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Alex breaks down the top-ten running backs from Week 1 in 2024 and what their performances mean thus far. Who will and won't keep it rolling heading into Week 2?
We've waited so, so long, and Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season did not disappoint. We had blow-outs, breakouts, studs, duds, and everything else you could hope for after seven agonizing football-less months. We even had a game on Friday in Brazil!
Saquon Barkley shined in his Philadelphia Eagles debut. At the same time, Derrick Henry had trouble finding room to run behind a Baltimore Ravens offensive line severely over-matched against a stout Chiefs front seven. J.K. Dobbins was a pleasant surprise in his Los Angeles Chargers debut, as was Aaron Jones in his first game donning Vikings purple.
The only backs of note not eligible for this list are Christian McCaffrey and Breece Hall, who are set to square off in what's sure to be the cherry on top of a brilliant first week of football. Without further ado, let's jump right into the top-10 PPR running back performances of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.
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Top 10 Running Backs Of The Week
Here are the top 10 running backs from Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season in PPR scoring:
| Rank | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | Saquon Barkley | PHI | 33.2 |
| 2 | Joe Mixon | HOU | 26.8 |
| 3 | De'Von Achane | MIA | 23 |
| 4 | J.K. Dobbins | LAC | 22.9 |
| 5 | Alvin Kamara | NO | 22 |
| 6 | Rhamondre Stevenson | NE | 21.6 |
| 7 | James Conner | ARI | 19.3 |
| 8 | Jerome Ford | CLE | 18.9 |
| 9 | Kenneth Walker III | SEA | 18.9 |
| 10 | Aaron Jones | MIN | 18.9 |
1. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
Despite a field kept at less-than-optimal condition, Saquon Barkley gave NFL fans in Brazil a ton to cheer about this past Friday night. There was much speculation about how the Eagles' offense would look with their newly-signed RB -- and sans Jason Kelce -- in a new Kellen Moore scheme.
Barkley put any worries to rest when he toted the rock 24 times, rushing for 109 yards and two scores. He added 23 yards on two receptions and completed the hat-trick, scoring a third TD. The Penn State product looked spry, and it was nice to see him in an effective offense.
This Saquon guy is pretty good pic.twitter.com/EAuLqwx84G
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2024
A point of contention this offseason was the former Nittany Lions player's scoring upside with his new team regarding the effectiveness of their use of the brotherly shove in short-yardage situations. At least for the first game, it didn't work nearly as well, with Cam Jurgens filling the Kelce role.
There were a few exchange issues between him and Jalen Hurts throughout the night, including on a would-be tush-push down near the goal line. I expect those two to work it out over the course of the season, though it does seem likely that Barkley will continue to receive high-value touches in one of the league's top offensive units.
2. Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
Joe Mixon was another old face in a new place that did not disappoint to open the season. After spending seven years as a Cincinnati Bengal, Mixon looked right at home in Houston's 29-27 road victory over the division-rival Indianapolis Colts.
He totaled 178 yards and one score while racking up a massive 33-touch workload in his Texan debut, consistently ripping off chunk gains on the ground against a porous Colts defense. Just 19 of his yards came through the air, but he did haul in all three of his targets, and it's at least encouraging that he's getting looks.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud had Houston's offense humming and seemed to pick up right where he left off in his rookie season. If this continues to be the case, it's fair to presume the veteran RB to be a weekly top-12 play.
He'll have a good shot to do just that again in Week 2 when the Texans square off against a Chicago Bears defense that just got ripped by Tony Pollard and the Tennessee Titans ground game.
Have a day, @stefondiggs & @Joe_MainMixon 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/eA2hX5lktV
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 8, 2024
3. De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
De'Von Achane actually wasn't very good on the ground this past weekend, but he still found a way to leave his mark on the game. The Dolphins started Sunday on the sluggish side in their home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars and, as a whole, had trouble finding rushing room against a Jags defense that allowed the ninth-fewest yards on the ground in 2023.
Achane did score a touchdown, but he ran for just 25 yards on ten carries with a long gain of nine. However, the second-year speedster was heavily involved in the passing game -- catching all seven of his targets for 79 yards.
.@ffvmousvon_ gets our first TD of the regular season 🙌 pic.twitter.com/n2f5dPsZDP
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 8, 2024
Perhaps the most significant lead here is the former Aggie and his usage, as despite him being the second back in the game behind Raheem Mostert, he out-touched, out-gained, and out-snapped him, too. It remains to be seen if he has indeed surpassed the veteran in the backfield pecking order, but if he has, Achane would be in store for a massive season.
4. J.K. Dobbins, Los Angeles Chargers
J.K. Dobbins commented a few weeks back about how he was ready to show everyone he's still one of the top running backs in the league, and he made his case Sunday.
It was an impressive debut in powder blue for the new Charger, as he had a few breakaway runs against a Raiders defense that ranked in the bottom half of the league last season regarding total rush yards allowed. The fifth-year veteran split the workload pretty evenly with Gus Edwards Sunday, but he made the most of his opportunities.
Dobbins rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown on just ten carries, adding three receptions and 4 yards on three targets. The 25-year-old had plenty of runs that went for three or fewer yards.
However, he had long gains of 12, 46, and 61 yards. If the former Buckeye had a touch more straight-line juice, he might have added 20-30 yards and two scores to his line. This backfield split will be a situation to monitor over the coming weeks.
J.K. DOBBINS 46 YARDS!
