TreVeyon Henderson And Quinshon Judkins Headline Our Fantasy Football Must-Start Running Back For Week 3

Week 3 is here, and it’s time to get our lineups set. There have been some running backs off to a shaky start to the season or getting new opportunities who should be in your lineup this week. These are our running back starts for Week 3.

Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings

I was out on Jones, even with Jordan Mason being placed on injured reserve, but the volume in Week 2 was too great to ignore. Jones played on 81% of the offensive snaps and handled 23 of the 25 running back carries. He ran well too, racking up 105 yards on 4.6 yards per carry.

We also like the matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week. The Bucs have looked awful through two games, and we don’t see them being competitive against the Vikings. Minnesota will be running the ball often in the second half against a mediocre Bucs defense.

Travis Etienne Jr., New Orleans Saints

We are going back to Etienne this week after Alvin Kamara returned in Week 2 and handled more carries than Etienne. He was horrible, and the Saints can’t just keep giving him the ball for nostalgia purposes.

On nine carries, Kamara ran for 15 yards on 1.7 yards per carry and caught five of his six targets for seven yards on 1.4 yards per catch. That is wildly inefficient, and Etienne averaged 3.1 yards per carry and 3.0 yards per catch. Not incredible numbers in a vacuum, but they are in comparison to Kamara. Etienne also played on 54% of the offensive snaps compared to 29% for Kamara.

The Saints went out and paid up to get Etienne this offseason and made Kamara take a pay cut to stay with the team. It doesn’t make sense for them to not use Etienne and continuously give the ball to a 31-year-old back who has clearly lost a step or five.

Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns

This is Judkins last chance for us. If he can’t get it done this week against the Carolina Panthers, it’s time to panic. The Panthers have allowed the most fantasy points in the league to running backs, allowing 34.3 points per game to the position.

The volume has been there even if the production hasn’t been. Through two games, Judkins has carried the ball 24 times and caught all seven of his targets. However, he has averaged just 2.3 yards per carry, which has held him back. He should have more success this week against the Panthers.

TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots

It’s fair to be skeptical of Henderson’s usage after what we saw from the Patriots last season. No matter how well Henderson plays, they continuously go back to Rhamondre Stevenson. This makes Henderson difficult to trust, especially since Henderson saw an uptick in usage last week after a Stevenson fumble, which may not carry over to Week 3.

In his first game of the season, he carried the ball 16 times for 76 yards and a 39-yard touchdown run on 4.8 yards per carry. It would make sense for the Patriots to stick with the more explosive back when they are in desperate need of playmakers after AJ Brown was placed on IR and Kayshon Boutte was traded to the Texans. We are willing to roll the dice on Henderson’s upside.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as TreVeyon Henderson And Quinshon Judkins Headline Our Fantasy Football Must-Start Running Back For Week 3.