Fantasy Big Board: Running Backs
It's all fun and games in fantasy, until someone gets hurt, or in our case, drafts the guy who gets hurt. Most of you don't know who I am, or what my knowledge level is on fantasy, and I get that. To briefly describe my history, I have mainly used cbssports.com leagues, with 12 teams, no flex position, and 5 on the bench and in a draft format where the 12th pick gets the 13th and the 1st pick gets the 24th and 25th and so on. I have played for about 10 years or so with two or more teams, and have either won or gotten second in each of the last five years (as I don't remember before that). I also won about $275 on FanDuel last season, which isn't a lot, but I only spent about $50. I'm above average for sure, and it all has to do with not only the draft, but the waiver wire as well and not buying into the wrong people.
So today, I will start off with my running back rankings, and I will be going about this in tiers. I don't care about suspensions, because my draft strategy is you should draft a full team and be comfortable with your third RB or fourth WR playing, otherwise why would you draft him? Because somebody else believes in him? That's silly. It doesn't mean that all players you draft are equal, but you should be comfortable with every player on your team at least to start the season, like every NFL team is. So, LeVeon Bell is my example of a guy who I will still draft high, despite missing the first four weeks of the season. I would just need to acquire depth earlier. Despite that, I don't have Bell as my top guy. If you guessed it's the guy on the cover photo, good call. Todd Gurley of the Rams is my top running back, and top player on my board. The running back position is weaker than in past years where the QB and WR positions are stronger, which is why I will try to get two high level RB in the first 3 rounds.
Here is tier 1 (in order of my ranking, and there are 10 total): Todd Gurley (LA Rams), LeVeon Bell (Pittsburgh), Adrian Peterson (Minnesota), Jamaal Charles (Kansas City), Devonta Freeman (Atlanta), David Johnson (Arizona), Doug Martin (Tampa Bay), Eddie Lacy (Green Bay), Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas), LeSean McCoy (Buffalo)
Despite my high ranking, guys like Devonta Freeman, Jamaal Charles and Ezekiel Elliott all have somewhat of concerns. Freeman may have been a one hit wonder, Charles is returning from injury and Elliott may face a suspension. Along with his suspension, the hype on Ezekiel might be a bit high and end up being average at least for this year. You never know with rookies. Eddie Lacy could be a riser as well, since he lost weight and the Packers need him to take pressure off of Aaron Rodgers.
Here is tier 2: Lamar Miller (Houston), Matt Forte (NY Jets), Thomas Rawls (Seattle), Jeremy Hill (Cincinnati), Jonathan Stewart (Carolina), Chris Ivory (Jacksonville), Jeremy Langford (Chicago), Justin Forsett (Baltimore), Latavius Murray (Oakland), Mark Ingram (New Orleans), CJ Anderson (Denver), Carlos Hyde (San Francisco), DeAngelo Williams (Pittsburgh)
These guys would be in tier 1 if there was not a question about them, but the ones who stick out to me the most are Jeremy Langford and CJ Anderson. Langford showed promise while Matt Forte was out last season, but who knows if he is the workhorse back yet. Also, he may be just a flash in a bottle instead of a long-term solution. He still needs to prove his worth. With Anderson, I have concerns with teams loading the box unafraid of whatever piece of gutter trash the Broncos throw out at QB, causing Anderson to falter. Plus, he loses carries to Ronnie Hillman. A guy who might be ranked too low is Carlos Hyde, since he is the only offensive threat the 49ers have.
Here is tier 3, everybody who I think is worth a flier as a backup, and it's a lengthy list (by the way, notice there are only 23 total guys prior, meaning a good RB is valuable): LeGarrette Blount (NE), Rashad Jennings (NYG), Ryan Mathews (PHI), Ameer Abdullah (DET), DeMarco Murray (TEN), Frank Gore (IND), Chris Johnson (ARZ), Isaiah Crowell (CLE), Dion Lewis (NE), Matt Jones (WAS), Jay Ajayi (MIA), Ronnie Hillman (DEN), Karlos Williams (BUF), Danny Woodhead (SD), Melvin Gordon (SD), TJ Yeldon (JAC), James Starks (GB), Alfred Morris (DAL), Giovani Bernard (CIN), Derrick Henry (TEN), Darren McFadden (DAL), Arian Foster (MIA), Alfred Blue (HOU), Charcandrick West (KC), Spencer Ware (KC), Theo Riddick (DET), Javarious Allen (BAL)
I told you, and I don't blame you if you skimmed through as I probably would have too. Some things to point out, however. I have made a list long enough for all twelve teams to have four running backs, plus two additional. So, the low-level, filler guys are available in abundance. This list has some breakout candidates, such as Dion Lewis (NE), Matt Jones (WAS), Jay Ajayi (MIA) and Melvin Gordon (SD). It also has some guys who are aging and you may want to steer clear from like Frank Gore (IND) and Arian Foster (MIA). Guys like Javarious Allen (BAL) and Charcandrick West/Spencer Ware (KC) may have been flashes in the bottle as well, where guys like Danny Woodhead (SD) and James Starks (GB) are reliable and will almost always give you about seven to nine points.
If I could pick four guys to have from this group, at reasonable points in the draft, it would be Eddie Lacy of Green Bay, Jonathan Stewart of Carolina, Jay Ajayi of Miami and Danny Woodhead of San Diego. I have my workhorse in Lacy, my underrated yet big time contributor in Stewart, my potential breakout guy in Ajayi and a consistent backup in Woodhead. Quarterbacks are next.
