There is no legitimate race for top rookie honors in fantasy football this season, as New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, is having an awesome campaign and there is no reason for concern moving forward. However, Sunday was an interesting day for several other first-year players at the critical position, especially when it came to finding the end zone. As we salute our nation's veterans this weekend, here are my thoughts on the seven running backs selected in the first two rounds of the most recent draft.
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants (Pick 2 ): Barkley entered the weekend fourth at the position in PPR points and on pace for more than 100 receptions. He appears to be a generational star, and Barkley will remain terrific when the franchise he plays for eventually builds around him. Enjoy his Week 10 outing on ESPN's Monday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers. I cannot imagine many in dynasty formats are selling for any price, and Barkley should be a top-five pick in 2019 fantasy drafts.
Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks (Pick 27): Penny entered the weekend having failed to reach 50 rushing yards in a game, seemingly buried behind Chris Carson and Mike Davis, and perhaps that remains the case moving ahead. However, the San Diego State product finally showed promise against the Rams, rambling 38 yards on his first carry, scoring a touchdown from 18 yards out on his second and finishing with 108 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 totes, a top-15 running back PPR performance entering Sunday night. Penny is also available in nearly 90 percent of ESPN standard leagues, so he should be popular this week. Carson is not a durable player, but he could play in Week 11, so it will be interesting to see the division of running back touches. Penny could matter in fantasy soon.
Sony Michel, New England Patriots (Pick 31): Michel returned on Sunday from a two-game absence for a knee injury and was bottled up by a tough Tennessee Titans defense. Frankly, the Georgia product did not have much chance to star, though he easily could have converted the short, second-quarter touchdown that went to fullback James Develin. Michel averaged 22 rushes and 105 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns in Weeks 4-6. He is no factor in the passing game, but if he can remain on the field, Michel could be a RB1 from Week 12 onward after the Patriots regroup in the pending bye week.
Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns (Pick 35): Chubb broke off the longest offensive play in the league this season when he gashed the Atlanta Falcons defense for a 92-yard touchdown run. His 35.9 PPR points, thanks to 176 rushing yards and his most work yet in the passing game, including a touchdown, were obviously a season best. Chubb's season finally took off in Week 7 after the Carlos Hyde trade. Give the Browns credit for creating opportunity. Hyde signed a free-agent deal with the Browns before Chubb joined via the draft, but the franchise moved on, and Chubb is getting a cool 20 touches per week. I would take Chubb over his college teammate Michel the rest of the season, in part because Duke Johnson Jr. does not steal the touches that James White does.
Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Pick 38): A hamstring injury has kept him sidelined for a few weeks, and Jones has showed little when the team has played him. One would think the Buccaneers would want to see Jones perform the final seven games when healthy, rather than unexciting veteran Peyton Barber, but it is tough to imagine he will become a weekly flex option in this offense. Just do not forget about the USC product in 2019.
Kerryon Johnson, Detroit Lions (Pick 43): The rest of his team underachieved for much of the loss to the Chicago Bears, but Johnson surpassed his career best for PPR points thanks to 89 total yards and a pair of touchdowns, one through the air. It is the second time in three weeks the Auburn product caught six passes in a game, and this was his first receiving touchdown. Johnson deserves RB2 status from here on out, though I would still take -- in a general sense without knowing that week's matchup -- Chubb and Michel first.
Derrius Guice, Washington Redskins (Pick 59): Recovering from an ACL tear, the LSU product should compete for the starting role next season and thrive. With playoff positioning taking shape in so many leagues, those in keeper formats should check if Guice, as well as Jones, is available on free agency or in a trade. The future indeed remains bright.
Second down: Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette was the first at his position from the 2017 NFL draft and one of four running backs to finish in the top 10 for PPR formats last season. It was a terrific season for rookie running backs, and it is continuing. However, unlike Alvin Kamara, Kareem Hunt and Christian McCaffrey -- the other top-10 fellows from 2017 -- Fournette has not aided fantasy managers much this season. That changed Sunday, when Fournette returned after a four-game absence from a hamstring injury and scored a pair of touchdowns in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Fournette hardly piled on the yards, but 29 touches is a big deal, and newcomer Hyde barely played. Fournette is healthy, is productive and factored in the passing game Sunday, and he looks like a borderline RB1 the rest of the season.
