RB Rankings Downgrades For Week 2 Fantasy Football: Jeremiyah Love, MarShawn Lloyd & More

Let's get into the Week 2 RB rankings edition of Freedman's Fades, where I highlight guys I'm downgrading because of …

Unfavorable betting factors and situational spots
Disadvantageous defensive matchups (perhaps amplified by offensive injury)
Decreased usage expectations (again, maybe exacerbated by offensive injury)

For process notes regarding this series, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my Week 2 favorites and fades.

Week 2 Running Back Rankings

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Rank	Player
1	Jahmyr Gibbs
2	Bijan Robinson
3	Christian McCaffrey
4	Derrick Henry
5	Jonathan Taylor
6	Ashton Jeanty
7	Kenneth Walker
8	Saquon Barkley
9	James Cook
10	Omarion Hampton
11	De'Von Achane
12	Chase Brown
13	Javonte Williams
14	Kyren Williams
15	D'Andre Swift
16	Breece Hall
17	Bucky Irving
18	Jeremiyah Love
19	David Montgomery
20	Cam Skattebo
21	Rhamondre Stevenson
22	Travis Etienne
23	Chuba Hubbard
24	Jadarian Price

Week 2 Matchup Downgrades In The RB Rankings: Jeremiyah Love vs. Seahawks & Bhayshul Tuten at Broncos

There are a few "reverse flow chart" defenses so good that they serve automatic downgrades to whatever RBs they face. If a guy is playing one of them, I aggressively move him down my ranks. If not, I carry on.

Based on the numbers I see in our Fantasy Football DvP (Defense vs. Position) Matrix as well as RBs Don't Matter and FTN, the Texans and Broncos last year were two of the biggest reverse flow chart defenses for RBs.

Seahawks: No. 1 in defensive rush EPA (-0.205) and DVOA (-30.1%)
Broncos: No. 1 in fewest fantasy points allowed to RBs (18.4)

Jeremiyah Love (Cardinals) vs. Seahawks: Despite the Cardinals securing a 26-14 road win last week, Love split the backfield evenly with "starter" Tyler Allgeier (both had a 62 Utilization Score, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report), and thus he had serviceable yet uninspiring production in his NFL debut (12 fantasy points, 50 yards, one TD on 11 carries, four targets). While that was probably due to his playing through a questionable tag, Love (ankle) still seems likely to be in a timeshare with Allgeier this week (and for the foreseeable future, until he returns to full practice), and the Seahawks have four extra days to rest and prepare.

Bhayshul Tuten (Jaguars) at Broncos: On the one hand, Tuten did well enough last week in his first opportunity as a full-time lead back (88 yards on 15 carries, one target). On the other hand, his usage was modest (52 Utilization Score), and his production came in a 34-10 home win, whereas he's now a road underdog in Denver, where the Broncos over the past five years have had the No. 2 home-field advantage (+7.42, per NFElo). Given the matchup and circumstances, I might consider benching Tuten in Guillotine Leagues™.

RB Rankings Week 2 Scoring Downgrades: MarShawn Lloyd at Jets & Chase Brown at Texans

Sometimes downgrades are as simple as: "This team isn't going to score many points, so I need to push down the RB."

Entering the season, I had the Packers projected with the No. 4 offense; the Bengals, No. 10. But this week the Packers are No. 9 in implied team total (25 points), and the Bengals, No. 19 (22.0).

Downgrades warranted.

MarShawn Lloyd (Packers) at Jets: Without starter Josh Jacobs (Commissioner Exempt List), Lloyd had a golden opportunity in Week 1 to establish himself as the team's undisputed lead back. He didn't (42 Utilization Score, 37 yards on 13 carries, one target). Now he's on his second straight game on the road, where QB Jordan Love has tended to underwhelm (11-17-1 ATS, -24.1% ROI), and the Packers could be without LG Aaron Banks (knee).

Chase Brown (Bengals) at Texans: Brown was the dude in Week 1 (93 Utilization Score, 78 yards, one TD on 15 carries, six targets), just as he was last year in his eight games with QB Joe Burrow (694 yards, nine TDs). And there's actually a lot to like about Brown's situational spot: For his career, Burrow has been awesome outside division (39-16-1 ATS, 35.2% ROI), on the road (30-14 ATS, 30.7% ROI), and indoors (6-1 ATS, 62.5% ROI, per Action Network). The problem, though, is that this week he's a road dog against the Texans, who are playing their second straight home game to open the year and were No. 1 in smallest fantasy boost allowed to RBs last year (-3.4).

Week 2 RB Rankings Offensive Injury Downgrades: Jadarian Price at Cardinals & Jordan Mason at Bears

Here are a couple of RBs who get downgrades because of injuries to supporting offensive players.

Jadarian Price (Seahawks) at Cardinals: There are reasons to like the Seahawks this week. They have a four-day rest-and-preparation edge against the Cardinals, and HC Mike Macdonald historically has had his team ready to play off a win (14-7-1 ATS, 26.7% ROI) and on the road (12-4-1 ATS, 41.2% ROI). But without QB Sam Darnold (hip), the Seahawks could struggle to move the ball (they scored just 13 points in Week 1), and the rookie Price failed to separate himself from No. 2 RB George Holani in his NFL debut (50 Utilization Score, 58 yards on 10 carries, two targets). For the season, I like Price to go over 724.5 rushing yards, but the entire Seahawks offense might warrant a downgrade relative to typical expectations.

Jordan Mason (Vikings) at Bears: Mason was on the right side of his splits last week as a home favorite, and he was cromulent (59 yards, one TD). This week, though, he's on the wrong side of his splits as a road dog. As such, he averaged just 3.5 fantasy points last year in five games (vs. 9.7 in all others). Without QB Kyler Murray (concussion), Mason could be game-scripted out of the contest as the Vikings lean into the pass attack to try to keep up with the high-flying Bears.

Week 2 Road Dog Downgrades In My RB Rankings: De'Von Achane at 49ers & Travis Etienne at Ravens

In general, I want to be light on RBs who are underdogs on the road, where they could disappoint through no real fault of their own and then lose opportunities to backups in garbage time.

Here are two such RBs who stand out.

De'Von Achane (Dolphins) at 49ers: Last week, I had Achane listed as a fadable road dog, and he responded with modest-at-best production (66 yards on 11 carries, five targets). I don't see why the situation should be any better this week given that the Dolphins have a three-day disadvantage and are on back-to-back non-divisional West Coast road games.

Travis Etienne (Saints) at Ravens: In his Saints debut last week, Etienne had decent numbers (78 yards on nine carries, nine targets), but he lost an uncomfortable amount of production and usage to No. 2 RB Kendre Miller (30 yards, one TD on nine carries), and veteran pass-catching RB Alvin Kamara (knee) could return in Week 2. On top of that, this week the Saints are coming off a one-point overtime loss; they're dogs on the road for a second straight week, and they're yielding maximal home-field advantage to the Ravens as non-conference opponents on grass (vs. turf) and outdoors (vs. indoors). Not ideal.

Notes

Week 2 Favorites & Fades: Here's the rest of the pieces.

Introduction
QB Favorites
QB Fades
RB Favorites
WR Favorites
WR Fades
TE Favorites
TE Fades

Defensive Matchups: Since the season is just one week old, I still rely primarily on prior defensive data.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Monday and Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings schedule.