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Making the case for skimping at running back

Is it possible to disregard the running back position in the early rounds and still cobble together adequate production at that position? I would argue that it is. In the only Fanex draft (which will end soon) I used fewer resources than any of the 24 teams, and I think I’ll be fine.

After the first nine rounds of this draft (actually, that’s DRAFTS plural – there are two separate 12-team selection groups) I spent less on running backs than anyone. Just a second-round pick on Jeremy Hill, and a sixth-round choice on Andre Ellington. But by really nailing down the wide receiver position, it allowed me to do more with running backs than anyone else in the second half of the selection process.

10.05 – James White, New England
11.08 – Danny Woodhead, San Diego
12.05 – Jerick McKinnon, Minnesota
14.05 – James Starks, Green Bay
17.08 – Lorenzo Taliaferro, Baltimore
18.05 – Chris Johnson, free agent

Individually, that group isn’t much. But as a group of six backups, it’s gives me a lot of ways to win. White and Woodhead give me a couple of warm bodies I can at least throw in when necessary. This is a PPR format, so both are a lot more valuable than in a standard format.

With McKinnon, Starks and Taliaferro, I think there will be some top-10 games in there. It’s just a matter of waiting for an injury to Adrian Peterson, Eddie Lacy or Justin Forsett. What are the odds of all three of those guys lasting 16 games?

Chris Johnson I believe will sign with Arizona, giving me the next man up if Ellington gets hurt.

It works, and it gives me a contending franchise, I think.

And don’t get sucked into thinking that running backs are the key to this league. In this one, you start 3 wide receivers, and there’s also a flex, which can also be a wide receiver. There are also tight ends. So if you’re winning at those other positions, you can get by at running back without knocking it out for the park.

Here’s where these drafts stand right now, with the American (12 teams) and National (12 teams) averaged into one list.

I’ve got my guys in bold (in the National League).

If you want to check out the league’s home page, go to this here website.