In other running back news, Buffalo Bills veteran LeSean McCoy bounced back from a discouraging outing in Week 9 (10 rushes, 10 yards) by embarrassing the New York Jets with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. McCoy had managed to reach 40 rushing yards in only two games prior and had not found the end zone. Blame the seemingly disinterested Jets, who allowed well-traveled passer Matt Barkley, signed off the street two weeks ago, to throw for 232 yards and a pair of scores -- but this is a reminder that McCoy's time as a fantasy asset is far from over. No, McCoy cannot help in Week 11 when he is on bye, and Week 12 against the Jaguars, even in their current state, is not a positive matchup. But after that, and assuming rookie Josh Allen returns and plays competently, McCoy will warrant flex appeal for several games.
Third down: You know it is an odd week at quarterback when the passing-yards leader is not among the top 15 quarterbacks for the week in fantasy scoring, Tom Brady goes sans a touchdown for the second time in three games and the Cincinnati Bengals' backup quarterback outscores the starter based on one running play. It all happened. Tampa Bay Buccaneers fill-in Ryan Fitzpatrick continued to prove his extreme volatility, throwing for 406 yards but nary a touchdown, leading his team to only three points. The Buccaneers are a mess, and one would think if Jameis Winston is any part of the franchise's future, he will return to the field at some point soon. Brady continues to show he is not a top-10 fantasy option, at least sans injured tight end Rob Gronkowski, while Andy Dalton struggled against the Saints, and the absence of wide receiver A.J. Green seems a bigger deal to the Bengals' offense than originally suspected.
As for the good news at this position, Titans starter Marcus Mariota handily beat Brady and the Patriots and provided more than 22 fantasy points for the second consecutive week, which hardly makes him a must-start in fantasy but at least offers hope. Mariota struggled statistically last season, but back in 2016, he delivered a memorable run over eight weeks when he averaged 259 passing yards per contest and threw 21 touchdowns -- two or more each game -- against three interceptions. Mariota was also an effective runner in that span, averaging 30 rushing yards per game and scoring two rushing touchdowns. Mariota looks healthier than early this season. He rushed for a touchdown in Week 9 and caught a pass Sunday. He could be a smart bye-week option for managers the next few weeks, especially since Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff and Brady have yet to sit a week.
Fourth down: The Colts scored four touchdowns Sunday, each supplied by a tight end, and none went to Jack Doyle, who remains the most attractive of the team's options for fantasy purposes. Or is he? Eric Ebron, for years a disappointment with the Lions, scored three times against the Jaguars, two on passes from Andrew Luck, another on a short run, and the lone NFL player with more receiving touchdowns is Pittsburgh Steelers stalwart Antonio Brown. Ebron's touchdown prowess seems like an anomaly because his target share is low and, well, Doyle is healthy and third-stringer Mo Alie-Cox has also scored touchdowns in consecutive games. But the fact is Luck can support multiple tight ends in this offense. Perhaps fantasy managers should not be so quick to write off Ebron for the second half of the season. The Colts might boast a pair of top-10 tight ends, but I still take Doyle first.
One of the two wide receivers to outscore Ebron in fantasy was the Chicago Bears' Allen Robinson (the other was Tyreek Hill), as he returned from his own two-game absence (seems to be a running theme this week) due to a groin injury and tallied a season-best 133 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns. Robinson has certainly frustrated fantasy managers, some of whom let him go to free agency in recent weeks, as the former Jaguar selected among the top 20 at his position in ESPN average live drafts is -- along with the Seahawks' Doug Baldwin -- the only other one available in more than 18 percent of leagues. As with Baldwin, Robinson has missed time to injury and underachieved when active, but second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky continues to emerge; he led the position in fantasy points Sunday entering the night game, and the first-place team's schedule looks promising for the passing game.