Set aside 2019 for a moment and look more long term. Looking at the next, 3-7 years, would you rather have Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey or Dalvin Cook? I don’t think it’s an easy call.
When we look at how they’ve played this year, Barkley definitely falls down into the No. 3 spot. He hasn’t been healthy, and the offense around him hasn’t been as good. If you select Barkley, the hope is that he’ll get healthy and start playing more like McCaffrey and Cook are playing right now.
Barkley also has the issue with sometimes forgetting how big and strong he is – trying to juke and dance his way into big plays when he could just be finishing runs strong for an extra 3-4 yards. He’s trying to run like he’s Barry Sanders, when he’s built like Bo Jackson.
I don’t have a strong preference between McCaffrey and Cook. They’re both great. Cook has had more issues with durability. He’s also on a team where they’ve got another really good running back, so I think he’ll be spelled more. With McCaffrey, they tend to just leave him out there for every down; I don’t think there’s a back in the league who’s been on the field for more of his team’s plays.
Those are my top 3. If I were walking into a start-up dynasty league, I would be happy with any of them.
Notice that I’m not including Ezekiel Elliott in the top tier. He doesn’t seem to be as good as those super-elite backs. He hasn’t been as explosive this year. I’m not sure if he’s a little overweight or if he’s wearing down, but he hasn’t broken as many long runs. Those 60-plus yard touchdowns that McCaffrey and Cook have scored are tending to be 15- and 20-yard runs for Elliott.
So I’ve got Elliott in the second tier, along with Alvin Kamara, Josh Jacobs, Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry. Kamara hasn’t scored many touchdowns this year, and he doesn’t pile up the rushing production like the guys ahead of him. But I’m assuming PPR scoring here, so when you’ve got a featured runner who’ll also catch 80-plus balls, that’s a very solid option.
I’m not ready to start putting Jacobs ahead of those top backs, but he’s had a very solid rookie year for the Raiders.
With Chubb, he’s been excellent, but the Browns might also have another one of the league’s top 15 backs. I’m assuming they’ll re-sign Kareem Hunt and go with a one-two punch backfield next year. That should reduce Chubb’s touches, especially in the passing game.
David Montgomery hasn’t had a great rookie year, but there have been times that he’s looked really good. There have been times that I’ve thought he’s better than Jacobs. Montgomery is a run-catch guy, and I’m going to assume they’re going to get a lot of their offensive issues figured out next year. Aaron Jones is putting up better numbers this year, but I think Montgomery is a better talent and will be more productive in future seasons.
On this list, rookies are tagged with black dots. I went with Devin Singletary as the best of the remaining first-year backs – I’ve got him in my top 20. He’s played really well in the last month.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the Arizona backfield. Assuming they re-sign Kenyan Drake, he’ll probably be their featured guy and maybe put up top-15 numbers. I’ve got him 10 spots lower for now. With a big contract, David Johnson probably won’t be there, but I think he’ll be starting somewhere. I’ve got him at 27th.
Similarly, the Rams are tough to figure. They’ve got to get their offensive line fixed; then they might start putting up elite numbers. Todd Gurley is their starter right now, with Malcolm Brown as their backup. But with these being long-term rankings, I think I would rather select Darrell Henderson, who might be (probably will be?) starting ahead of both of those guys next year.
This is a young man's position. There are only two running backs older than 27 in my top 40. I've got 29-year-old Mark Ingram ranked 17th, and 28-year-old Carlos Hyde ranked 36th.
