Backup running backs, I think, tend to be underrated. If you look at the standout games from last year, a large percentage of those games are put together by guys who were either lightly drafted or not even selected at all.
Suppose, for example, you use 100-yard games as a measuring stick. Last year there were 97 of these games by running backs. But 24 of those were achieved by off-the-radar type backs – either selected late in a typical fantasy league or not even selected at all.
Think Jordan Todman, Bobby Rainey and Zac Stacy. (Stacy had a great year, but back in August, Daryl Richardson seemed to be firmly entrenched at the starting tailback in St. Louis.)
This is one reason in fantasy leagues that I tend to collect a small group of reliable, butt-kicking wide receivers. If you can obtain talent at that position, it allows you to carry fewer of them, giving you a better chance of tapping into the talent that’s certain to emerge at running back.
UNHERALDED RUNNING BACKS RUNNING FOR 100 YARDS | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wk | Player | Opp | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
3 | Bilal Powell | vs. BUF | 27 | 149 | 5.5 | 0 |
3 | Johnathan Franklin | at CIN | 13 | 103 | 7.9 | 1 |
6 | Brandon Jacobs | at CHI | 22 | 106 | 4.8 | 2 |
8 | Andre Ellington | vs. ATL | 15 | 154 | 10.3 | 1 |
8 | Zac Stacy | vs. SEA | 26 | 134 | 5.2 | 0 |
9 | Mike James | at SEA | 28 | 158 | 5.6 | 0 |
9 | Rashad Jennings | vs. PHI | 15 | 102 | 6.8 | 1 |
9 | Zac Stacy | vs. TEN | 27 | 127 | 4.7 | 2 |
10 | Andre Brown | vs. OAK | 30 | 115 | 3.8 | 1 |
11 | Bobby Rainey | vs. ATL | 30 | 163 | 5.4 | 2 |
11 | Rashad Jennings | at HOU | 22 | 150 | 6.8 | 1 |
12 | Andre Brown | vs. DAL | 21 | 127 | 6.0 | 0 |
12 | Benny Cunningham | vs. CHI | 13 | 109 | 8.4 | 1 |
13 | Ben Tate | vs. NE | 22 | 102 | 4.6 | 3 |
14 | Bobby Rainey | vs. BUF | 22 | 127 | 5.8 | 1 |
14 | Daniel Thomas | at PIT | 16 | 105 | 6.6 | 1 |
14 | Marcel Reece | at NYJ | 19 | 123 | 6.5 | 1 |
15 | Jordan Todman | vs. BUF | 25 | 109 | 4.4 | 0 |
15 | Zac Stacy | vs. NO | 28 | 133 | 4.8 | 1 |
16 | Bryce Brown | vs. CHI | 9 | 115 | 12.8 | 1 |
16 | Zac Stacy | vs. TB | 33 | 104 | 3.2 | 1 |
17 | LeGarrette Blount | vs. BUF | 24 | 189 | 7.9 | 2 |
17 | Matt Asiata | vs. DET | 14 | 115 | 8.2 | 0 |
19 | LeGarrette Blount | vs. IND | 24 | 166 | 6.9 | 4 |
—Ian Allan