What is the value of a backup running back? That is, when it’s the 10th round, does the correct course tend to involve selecting a backup-type running back? Or are we better to look at perhaps a remaining top-20 quarterback or a wide receiver who’s at least starting?
You can’t answer such a question on a case-by-case basis, because there are hits and misses whatever way you might go. You could potentially have selected Alvin Kamara later in a draft, for example. But you could also have missed badly on a similar running back prospect while neglecting to choose Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Adam Thielen or Robert Woods.
I selected Alfred Morris and James Conner in most leagues, looking to pick up some valuable fill-in starts, but didn’t get much out of either.
But numbers show that type of back – starters in waiting – will deliver some good games.
I’ve got all of the 100-yard rushing days in front of me. There were 89 of them in the 2017 season. Of those games, almost a third (29) were produced by running backs who weren’t among the first 30 players selected at that position. That’s almost as many as the combined total (35) of the year’s top-10 running back prospects.
This is a subjective exercise, of course. The backs I had in my top 10 are no doubt a little different than yours. I thought about using ADP data, but it would be time-consuming to look up the figures for each player, and more than a few wouldn’t show up at all.
So I instead used the top 100 rankings for running backs that we published just before the kickoff of the first game. I’ve got those 10 backs tagged with black dots. That’s using standard scoring.
For running backs outside my top 30, I’ve got them in bold. Some of those backs I don’t think were selected in even 5 percent of fantasy leagues, including Alex Collins (not even on a roster at the time), Orleans Darkwa, Aaron Jones (third-stringer for the Packers), T.J. Yeldon, Alfred Blue, Peyton Barber, Dion Lewis and maybe Kenyan Drake.
If you’re looking for prototypical “handcuff” backs, I think there are just two such games on this list – Alfred Morris and Jamaal Williams. If you want to expand things a little bit, maybe you can include Samaje Perine and Latavius Murray, with two games each. But many thought Perine would be out Robert Kelley, and Murray was kind of a co-No. 2 with Jerick McKinnon. Giovani Bernard is on the list, but he also had some third-down appeal. Drake ended up with two games, but back at the start of the year it seemed like he might be just their third-down back.
Darkwa had a couple of 100-yard game, but he was also a pick involving considerable degree of difficulty. The Giants were starting Paul Perkins, had Shane Vereen as their passing-downs guys, and Wayne Gallman looked like a possibility to start moving up the depth chart.
On the chart below, the first column (the “rank”) shows where I had the running back ranked before the start of the season.
| 100-YARD RUSHERS (2017 SEASON) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Name | Opp | Score | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 18 | Leonard Fournette, JAC | at PIT | W 30-9 | 28 | 181 | 6.5 | 2 |
| 2 | • LeVeon Bell, PIT | at KC | W 19-13 | 32 | 179 | 5.6 | 1 |
| 8 | • Kareem Hunt, KC | at LAC | W 24-10 | 17 | 172 | 10.1 | 1 |
| 7 | • Jordan Howard, CHI | at BAL | W 27-24 | 36 | 167 | 4.6 | 0 |
| 25 | Bilal Powell, NYJ | vs. JAC | W 23-20 | 21 | 163 | 7.8 | 1 |
| 38 | Adrian Peterson, ARI | at SF | W 20-10 | 37 | 159 | 4.3 | 0 |
| 19 | C.J. Anderson, DEN | at IND | W 25-13 | 30 | 158 | 5.3 | 0 |
| 28 | Derrick Henry, TEN | at KC | W 22-21 | 23 | 156 | 6.8 | 1 |
| 10 | • LeSean McCoy, BUF | vs. IND | W 13-7 | 32 | 156 | 4.9 | 1 |
| 8 | • Kareem Hunt, KC | vs. LAC | W 30-13 | 24 | 155 | 6.5 | 1 |
| 84 | Orleans Darkwa, NYG | vs. WAS | W 18-10 | 20 | 154 | 7.7 | 1 |
| 5 | • Todd Gurley, LAR | at SEA | W 42-7 | 21 | 152 | 7.2 | 3 |
| 10 | • LeSean McCoy, BUF | vs. OAK | W 34-14 | 27 | 151 | 5.6 | 1 |
| 4 | • Ezekiel Elliott, DAL | at WAS | W 33-19 | 33 | 150 | 4.5 | 2 |
| 8 | • Kareem Hunt, KC | at NE | W 42-27 | 17 | 148 | 8.7 | 1 |
| 7 | • Jordan Howard, CHI | at CIN | W 33-7 | 23 | 147 | 6.4 | 2 |
| 4 | • Ezekiel Elliott, DAL | at SF | W 40-10 | 26 | 147 | 5.7 | 2 |
| 25 | Bilal Powell, NYJ | vs. LAC | L 7-14 | 19 | 145 | 7.6 | 1 |
| 2 | • LeVeon Bell, PIT | at BAL | W 26-9 | 35 | 144 | 4.1 | 2 |
| 7 | • Jordan Howard, CHI | vs. PIT | W 23-17 | 23 | 140 | 6.1 | 2 |
| 32 | LeGarrette Blount, PHI | at LAC | W 26-24 | 16 | 136 | 8.5 | 0 |
| 38 | Adrian Peterson, ARI | vs. TB | W 38-33 | 26 | 134 | 5.2 | 2 |
| 21 | Mark Ingram, NO | vs. WAS | W 34-31 | 11 | 134 | 12.2 | 1 |
| 2 | • LeVeon Bell, PIT | vs. CIN | W 29-14 | 35 | 134 | 3.8 | 0 |
| 3 | • Melvin Gordon, LAC | at NE | L 13-21 | 14 | 132 | 9.4 | 1 |
| -- | Aaron Jones, GB | vs. NO | L 17-26 | 17 | 131 | 7.7 | 1 |
| 28 | Derrick Henry, TEN | vs. IND | W 36-22 | 19 | 131 | 6.9 | 1 |
| 21 | Mark Ingram, NO | at BUF | W 47-10 | 21 | 131 | 6.2 | 3 |
| 37 | Frank Gore, IND | at BUF | L 7-13 | 36 | 130 | 3.6 | 0 |
| 18 | Leonard Fournette, JAC | vs. LAR | L 17-27 | 21 | 130 | 6.2 | 1 |
| 11 | Jay Ajayi, MIA | at ATL | W 20-17 | 26 | 130 | 5.0 | 0 |
| 51 | Dion Lewis, NE | vs. BUF | W 37-16 | 24 | 129 | 5.4 | 1 |
| 79 | Alfred Morris, DAL | vs. WAS | W 38-14 | 27 | 127 | 4.7 | 1 |
| 9 | • Dalvin Cook, MIN | vs. NO | W 29-19 | 22 | 127 | 5.8 | 0 |
| 6 | • Devonta Freeman, ATL | at TB | W 24-21 | 22 | 126 | 5.7 | 1 |
| -- | Aaron Jones, GB | at DAL | W 35-31 | 19 | 125 | 6.6 | 1 |
| 7 | • Jordan Howard, CHI | vs. DET | L 24-27 | 15 | 125 | 8.3 | 1 |
| 13 | Carlos Hyde, SF | at SEA | L 9-12 | 15 | 124 | 8.3 | 0 |
| 81 | T.J. Yeldon, JAC | at IND | W 27-0 | 9 | 122 | 13.6 | 1 |
| 11 | Jay Ajayi, MIA | at LAC | W 19-17 | 28 | 122 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 15 | Isaiah Crowell, CLE | vs. GB | L 21-27 | 19 | 121 | 6.4 | 0 |
| 5 | • Todd Gurley, LAR | at DAL | W 35-30 | 23 | 121 | 5.3 | 0 |
| -- | Alex Collins, BAL | at PIT | L 38-39 | 18 | 120 | 6.7 | 1 |
| 62 | Kenyan Drake, MIA | vs. DEN | W 35-9 | 23 | 120 | 5.2 | 1 |
| 19 | C.J. Anderson, DEN | vs. DAL | W 42-17 | 25 | 118 | 4.7 | 1 |
| 5 | • Todd Gurley, LAR | at TEN | W 27-23 | 22 | 118 | 5.4 | 0 |
| 84 | Orleans Darkwa, NYG | at DEN | W 23-10 | 21 | 117 | 5.6 | 0 |
| 61 | Samaje Perine, WAS | at NO | L 31-34 | 23 | 117 | 5.1 | 1 |
| 2 | • LeVeon Bell, PIT | vs. NE | L 24-27 | 24 | 117 | 4.9 | 1 |
| 60 | Giovani Bernard, CIN | vs. DET | W 26-17 | 23 | 116 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 8 | • Kareem Hunt, KC | vs. OAK | W 26-15 | 25 | 116 | 4.6 | 1 |
| 5 | • Todd Gurley, LAR | at JAC | W 27-17 | 23 | 116 | 5.0 | 0 |
| 4 | • Ezekiel Elliott, DAL | vs. GB | L 31-35 | 29 | 116 | 4.0 | 0 |
| 12 | DeMarco Murray, TEN | vs. SEA | W 33-27 | 14 | 115 | 8.2 | 1 |
| 62 | Kenyan Drake, MIA | vs. NE | W 27-20 | 25 | 114 | 4.6 | 0 |
| 24 | Joe Mixon, CIN | vs. CLE | W 30-16 | 23 | 114 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 21 | Mark Ingram, NO | vs. DET | W 52-38 | 25 | 114 | 4.6 | 2 |
| 10 | • LeSean McCoy, BUF | at LAC | L 24-54 | 13 | 114 | 8.8 | 1 |
| -- | Alex Collins, BAL | vs. MIA | W 40-0 | 18 | 113 | 6.3 | 0 |
| 73 | Latavius Murray, MIN | vs. BAL | W 24-16 | 18 | 113 | 6.3 | 1 |
| 71 | Jamaal Williams, GB | vs. TB | W 26-20 | 21 | 113 | 5.4 | 1 |
| 5 | • Todd Gurley, LAR | at SF | W 41-39 | 28 | 113 | 4.0 | 2 |
| 51 | Dion Lewis, NE | vs. MIA | W 35-17 | 15 | 112 | 7.5 | 0 |
| 73 | Latavius Murray, MIN | vs. CHI | W 23-10 | 20 | 111 | 5.6 | 2 |
| 18 | Leonard Fournette, JAC | at CLE | W 19-7 | 28 | 111 | 4.0 | 0 |
| 31 | Jonathan Stewart, CAR | vs. MIA | W 45-21 | 17 | 110 | 6.5 | 0 |
| 10 | • LeSean McCoy, BUF | vs. NYJ | W 21-12 | 22 | 110 | 5.0 | 0 |
| 28 | Derrick Henry, TEN | vs. HOU | W 24-13 | 11 | 109 | 9.9 | 1 |
| 18 | Leonard Fournette, JAC | at PIT | W 45-42 | 25 | 109 | 4.4 | 3 |
| 85 | Alfred Blue, HOU | vs. PIT | L 6-34 | 16 | 108 | 6.8 | 0 |
| 8 | • Kareem Hunt, KC | at HOU | W 42-34 | 29 | 107 | 3.7 | 0 |
| 43 | Alvin Kamara, NO | at BUF | W 47-10 | 12 | 106 | 8.8 | 1 |
| 6 | • Devonta Freeman, ATL | at DET | W 30-26 | 21 | 106 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 5 | • Todd Gurley, LAR | vs. ARI | W 33-0 | 22 | 106 | 4.8 | 1 |
| 21 | Mark Ingram, NO | at GB | W 26-17 | 22 | 105 | 4.8 | 1 |
| 3 | • Melvin Gordon, LAC | at NYG | W 27-22 | 20 | 105 | 5.2 | 0 |
| 4 | • Ezekiel Elliott, DAL | vs. NYG | W 19-3 | 24 | 104 | 4.3 | 0 |
| 31 | Jonathan Stewart, CAR | vs. MIN | W 31-24 | 16 | 103 | 6.4 | 3 |
| 4 | • Ezekiel Elliott, DAL | at PHI | W 6-0 | 27 | 103 | 3.8 | 0 |
| -- | Peyton Barber, TB | at GB | L 20-26 | 23 | 102 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 7 | • Jordan Howard, CHI | at NO | L 12-20 | 23 | 102 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 22 | Marshawn Lynch, OAK | vs. NYG | W 24-17 | 17 | 101 | 5.9 | 1 |
| 22 | Marshawn Lynch, OAK | at LAC | L 10-30 | 19 | 101 | 5.3 | 0 |
| 18 | Leonard Fournette, JAC | vs. SEA | W 30-24 | 24 | 101 | 4.2 | 1 |
| 8 | • Kareem Hunt, KC | vs. WAS | W 29-20 | 21 | 101 | 4.8 | 0 |
| 5 | • Todd Gurley, LAR | vs. ATL | L 13-26 | 14 | 101 | 7.2 | 0 |
| 61 | Samaje Perine, WAS | vs. NYG | W 20-10 | 24 | 100 | 4.2 | 0 |
| 37 | Frank Gore, IND | vs. HOU | W 22-13 | 24 | 100 | 4.2 | 0 |
| 18 | Leonard Fournette, JAC | at HOU | W 29-7 | 26 | 100 | 3.8 | 1 |
—Ian Allan