Fantasy football is a game of risks. It's like poker. You have to make a read of the situation before arriving at a decision. Depending on which cards you've been dealt AKA running backs you drafted, you should by now have an idea who to start  and who to sit. With that said, here's our Week 1 start 'em sit 'em running backs list.

Week 1 Start ‘Em: Running Backs

Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans

If have a player from the Texans on your team and you feel so skeptical about starting him, it's okay to feel that way. It's normal. The Texans' offense was a mess in 2021, finishing third-worst in the NFL with just 16.5 points per game.  How could it be significantly better after just one offseason? Chances are, that Texans player on your team is rookie running back Dameon Pierce, and the lack of NFL experience is also another factor holding many people back from starting him.

At the same time, fantasy football managers can draw confidence from the reality that there's no one to threaten Dameon Pierce's workload in Houston. The Texans have already cut Marlon Mack and released Royce Freeman. They still have Rex Burkhead, who led Houston in rushing yards last season, but that speaks more about the putrid backfield situation of the team in 2021 than anything. Pierce is the unquestionable no. 1 running back now in Houston and even against a stout Indianapolis Colts defense, he should have enough workload to nicely fit in the RB2 slot.

Elijah Mitchell, San Francisco 49ers

There are concerns about Mitchell's availability for Week 1 against the Chicago Bears but he has already returned to practice and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has also recently said that the running back is on track to play at Soldier Field.

All points to Mitchell suiting up and hitting the field on Sunday against a Bears' defense that allowed 1251.1 rushing yards per game in 2021 — just 22nd overall in the league. Mitchell played just 11 games in 2021 but racked up 963 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 207 carries. San Francisco will get him plenty of touches in this game, and given the projected game script (49ers are road favorites), Mitchell could squeeze out several extra handoffs from Trey Lance.

Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

Like Houston, Jacksonville's offense was a wasteland in 2021. The Jags were last in the league, as they coughed up a mere 14.9 points per game. That's not an ideal environment for Etienne to succeed, but the volume should offset any qualms about his fantasy football value, at least in Week 1.

And that's even though there's a chance James Robinson will be active against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. While he did not play at all in 2021 because of an injury, Etienne is overly familiar with quarterback Trevor Lawrence, thanks to their experience playing together in college with the Clemson Tigers. Lawrence is going to look in Etienne's direction a lot, which would generate PPR points for your team. Last season, James Robinson had 11.26 percent of the total target share in Jacksonville, third on the team.

Week 1 Sit ‘Em: Running Backs

Breece Hall, New York Jets

Hall could end up being not only the best running back of his draft class but the best offensive player overall among those taken in the 2022 NFL Draft when it is all said and done this season. However, he's in a situation where he will have to share the work out of the backfield with another young running back in Michael Carter, who led the Jets in 2021 with 639 rushing yards and four rushing scores. Carter also had 325 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions on 36 catches and 55 targets.

If Hall and fellow rookie running back Dameon Pierce switched teams, then Hall should start and it's Pierce who will have to sit. Pierce only  has a 32-year-old Rex Burkhead to look over his shoulder. Carter isn't going to fade right away in the Jets' offense. Until Hall completely separates from Carter, he could quite an adventure every week.

Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles

It's a well-known fantasy football fact that Miles Sanders led all Eagles players not named Jalen Hurts in 2021 with 754 rushing yards but did not produce a single rushing touchdown — or any kind of touchdown for that matter.

Of course, it will always be tempting to start an RB1 against the Detroit Lions' defense that gave up 135.1 rushing yards per game in 2021, but with Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott still around and potentially eating a good amount of touches in the backfield, not to mention Hurts' high-usage on the ground attack of Philly, Sanders could just end up producing way below his projected output on Sunday.

Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta Falcons

Patterson's value mostly lies in his position as the RB1 of the Falcons, which isn't something to write home about, considering that Atlanta was just 31st in the NFL last season with only 85.4 rushing yards per game.

And while he played a significant role in Atlanta's pass game in 2021 when he posted 548 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions on 52 catches, he's no longer with the pass-heavy Matt Ryan.

Instead, he'll get handoffs and be targeted by Marcus Mariota, who's not started an NFL game on a regular basis for a long time now.  Also, Atlanta will open the season against the New Orleans Saints who was fourth-best against run in 2021.