FANEX PLAYER DRAFTS
Am.Nat.PosPlayer
1.021.01RBAdrian Peterson
1.031.02RBLeVeon Bell
1.041.04RBJamaal Charles
1.061.03RBEddie Lacy
1.011.10RBMatt Forte
1.071.05WRAntonio Brown
1.081.06TERob Gronkowski
1.111.07WRDez Bryant
1.101.08WROdell Beckham Jr.
1.121.12RBMarshawn Lynch
1.052.02RBLeSean McCoy
2.041.09WRJulio Jones
2.051.11WRDemaryius Thomas
2.022.01WRJordy Nelson
2.012.04RBC.J. Anderson
2.032.03RBDeMarco Murray
2.082.05RBJeremy Hill
2.072.06WRCalvin Johnson
1.093.04QBAaron Rodgers
2.062.11WRA.J. Green
2.092.10WRRandall Cobb
3.012.09RBMelvin Gordon
2.103.02WRAlshon Jeffery
2.113.03QBAndrew Luck
3.062.08RBJustin Forsett
3.022.12WRMike Evans
3.043.01WRT.Y. Hilton
3.053.07WRDeAndre Hopkins
3.033.09WRBrandin Cooks
3.083.06RBFrank Gore
3.103.08WREmmanuel Sanders
2.124.06TEJimmy Graham
3.123.12WRKelvin Benjamin
4.043.05WRJordan Matthews
3.074.04RBLamar Miller
4.063.10RBT.J. Yeldon
3.094.11RBAlfred Morris
4.034.01WRAndre Johnson
4.024.02RBC.J. Spiller
4.054.08RBMark Ingram
4.094.05WRJulian Edelman
5.073.11WRKeenan Allen
3.115.12RBJoseph Randle
4.015.01RBCarlos Hyde
5.024.09WRAmari Cooper
4.105.02TETravis Kelce
5.064.07WRGolden Tate
5.014.12WRJeremy Maclin
4.085.05RBLatavius Murray
4.115.03RBAmeer Abdullah
4.075.07RBTodd Gurley
5.085.04WRBrandon Marshall
5.055.08TEGreg Olsen
6.084.10WRSammy Watkins
5.125.11TEMartellus Bennett
5.036.05RBAndre Ellington
6.025.10QBBen Roethlisberger
5.116.02RBGiovani Bernard
9.072.07RBArian Foster
7.114.03WRMartavis Bryant
6.105.06WRAllen Robinson
4.127.05QBPeyton Manning
5.106.10RBShane Vereen
6.125.09WRDeSean Jackson
6.016.01QBRussell Wilson
6.046.03WRJarvis Landry
6.056.07RBDoug Martin
6.076.06RBJonathan Stewart
6.096.08RBTevin Coleman
6.116.09WRMike Wallace
5.048.02QBTony Romo
6.037.08WRRoddy White
6.067.07QBCam Newton
8.076.04WREric Decker
7.017.12WRVincent Jackson
8.026.12WRNelson Agholor
7.067.09QBDrew Brees
7.127.06WRSteve Smith
5.099.10RBAlfred Blue
8.047.02WRCharles Johnson
7.028.04TEJulius Thomas
7.058.05QBMatt Ryan
7.108.01RBJoique Bell
7.038.08WRJohn Brown
8.117.01RBIsaiah Crowell
7.078.10WRKevin White
8.107.10RBChris Ivory
7.088.12QBEli Manning
9.106.11RBLeGarrette Blount
7.099.01TEZach Ertz
8.068.06QBTom Brady
8.058.07WRLarry Fitzgerald
9.097.04RBTre Mason
9.057.11WRBrandon LaFell
8.019.02WRTorrey Smith
8.089.12WRVictor Cruz
9.118.11RBRashad Jennings
9.019.03WRAnquan Boldin
7.0411.01RBKnile Davis
10.088.03WRRueben Randle
9.049.07RBRyan Mathews
9.069.08WRKendall Wright
8.0310.11QBPhilip Rivers
8.0910.08QBMatthew Stafford
9.089.11WRPierre Garcon
10.128.09RBDuke Johnson
9.129.09RBBishop Sankey
10.019.04WRMarques Colston
9.0310.02QBRyan Tannehill
10.029.05WRMichael Floyd
9.0211.07WRDavante Adams
11.079.06RBDevonta Freeman
10.0510.12QBCarson Palmer
11.0110.07QBColin Kaepernick
10.0911.02WRBreshad Perriman
11.0910.04TETyler Eifert
11.0410.09TEJordan Cameron
11.0610.10QBJoe Flacco
10.0711.10WRMichael Crabtree
10.1111.07WRDeVante Parker
12.0410.06RBDavid Johnson
10.0412.08WREddie Royal
11.1011.04QBTeddy Bridgewater
10.1012.05RBJerick McKinnon
10.0312.12TEJason Witten
11.0811.08RBDanny Woodhead
11.1211.06QBSam Bradford
8.1214.08RBReggie Bush
11.0512.01QBJay Cutler
11.1112.04QBAndy Dalton
12.0711.11RBCharles Sims
12.0811.12TEDelanie Walker
13.0411.03RBJonas Gray
12.0112.06RBDavid Cobb
14.0710.01RBDarren McFadden
14.0610.05RBJames White
11.0314.03WRPhillip Dorsett
13.0712.02WRBrian Quick
13.0612.03WRDoug Baldwin
12.0213.08TEKyle Rudolph
13.0512.07RBRoy Helu Jr.
15.1110.03WRKenny Stills
13.0312.11WRDevin Funchess
12.1113.04RBDarren Sproles
12.0613.12WRDonte Moncrief
12.0314.04RBAndre Williams
19.067.03RBTheo Riddick
14.0112.09WRTerrance Williams
13.0813.02STSeattle
15.0211.09RBCameron Artis-Payne
12.0914.02WRMarkus Wheaton
13.1213.03QBDerek Carr
13.1013.05TEDwayne Allen
10.0616.12TEEric Ebron
14.0912.11RBDeAngelo Williams
11.0216.02WRMarvin Jones
12.0515.01WRKenny Britt
12.1015.02QBJameis Winston
14.0513.10TEAntonio Gates
13.1114.09RBLance Dunbar
14.1213.11TECoby Fleener
13.0115.06RBFred Jackson
14.0214.10TEJosh Hill
14.0414.11RBMontee Ball
14.0314.12WRAllen Hurns
15.1013.06WRStevie Johnson
14.1114.06TEAustin Seferian-Jenkins
16.0913.01WRDorial Green-Beckham
15.1214.01TEOwen Daniels
16.0513.09RBDan Herron
13.0217.06QBMarcus Mariota
15.0415.07STHouston
15.0515.12RBStevan Ridley
16.0715.03STBuffalo
18.0613.07WRCody Latimer
16.0615.08STSt. Louis
15.0316.11RBMatt Jones
16.0416.06PKStephen Gostkowski
18.0514.05RBJames Starks
16.1016.01STNY Jets
17.1215.05TEJordan Reed
17.0715.10TEVernon Davis
15.0817.10QBNick Foles
16.1216.08STMiami
15.0917.12QBAlex Smith
16.0217.03TEHeath Miller
17.0116.05PKMason Crosby
15.0118.06QBRobert Griffin III
18.0915.04TELarry Donnell
16.0118.01RBChristine Michael
17.0217.02PKAdam Vinatieri
16.0318.05RBChris Johnson
17.0817.05PKSteven Hauschka
17.0617.09TECharles Clay
20.1214.07WRTyler Lockett
19.1015.09WRCole Beasley
19.0216.04STGreen Bay
18.0817.04RBBranden Oliver
19.0816.07RBChris Polk
18.0118.03PKMatt Bryant
18.0218.04PKJustin Tucker
20.1017.07WRJosh Huff
12.12--WRDwayne Bowe
13.09--WRJaelen Strong
14.08--WRRiley Cooper
14.10--RBJavorius Allen
15.06--WRPercy Harvin
15.07--RBKaDeem Carey
--15.11QBBlake Bortles
--16.03STNew England
16.08--PKCody Parkey
--16.09STDenver
--16.10WRChris Hogan
16.11--WRChris Conley
--17.01RBBilal Powell
17.03--TELadarius Green
17.04--PKDan Bailey
17.05--STBaltimore
--17.08RBLorenzo Taliaferro
17.09--TEClive Walford
17.10--PKCaleb Sturgis
--17.11RBKhiry Robinson
17.11--STArizona
--18.02RBTerrance West
18.03--STPhiladelphia
18.04--STIndianapolis
--18.07WRLeonard Hankerson
18.07--TEJace Amaro
--18.08WRBrian Hartline
18.10--WRChris Matthews
18.11--STMinnesota
18.12--RBDri Archer
19.01--WRMohamed Sanu
19.03--PKBlair Walsh
19.04--STDallas
19.05--WRMalcom Floyd
19.07--PKConnor Barth
19.09--STTennessee
19.11--WRGreg Jennings
19.12--STPittsburgh
20.01--WRRobert Woods
20.02--QBRyan Fitzpatrick
20.03--WRBrandon Coleman
20.04--PKGreg Zuerlein
20.05--WRNick Toon
20.06--RBRay Rice
20.07--PKMatt Prater
20.08--RBRonnie Hillman
20.09--RBJay Ajayi
20.11--RBMatt Asiata

—Ian Allan

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