Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings: RB

If you were lucky enough to land Green Bay's Brandon Jackson, congrats. Now just pray the Packers don't go out and trade for Marshawn Lynch (that might hurt a little if you just dropped $80 or a No. 1 waiver wire priority on Jackson). If they do, look on the bright side -- it probably won't happen before this weekend, meaning you'll get to break out your shiny new toy against Buffalo in Week 2. Yes, the same Bills squad that yielded an average of 156.3 rushing yards per contest to opposing RBs last season, and 157 total yards to the Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams tandem in this season's opener.

Yummy.

I'm sliding Jackson in right where Ryan Grant would've gone had he not tore his ankle/leg to smithereens (I've always wanted to use that word in a fantasy post). I'm probably in the minority here but I don't think the Packers O misses a single beat with Jackson at RB.

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Noticeably absent from this week's top five is Chris Johnson. Blasphemy? Hardly (explanation below). No one gets an automatic ranking based strictly on their name and/or game. I'm too responsible to let that happen.

Personal fave Jamaal Charles gets a favorable ranking this week, but not because I adore him; he'll be facing a Browns squad that has neither bark nor bite. Matt Forte falls out of the top 15 because I don't think he catches another 89-yard TD pass, and rookie Ryan Matthews is left having to prove himself after failing to capitalize in his debut.

Enough of the synopsis; you judge 'em for yourself.

1. Adrian Peterson, MIN (vs. MIA)
2. Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC (at SD)
3. Ray Rice, BAL (at CIN)
4. Frank Gore, SF (vs. NO)
5. Steven Jackson, STL (at OAK)
6. Jamaal Charles, KC (at CLE)
7. Chris Johnson, TEN (vs. PIT)
8. Michael Turner, ATL (vs. ARI)
9. Rashard Mendenhall, PIT (vs. TEN)
10. LeSean McCoy, PHI (at DET)
11. DeAngelo Williams, CAR (vs. TB)
12. Joseph Addai, IND (vs. NYG)
13. Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG (at IND)
14. Brandon Jackson, GB (vs. BUF)
15. Arian Foster, HOU (at WAS)
16. Ryan Mathews, SD (vs. JAC)
17. Darren McFadden, OAK (vs. STL)
18. Pierre Thomas, NO (at SF)
19. Matt Forte, CHI (at DAL)
20. Ronnie Brown, MIA (at MIN)
21. Jerome Harrison, CLE (vs. KC)
22. Clinton Portis, WAS (vs. HOU)
23. Cedric Benson, CIN (vs. BAL)
24. Knowshon Moreno DEN (vs. SEA)
25. Cadillac Williams, TB (at CAR)
26. Tim Hightower, ARI (at ATL)
27. Brandon Jacobs, NYG (at IND)
28. Shonn Greene, NYJ (vs. NE)
29. Marion Barber III, DAL (vs. CHI)
30. Jahvid Best, DET (vs. PHI)
31. Felix Jones, DAL (vs. CHI)
32. Peyton Hillis, CLE (vs. KC)
33. Justin Forsett, SEA (at DEN)
34. C.J. Spiller, BUF (at GB)
35. Thomas Jones, KC (at CLE)
36. Ricky Williams, MIA (at MIN)
37. Beanie Wells, ARI (at ATL)
38. Jonathan Stewart, CAR (vs. TB)
39. Reggie Bush, NO (at SF)
40. Michael Bush, OAK (vs. STL)
41. Fred Jackson, BUF (at GB)
42. Willis McGahee, BAL (at CIN)
43. Leon Washington, SEA (at DEN)
44. LaDainian Tomlinson, NYJ (vs. NE)
45. Earnest Graham, TB (at CAR)
46. Fred Taylor, NE (at NYJ)
47. Chester Taylor, CHI (at DAL)
48. John Kuhn, GB (vs. BUF)
49. Steve Slaton, HOU (at WAS)
50. Laurence Maroney, DEN (vs. SEA)

• Chris Johnson all the way down to No. 7? You must think I'm crazy. Until you realize he's facing a Pittsburgh defense that completely shut down Michael Turner last week (19 carries, 42 yards) and held Johnson to one of his worst rushing performances last season (15 carries, 57 yards). Moses would have a tough time parting this Steel Curtain.

• Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs may seem a little high here, but after watching the Texans line have their way with Indy, I don't see why the Giants can't do the same. Both running backs are good bets to reach pay dirt in what should be a scoring bonanza in Indianapolis on Sunday night.

• I like Arian Foster as much as the next guy (I had him ranked in the top 10 last week), but the 'Skins kept the Cowboys running game in check last week and I don't foresee another 30-35 touches headed Foster's way.

• Who isn't jumping off the C.J. Spiller bandwagon after the rookie tallied just 14 yards on 11 touches in Week 1? This guy isn't. Last time I checked, Spiller's still the starter and it's not like Fred Jackson did anything last week to earn a bigger piece of the pie (six touches, 19 yards). The matchup isn't great (@ Green Bay) but I'm still trotting him out there as a flex. He's mighty explosive.

• Beanie Wells and Michael Bush are still iffy for Week 2; these preliminary ranks assume they'll play but be limited. Tim Hightower's and Darren McFadden's spots in the pecking order are based on the same assumption. I'll update as we get closer to the weekend.

• It'll be interesting to see how Rex Ryan divvies up the touches between Greene and Tomlinson this week. Something tells me we'll see a heavy dose of the former (that would be Greene). Why's that? Because Ryan's not showing us his hand, that's why (he also sounded a bit peeved that his offensive coordinator didn't get Greene more involved last week). Don't discount motivation either. Surely Greene is chomping at the bit to make everyone forget about his 18-yard, two-fumble performance in Week 1.