It will be a feeding frenzy in fantasy drafts for the four running backs selected in the first two rounds of April's draft. If you want to secure Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon or Dalvin Cook, you must be prepared to overspend. That's the way fantasy football works, with everyone hoping they'll secure the next Ezekiel Elliott or LaDainian Tomlinson.
And that's fine. But if you miss out on those guys -- maybe opting instead for a sure-thing wide receiver or quarterback -- there are still rookie running backs worth taking a shot at with a mid- to later-round pick. I'll even leave out the most obvious names (Kareem Hunt, Samaje Perine) who everyone knows are vying for starting jobs. Instead, consider these five.
1. Jamaal Williams, Green Bay. Williams was just a late fourth-round selection, and the Packers were so confident in his ability that they also drafted Aaron Jones a round later and Devante Mays in the seventh. But Williams is the one they took first, and he's been running as the clear No. 2 behind Ty Montgomery in training camp. He's even earned some first-team chances, according to the coaching staff. A flier, but Williams won't cost much in drafts.
2. Joe Williams, San Francisco. Nothing positive has been written about Williams since that post-draft piece by Peter King with the 49ers decision makers gushing over how much they loved him. Embarrassing, really, and since that time the good stuff has been said about Carlos Hyde and creaky old Tim Hightower. But let's see: Hyde is in a contract year and tends to get hurt. Hightower has the advantage of having played in Kyle Shanahan's offense before, but when the team is 1-5 are they really going to be giving a ton of work to players who will be bouncing grandchildren on knees before the Niners are good again? (Exaggeration, yes.) The absence of training camp hype just mean you'll be able to grab Williams later and cheaper.
3. DeAngelo Henderson, Denver. Devontae Booker is injured. Jamaal Charles will probably join him early on. I'm sorry, but it's true. C.J. Anderson is the clear favorite for a leading role, but Denver has long preferred to work a second back into its offense. Different faces will no doubt grab that spot at different times, but Henderson could very well be that guy at the start of the season -- I think he's more likely to still be healthy than Charles, and Booker won't be back from surgery in Week 1.
4. Jeremy McNichols, Tampa Bay. I can't fault anyone who resists the quagmire that is the Buccaneers backfield. But we know that Doug Martin won't play the first three weeks, know that Charles Sims annually disappoints, and know that Jacquizz Rodgers also has an injury history -- and his lone really good game a year ago was against a comically inept San Francisco run defense. Why not McNichols? A nifty last-round pick.
5. Elijah Hood, Oakland. This seventh-rounder is anonymous enough that nobody has been able to even find roster room for him in my dynasty league. But let's examine the other running backs in Oakland. Marshawn Lynch: old, retired last season, hurt for half of his previous season, and a bit of a head case. DeAndre Jalen Washington Richard -- I'm lumping these two backs together because they're so similar: smaller backs with some explosive ability but probably not suited to a large role in the backfield (if Oakland thought they were, would they have pursed Lynch so aggressively?). When Lynch breaks down, that duo will probably remain in secondary roles. So maybe, just maybe, the 232-pound Hood will emerge as the lead runner on this team.
There are other rookie backs to consider. Marlon Mack in Indianapolis, Donnel Pumphrey in Philadelphia. None of these guys is as close to being a sure thing as Fournette-McCaffrey et al.
But they'll be much cheaper, and in 2017, one or two of them will emerge as a fantasy starter for a couple of games. Grab them before that happens, and you'll save yourself a waiver-wire battle down the road.