Running Back Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Picks for Fantasy Football Week 2 (2026)

September 19, 2026

Bruno's Week 2 fantasy football RB start/sit picks for 2026. Get lineup advice for Aaron Jones Sr., Rhamondre Stevenson, Tony Pollard, and more.

Week 1 finally gave us something more useful than depth charts and August speculation. We have carries, targets, snap counts, injuries, and at least a first idea of how teams want to divide their backfields.

Of course, one game can also create some bad conclusions.

That is what makes the late-week decisions interesting. Most fantasy managers are not deciding whether to start their RB1. They are sorting through the next group, trying to figure out which workload is real and which matchup is worth attacking. Here are three running backs I would get into the lineup this week and three I would be more careful with.

Week 2 Starts - Potential Fantasy Football Booms

Aaron Jones Sr. - Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears

The Minnesota backfield looked like a real split in Week 1. It is not going to look the same Sunday.

Jordan Mason had 15 carries against Green Bay, three more than Aaron Jones Sr., but Mason is now on injured reserve after fracturing his thumb. Jones suddenly has a much cleaner path to touches.

He did not do much with the carries he had outside of the touchdown, finishing with 40 yards on 12 attempts. That is less concerning now that the Vikings have lost the other half of the Week 1 committee.

.@Showtyme_33 🎥: @NFLonCBS

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 13, 2026

Chicago also gave Chuba Hubbard plenty of room to produce last week. Hubbard finished with 87 yards from scrimmage and scored both as a runner and receiver.

Jones did not catch his only target against Green Bay, but that part of his game has not disappeared. Even modest receiving work would make the increased rushing opportunity more useful.

RotoBaller has Jones at RB25 this week, which puts him squarely into the RB2 and flex conversation. With Mason out, I would rather bet on the extra touches than leave Jones on the bench.

Rhamondre Stevenson - New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

TreVeyon Henderson is coming back, so Rhamondre Stevenson probably is not seeing 23 touches again.

That does not make Stevenson an automatic fade.

He carried the ball 18 times for 51 yards against Seattle, but his better work came in the passing game. Stevenson caught five of six targets for another 44 yards and rarely came off the field.

Henderson's return will change that. New England did not draft him to watch, and there is no reason to expect another 85% snap share for Stevenson.

The matchup still gives both backs a chance to be useful. Pittsburgh allowed Atlanta's running backs to pile up 114 rushing yards in Week 1, and Bijan Robinson did even more damage as a receiver with eight catches for 90 yards and a score.

I am not expecting another near-workhorse role from Stevenson. He does not need one.

RotoBaller ranks him RB21, and that feels like the right area. The receiving work gives Stevenson enough of a floor for me to keep him in lineups as an RB2.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt - Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys

The snap count does not scream lead back.

The carry count does.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt played 49% of Washington's offensive snaps against Philadelphia, only eight percentage points more than Rachaad White. When the Commanders actually ran the ball with their backs, though, Croskey-Merritt was clearly first in line.

He had 16 carries. White had seven. Kaytron Allen had four.

Croskey-Merritt turned his work into 63 yards and punched in a one-yard touchdown before halftime. White remains more involved as a receiver, so there is still some PPR risk here. This is not a backfield Croskey-Merritt completely owns.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt reaches in for 6️⃣

WASvsPHI on FOX/FOX One

— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

For this week, I am willing to live with that.

Dallas gave up 165 rushing yards to the Giants in the opener. Cam Skattebo had 81 of them and scored.

Croskey-Merritt sits at RB29 in RotoBaller's Week 2 rankings. That is not a must-start ranking, but for managers looking for a flex, I would go back to the Washington back who handled 16 of the team's 27 running back carries last week.

Week 2 Concerns - Potential Fantasy Football Busts

Tony Pollard - Tennessee Titans vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Tony Pollard actually ran the ball well last week.

He just barely got to do it.

Pollard averaged 5.0 yards per carry against the Jets but finished with seven attempts for 35 yards. One catch for minus-one yard did not help much once Tennessee fell behind and abandoned the run.

The bigger issue is that this does not look like Pollard's backfield.

He played 52% of the offensive snaps. Tyjae Spears was at 50%. Pollard led the rushing split seven carries to three, but neither back had enough volume to matter much while the Titans finished with only 14 rushing attempts as a team.

That is a dangerous setup against Philadelphia. If Tennessee is chasing points again, Pollard could be stuck trying to make something out of another small workload.

RotoBaller has him at RB36.

Pollard is still usable if the alternatives are thin, but in a normal 12-team league, I would rather start a back whose fantasy day does not depend so heavily on Tennessee keeping the game in a favorable script.

Quinshon Judkins - Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dylan Sampson landing on injured reserve makes the Cleveland backfield thinner.

I am still not excited about Quinshon Judkins this week.

Judkins finished the opener with 12 carries for 33 yards and caught two passes for 17 more. The workload itself was fine. Cleveland's offense was not.

The Browns lost 34-10 and spent most of the game trying to dig out of a hole.

Raheim Sanders also showed after Sampson went down that he can take some of the passing-game work. He caught three passes for 25 yards, so Judkins should not automatically be penciled in for everything Sampson leaves behind.

Tampa Bay held Chase Brown to 56 rushing yards on 16 attempts last week. Brown found the end zone, but there was not much room otherwise.

Judkins could easily end up with more than 12 carries now. That part of the argument is fair. The question is what those carries are worth if Cleveland's offense looks anything like it did in Jacksonville.

RotoBaller has Judkins at RB30. I would use him if I had to, but I would not be looking for reasons to force him into the flex.

Bhayshul Tuten - Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos

There was plenty to like about Bhayshul Tuten's first game.

Fifteen carries for 66 yards is a good start. He also turned his only target into 22 yards, while Chris Rodriguez Jr. finished with six carries for 23 yards.

The part I cannot get past yet is the snap count.

Tuten played 49% of Jacksonville's offensive snaps. Rodriguez played 40%.

That is a much tighter split than the rushing totals make it look.

Denver is not the reason to sit Tuten. The Broncos were gashed on the ground in Week 1, allowing 220 rushing yards. Kenneth Walker III accounted for 173 of them.

This is about trusting the role after one game.

Tuten had the carries, but he was still off the field for more than half of Jacksonville's offensive snaps and saw one target. If the carry split tightens even a little, there is not much receiving work underneath it to save his fantasy day.

RotoBaller ranks Tuten RB26, so this is admittedly the toughest sit of the group.

I like the player and the matchup. I am just not ready to treat one week of carries as proof that Jacksonville has settled on a true lead back. If I have another reasonable flex with a steadier workload, Tuten is the one I would make wait another week.

You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.

Week 2 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players -- Aaron Jones Sr., Rhamondre Stevenson, Tony Pollard, Bhayshul Tuten. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 2.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.

Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare, with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.

Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.

Popular Week 2 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 2 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.

Popular Week 2 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 2 for Aaron Jones Sr., Rhamondre Stevenson, Tony Pollard, Bhayshul Tuten: