Where will LeVeon Bell go in drafts next summer? He’s a great player, he’s only 26, and I imagine he’ll find a team willing to pay him close to $20 million per year. But there are a lot of good running backs out there.
If I were walking into a draft today for a dynasty league, Bell wouldn’t be one of the first dozen running backs I would select. There are too many other good players at that position. Many aren’t quite as talented as Bell, but they’re younger and locked into more favorable situations. Aaron Jones, for example, isn’t quite a Bell-like talent, but he’s explosive and starting for a Green Bay offense that should be good for years.
Ranking Bell, of course, is difficult when he doesn’t yet even have a team. Time will tell where he lands. The Jets might be the front-runners to sign him, and that wouldn’t be a great situation. If he were to sign with the Dolphins, he potentially could be playing with a team with a new coach, new offense and new quarterback.
Below is my updated attempt at ranking the top 100 running backs for dynasty league purposes. I’m assuming standard scoring, and I’m assuming teams would be allowed to keep players indefinitely.
Of the running backs in my top 10, Melvin Gordon (25) and Todd Gurley (24) are the older. Of my top 16, all of the other running backs are no older than 23 years old except Bell and David Johnson (who are both 26). It’s a young man’s position.
These are dynasty rankings, so I’m trying to keep 2019 and 2020 very much in mind. Of the top 100, 11 of the running backs definitely won’t play again this season. One isn’t even on a team (C.J. Anderson).
DYNASTY RANKINGS, RUNNING BACKS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Player | Age |
1. | LAR | Todd Gurley | 24 |
2. | NYG | • Saquon Barkley | 21 |
3. | DAL | Ezekiel Elliott | 23 |
4. | KC | Kareem Hunt | 23 |
5. | LAC | Melvin Gordon | 25 |
6. | PIT | James Conner | 23 |
7. | NO | Alvin Kamara | 23 |
8. | CAR | Christian McCaffrey | 22 |
9. | CLE | • Nick Chubb | 22 |
10. | CIN | Joe Mixon | 22 |
11. | ARI | David Johnson | 26 |
12. | GB | Aaron Jones | 23 |
13. | MIN | Dalvin Cook | 23 |
14. | PIT | LeVeon Bell | 26 |
15. | NE | • Sony Michel | 23 |
16. | DET | • Kerryon Johnson | 21 |
17. | JAC | Leonard Fournette | 23 |
18. | SF | Matt Breida | 23 |
19. | NO | Mark Ingram | 28 |
20. | DEN | • Phillip Lindsay | 24 |
21. | IND | Marlon Mack | 22 |
22. | CHI | Jordan Howard | 24 |
23. | ATL | Tevin Coleman | 25 |
24. | CHI | Tarik Cohen | 23 |
25. | ATL | Devonta Freeman | 26 |
26. | SEA | • Rashaad Penny | 22 |
27. | NE | James White | 26 |
28. | WAS | • Derrius Guice | 21 |
29. | TEN | Derrick Henry | 24 |
30. | BAL | Alex Collins | 24 |
31. | TEN | Dion Lewis | 28 |
32. | MIA | Kenyan Drake | 24 |
33. | NYJ | Isaiah Crowell | 25 |
34. | PHI | Jay Ajayi | 25 |
35. | SEA | Chris Carson | 24 |
36. | LAC | Austin Ekeler | 23 |
37. | DEN | • Royce Freeman | 22 |
38. | HOU | D'Onta Foreman | 22 |
39. | CLE | Duke Johnson | 25 |
40. | BUF | LeSean McCoy | 30 |
41. | IND | • Nyheim Hines | 22 |
42. | HOU | Lamar Miller | 27 |
43. | TB | Peyton Barber | 24 |
44. | PHI | • Josh Adams | 22 |
45. | MIN | Latavius Murray | 28 |
46. | SF | Jerick McKinnon | 26 |
47. | ATL | • Ito Smith | 23 |
48. | WAS | Chris Thompson | 28 |
49. | CIN | Giovani Bernard | 26 |
50. | LAR | Malcolm Brown | 25 |
51. | NYJ | Elijah McGuire | 24 |
52. | TB | • Ronald Jones | 21 |
53. | DET | Theo Riddick | 27 |
54. | OAK | Jalen Richard | 25 |
55. | GB | Jamaal Williams | 23 |
56. | NE | Rex Burkhead | 28 |
57. | IND | • Jordan Wilkins | 24 |
58. | OAK | Marshawn Lynch | 32 |
59. | WAS | Adrian Peterson | 33 |
60. | KC | Spencer Ware | 26 |
61. | MIA | Frank Gore | 35 |
62. | PHI | Wendell Smallwood | 24 |
63. | JAC | T.J. Yeldon | 25 |
64. | NYG | Wayne Gallman | 24 |
65. | PIT | • Jaylen Samuels | 22 |
66. | BAL | Javorius Allen | 27 |
67. | OAK | Doug Martin | 29 |
68. | MIA | • Kalen Ballage | 22 |
69. | JAC | Carlos Hyde | 27 |
70. | ARI | • Chase Edmonds | 22 |
71. | PHI | Corey Clement | 24 |
72. | SEA | Mike Davis | 25 |
73. | OAK | • Chris Warren | 22 |
74. | DEN | Devontae Booker | 26 |
75. | UFA | C.J. Anderson | 27 |
76. | SF | Raheem Mostert | 26 |
77. | CIN | • Mark Walton | 21 |
78. | HOU | Alfred Blue | 27 |
79. | LAR | • John Kelly | 22 |
80. | BUF | Chris Ivory | 30 |
81. | DET | LeGarrette Blount | 31 |
82. | CAR | Cameron Artis-Payne | 28 |
83. | BAL | Gus Edwards | 23 |
84. | SF | Kyle Juszczyk | 27 |
85. | NE | Jeremy Hill | 26 |
86. | DAL | Rod Smith | 26 |
87. | BAL | Ty Montgomery | 25 |
88. | JAC | Corey Grant | 26 |
89. | TB | Jacquizz Rodgers | 28 |
90. | KC | Damien Williams | 26 |
91. | NYJ | Bilal Powell | 30 |
92. | PIT | Stevan Ridley | 29 |
93. | MIN | Ameer Abdullah | 25 |
94. | BUF | Marcus Murphy | 27 |
95. | MIN | • Mike Boone | 23 |
96. | WAS | Samaje Perine | 23 |
97. | BAL | Kenneth Dixon | 24 |
98. | LAC | Justin Jackson | 22 |
99. | SEA | J.D. McKissic | 25 |
100. | DET | Zach Zenner | 27 |
—Ian Allan