📺: #LVvsLAC on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/TAO6tSqpQ1— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
5. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
It was a vintage performance from Alvin Kamara this weekend as the Saints utterly annihilated the Carolina Panthers 47-10 in their home opener. Kamara posed as his usual dual-threat self on a day where he totaled 110 yards and a score.
27 of those yards came through the air as he pulled in all five of his targets. The touchdown was a one-yard plunge in the third quarter when the game was far out of reach for Carolina.
It's just a one-game sample, but Derek Carr looked quite comfortable in Klint Kubiak's new scheme. An easy take this offseason was that Kubiak would vastly improve this passing game with concepts from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. For a game, at least, it's come to fruition. Kamara should continue to benefit from the new scheme.
"Klint (Kubiak) said it: 'I'm gonna give it to you.' ... It's dope when you have a playcaller that trusts in you and believes in you." pic.twitter.com/q7oOl2VKlR
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 8, 2024
6. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
In one of the big surprises of the weekend, Rhamondre Stevenson and the New England Patriots came into Cincinnati and beat the Bengals 16-10 on their home turf. Stevenson was a big part of why that happened, scoring the Pats' only touchdown of the night -- a 3-yard score before halftime.
The 26-year-old took 25 carries for 120 yards and hauled in all three targets for another six yards on a night where Jacoby Brissett threw for 121 and attempted just 24 passes.
Dre came to play pic.twitter.com/UTD57vD2cb
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 9, 2024
This will be a volatile offense to project weekly, but Stevenson is the clear lead-back, as backup Antonio Gibson saw just seven carries and was not targeted in the passing game. Brissett isn't the sexiest starting QB, but while he is manning the helm, it would appear that the fourth-year RB has a decent floor.
7. James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
James Conner and the Cards seemed well on their way to beating the Bills in Buffalo Week 1 when they were up 17-0 in the second quarter. Buffalo came roaring back with 24 unanswered points and ultimately won the game 34-28 on the back of some Josh Allen heroics, but Conner still had a strong performance.
He handled 16 carries in the game, racking up 50 yards and a score while shaking free for a long gain of 20. He was Arizona's second-leading receiver in yardage on the night, too --amassing 34 yards while catching 3-of-4 targets.
of course it was JC 👑 pic.twitter.com/nDacy8Mfqm
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 8, 2024
Rookie Trey Benson was the only other Cardinals RB to receive a carry, while he and Emari Demercado combined for three targets. It would seem that the veteran's workload is safe for now, and he can continue to be trusted as a solid RB2 player while he has a stranglehold on lead-back duties.
8. Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
Jerome Ford wasn't very efficient Sunday against the Cowboys -- nor was Cleveland's offense as a whole -- but he still volumed his way to a top-10 finish at his position. The Browns didn't score their first touchdown until the third quarter in the 33-17 home defeat.
His touchdown was a 2-yard goal line carry he converted in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. Ford racked up 42 yards on his other 11 carries but was also highly involved in the passing game -- albeit inefficient there, too. He caught 6-of-7 targets for 25 yards.
.@JeromeFord punches it in for 6
📺: #DALvsCLE on @NFLonFOX and NFL+ pic.twitter.com/QFxyYgBwrK
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 8, 2024
The 24-year-old was one of my favorite late-round running back picks this summer in drafts, with Nick Chubb (knee) coming off a devastating injury in 2023. Ford eclipsed 18 touches just three times last season, and the former fifth-round pick will have better days on a per-touch basis moving forward. I like him as an RB3/FLEX option with high-end RB2 upside.
9. Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
Kenneth Walker III has been one of my favorite RBs since he entered the league in 2022. At 5-foot-9 and 211 pounds, his unique combination of speed, burst, and power makes him a compelling option on a weekly basis. All that was on full display when Seattle defeated the Denver Broncos 26-20 in their home opener.
The third-year back took 20 carries for 103 yards while receiving two additional touches through the air for six yards on three targets. His score was a 23-yard scamper in which he broke a tackle at the second level and turned up the right sideline, outrunning the Denver defense.
Late in the third quarter, Walker took an outside zone left and made his way into the secondary untouched before colliding with Broncos safety P.J. Locke. The former Spartan bounced off Locke -- who took the worst of the hit -- and fought forward for a few extra yards.
Second-year running back Zach Charbonnet did out-receive him by 23 yards and scored a TD through the air, but he was far less effective on the ground -- seeing just eight carries for 12 yards (1.5 YPC).
Do your dance, @Kenneth_Walker9.🕺@budlight | #EasyToCelebrate pic.twitter.com/TZoT3hS2os
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 8, 2024
10. Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
Aaron Jones certainly didn't look like he'd lost a step in Minnesota's domination over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. New York celebrated its 100th year as a franchise and was gifted a 28-6 defeat by the Vikings in which they didn't score a touchdown.
Additionally, the G-Men's defensive unit had quarterback Sam Darnold looking like prime Drew Brees as he started the game by completing his first 12 passes.
Aaron Jones scores his first TD with the Vikings pic.twitter.com/ZT8qLpRwcW
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) September 8, 2024
As for Jones, he regularly broke free into New York's second level and gashed them for big gains. His 14 carries went for a hyper-efficient 94 yards (6.7 YPC), and he scored his lone touchdown late in the first quarter on a carry inside the five -- beating the defender to the pylon. The 29-year-old veteran also caught 2-of-2 targets for 15 yards.
It was a 60/40 split in the backfield for game one between him and Ty Chandler. Chandler saw just eight carries for 17 yards but did out-catch Jones with 25 yards and three receptions. They won't play the Giants every week, but the ex-Packer is looking like he could provide RB2 value -- likely on the lower end.
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