at least 30 PPR Fantasy points. Six more scored at least 20. Nine more scored at least 13. As awesome as that is, it could feel pretty lonesome if your starting backs were bad in Week 1. I am hopeful De’Von Achane, Omarion Hampton, James Cook, and Saquon Barkley will bounce back, though I am not sure any of them will be as good as Walker. As for the other backs who struggled in Week 1, I am going to be very concerned if they aren’t better in Week 2.

Now let’s get to the rest of the Week 1 RB Preview:

Week 2 RB Preview

• 78% — De’Von Achane ran a route on 78% of the team’s drop-backs. Bijan Robinson was the only running back with a higher route rate in Week 1.
• 69% — Chuba Hubbard played 69% of the offensive snaps for the Panthers. He’s the RB1 for now.
• 60% — Christian McCaffrey had a 60% rush success rate. We may get fewer rush attempts but more productive rushes because of that.
• 25.9% — Bucky Irving’s 25.9% target share was the second highest amongst running backs. Kenneth Gainwell did not matter in Week 1.
• 85.1% — Rhamondre Stevenson had the third-highest snap share at 85.1%. That will come down significantly when TreVeyon Henderson returns.
• 65% — Marshawn Lloyd had 65% of the Packers‘ running back opportunities in Week 1. I am not giving up on him yet.
• -0.73 — Jeremiyah Love averaged -0.73 yards before contact in Week 1. You were fortunate to get the touchdown if you started him.
• 24 — Breece Hall had 24 touches in Week 1. That was his most in a game since Week 18 of the 2024 season.
• 10 — The Titans gave their running backs 10 carries in Week 1. And this was a game they were favored in.

My full set of Week 2 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don’t live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 2. Projected stats for all starting running backs will be updated throughout the week, so check back regularly.