| DYNASTY RUNNING BACKS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
| 1. | CAR | Christian McCaffrey | 23 |
| 2. | MIN | Dalvin Cook | 24 |
| 3. | NYG | Saquon Barkley | 22 |
| 4. | DAL | Ezekiel Elliott | 24 |
| 5. | NO | Alvin Kamara | 24 |
| 6. | OAK | • Josh Jacobs | 21 |
| 7. | CLE | Nick Chubb | 23 |
| 8. | TEN | Derrick Henry | 25 |
| 9. | CHI | • David Montgomery | 22 |
| 10. | GB | Aaron Jones | 24 |
| 11. | CIN | Joe Mixon | 23 |
| 12. | IND | Marlon Mack | 23 |
| 13. | JAC | Leonard Fournette | 24 |
| 14. | DEN | Phillip Lindsay | 25 |
| 15. | LAC | Melvin Gordon | 26 |
| 16. | BUF | • Devin Singletary | 22 |
| 17. | BAL | Mark Ingram | 29 |
| 18. | PHI | • Miles Sanders | 22 |
| 19. | NYJ | LeVeon Bell | 27 |
| 20. | PIT | James Conner | 24 |
| 21. | NE | James White | 27 |
| 22. | SEA | Chris Carson | 25 |
| 23. | LAC | Austin Ekeler | 24 |
| 24. | ATL | Devonta Freeman | 27 |
| 25. | ARI | Kenyan Drake | 25 |
| 26. | NE | Sony Michel | 24 |
| 27. | ARI | David Johnson | 27 |
| 28. | CLE | Kareem Hunt | 24 |
| 29. | TB | Ronald Jones | 22 |
| 30. | LAR | • Darrell Henderson | 22 |
| 31. | SF | Tevin Coleman | 26 |
| 32. | LAR | Todd Gurley | 25 |
| 33. | CHI | Tarik Cohen | 24 |
| 34. | GB | Jamaal Williams | 24 |
| 35. | SEA | Rashaad Penny | 23 |
| 36. | HOU | Carlos Hyde | 28 |
| 37. | MIN | • Alexander Mattison | 21 |
| 38. | PHI | Jordan Howard | 25 |
| 39. | SF | Matt Breida | 24 |
| 40. | HOU | Duke Johnson | 26 |
| 41. | KC | Damien Williams | 27 |
| 42. | IND | Jonathan Williams | 25 |
| 43. | PIT | • Benny Snell | 21 |
| 44. | NO | Latavius Murray | 29 |
| 45. | DEN | Royce Freeman | 23 |
| 46. | WAS | Derrius Guice | 22 |
| 47. | DET | Kerryon Johnson | 22 |
| 48. | DAL | • Tony Pollard | 22 |
| 49. | KC | LeSean McCoy | 31 |
| 50. | NE | • Damien Harris | 22 |
| 51. | TB | Peyton Barber | 25 |
| 52. | PIT | Jaylen Samuels | 23 |
| 53. | IND | Nyheim Hines | 23 |
| 54. | ARI | Chase Edmonds | 23 |
| 55. | BAL | • Justice Hill | 22 |
| 56. | CAR | • Reggie Bonnafon | 23 |
| 57. | JAC | • Ryquell Armstead | 23 |
| 58. | NYG | Wayne Gallman | 25 |
| 59. | CIN | Giovani Bernard | 28 |
| 60. | NE | Rex Burkhead | 29 |
| 61. | PHI | Jay Ajayi | 26 |
| 62. | BAL | Gus Edwards | 24 |
| 63. | LAR | Malcolm Brown | 26 |
| 64. | DET | Bo Scarbrough | 23 |
| 65. | ATL | • Qadree Ollison | 23 |
| 66. | OAK | DeAndre Washington | 26 |
| 67. | TEN | Dion Lewis | 29 |
| 68. | KC | Darrel Williams | 24 |
| 69. | NYJ | Ty Montgomery | 26 |
| 70. | CIN | • Trayveon Williams | 22 |
| 71. | WAS | Chris Thompson | 29 |
| 72. | OAK | Jalen Richard | 26 |
| 73. | SF | Raheem Mostert | 27 |
| 74. | LAC | Justin Jackson | 23 |
| 75. | IND | Jordan Wilkins | 25 |
| 76. | ATL | Ito Smith | 24 |
| 77. | PHI | Boston Scott | 24 |
| 78. | KC | • Darwin Thompson | 22 |
| 79. | HOU | Lamar Miller | 28 |
| 80. | DET | • Ty Johnson | 22 |
| 81. | GB | • Dexter Williams | 22 |
| 82. | BUF | T.J. Yeldon | 26 |
| 83. | CAR | • Jordan Scarlett | 23 |
| 84. | NYJ | Josh Adams | 23 |
| 85. | CAR | Mike Davis | 26 |
| 86. | WAS | Adrian Peterson | 34 |
| 87. | PIT | • Kerrith Whyte | 23 |
| 88. | MIA | • Patrick Laird | 24 |
| 89. | ATL | Brian Hill | 24 |
| 90. | SF | Jeff Wilson | 24 |
| 91. | DET | J.D. McKissic | 26 |
| 92. | MIA | Kalen Ballage | 23 |
| 93. | CLE | Dontrell Hilliard | 24 |
| 94. | MIA | • Myles Gaskin | 22 |
| 95. | NYJ | Trenton Cannon | 24 |
| 96. | SF | Kyle Juszczyk | 28 |
| 97. | WAS | • Bryce Love | 22 |
| 98. | MIN | Ameer Abdullah | 26 |
| 99. | SF | Jerick McKinnon | 27 |
| 100. | WAS | Wendell Smallwood | 25 |
—Ian Allan