Dynasty Leagues

September 26, 2020

Running back rankings

Are Robinson, Gaskin long-term running back values?

A pair of young, unheralded running backs were featured on Thursday night. James Robinson and Myles Gaskin. Where do those players fit into the long-range plans for those teams.

I thought both played well enough that they’ll be starting and featured for the near future. I don’t think either the Jaguars or the Dolphins are looking to replace them (either by trade or lineup change). But I don’t think either stands out as a guy who’ll still be starting on opening day in 2022.

Robinson runs hard. Too hard, you could argue. He takes a lot of big hits; those kind of collisions tend to result in injuries and fumbles. But he doesn’t have much speed or elusiveness. He’s a try-hard guy. A better version of Peyton Barber, you might say. He’s a feel-good story, but a year from now, I would think he’d be more likely to be a backup or committee back, rather than a clear starter.

I’m familiar with Gaskin. He played his college ball across the lake at Washington, going over 1,000 yards every year. It’s been good to see him clawing his way to relevance after a quiet first season. He’s a much better pass catcher than veterans Jordan Howard and Matt Breida, making him a better fit with Miami’s current offense.

Gaskin has caught 4, 6 and 5 passes in their first three games, and he looked good as a runner at Jacksonville. At least for a while. On their first drive, he opened with 7 carries for 35 yard, but his final 15 carries went for only 31. Regardless, he’s got some vision, and he’s a lot more elusive than Howard. I don’t know that Gaskin will still be starting next year at this time, but he looks like he’s going to be in the league for a few years.

When Miami drafted Gaskin (in the sixth round) he was listed at 5-foot-10 and 193 pounds. Small guy. But he’s been working at it. In their opening roster this year, they’ve got him 7 pounds heavier.

I don’t know that either back (Robinson, Gaskin) helps you a ton long term. But they’re playing right now, and that’s worth something.

Below is my list of the top 100 backs for dynasty leagues. This is assuming PPR scoring, and with the assumption that once you’ve got a player, you get him for as long as you want to keep him. That is, you can stash away a backup like Alexander Mattison, Benny Snell or Chase Edmonds, and if they ever become a starter, you’ve got them.

I hit one position (for dynasty purposes) each week. It was quarterbacks last week (and you can find that via the “past issues” box on the right side of the screen. It will be tight ends next week.

When you see the other rankings we compile, they involve carefully projecting all of the individual stats. With these ones, they’re simply done by hand. I spend about an hour slowly going over the list, making adjustments, until it feels right.

DYNASTY RUNNING BACKS
Rk	Tm	Player	Age
1.	CAR	Christian McCaffrey	24
2.	DAL	Ezekiel Elliott	25
3.	KC	• Clyde Edwards-Helaire	21
4.	NO	Alvin Kamara	25
5.	MIN	Dalvin Cook	25
6.	IND	• Jonathan Taylor	21
7.	LV	Josh Jacobs	22
8.	TEN	Derrick Henry	26
9.	GB	Aaron Jones	26
10.	CIN	Joe Mixon	24
11.	LAC	Austin Ekeler	25
12.	PHI	Miles Sanders	23
13.	CLE	Nick Chubb	25
14.	NYG	Saquon Barkley	23
15.	ARI	Kenyan Drake	26
16.	CHI	David Montgomery	23
17.	SEA	Chris Carson	26
18.	BAL	• J.K. Dobbins	22
19.	SF	Raheem Mostert	28
20.	DEN	Melvin Gordon	27
21.	CLE	Kareem Hunt	25
22.	LAR	• Cam Akers	21
23.	HOU	David Johnson	29
24.	TB	Leonard Fournette	25
25.	PIT	James Conner	25
26.	BUF	Devin Singletary	23
27.	DET	• D'Andre Swift	21
28.	NYJ	LeVeon Bell	28
29.	BAL	Mark Ingram	31
30.	MIN	Alexander Mattison	22
31.	PIT	Benny Snell	22
32.	JAC	• James Robinson	22
33.	ATL	Todd Gurley	26
34.	TB	Ronald Jones	23
35.	DEN	Phillip Lindsay	26
36.	BUF	• Zack Moss	23
37.	NO	Latavius Murray	30
38.	ARI	Chase Edmonds	24
39.	WAS	• Antonio Gibson	22
40.	MIA	Myles Gaskin	23
41.	NE	James White	28
42.	NE	Damien Harris	23
43.	HOU	Duke Johnson	27
44.	GB	• AJ Dillon	22
45.	CHI	Tarik Cohen	25
46.	NE	Sony Michel	25
47.	DET	Kerryon Johnson	23
48.	LAR	Darrell Henderson	23
49.	PHI	Boston Scott	25
50.	IND	Nyheim Hines	24
51.	NYG	Devonta Freeman	28
52.	LAC	• Joshua Kelley	23
53.	DAL	Tony Pollard	23
54.	SEA	Carlos Hyde	29
55.	KC	Darrel Williams	25
56.	GB	Jamaal Williams	25
57.	CAR	Mike Davis	27
58.	LAR	Malcolm Brown	27
59.	SF	Jerick McKinnon	28
60.	BAL	Gus Edwards	25
61.	DET	Adrian Peterson	35
62.	CIN	Giovani Bernard	29
63.	WAS	Bryce Love	23
64.	NE	Rex Burkhead	30
65.	MIA	Matt Breida	25
66.	SF	Tevin Coleman	27
67.	IND	Marlon Mack	24
68.	JAC	Chris Thompson	30
69.	WAS	J.D. McKissic	27
70.	LAC	Justin Jackson	24
71.	ATL	Brian Hill	25
72.	LV	Devontae Booker	28
73.	NYG	Dion Lewis	30
74.	JAC	Ryquell Armstead	24
75.	LV	Jalen Richard	27
76.	SEA	Rashaad Penny	24
77.	IND	Jordan Wilkins	26
78.	PIT	Jaylen Samuels	24
79.	TB	• KeShawn Vaughn	23
80.	TEN	• Darrynton Evans	22
81.	NYJ	• LaMical Perine	22
82.	ATL	Ito Smith	25
83.	KC	Damien Williams	28
84.	PHI	• Jason Huntley	22
85.	NO	Ty Montgomery	27
86.	SEA	• DeeJay Dallas	22
87.	MIA	Jordan Howard	26
88.	NYJ	Frank Gore	37
89.	DEN	Royce Freeman	24
90.	PIT	• Anthony McFarland	21
91.	ATL	Qadree Ollison	24
92.	KC	Darwin Thompson	23
93.	MIN	Mike Boone	25
94.	NYG	Wayne Gallman	26
95.	SF	Jeff Wilson	25
96.	ARI	• Eno Benjamin	21
97.	GB	Tyler Ervin	27
98.	TB	LeSean McCoy	32
99.	BAL	Justice Hill	23
100.	JAC	Devine Ozigbo	24

—Ian Allan

Myles Gaskin James Robinson

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