Dynasty Leagues

October 24, 2020

Long-term RB rankings

Rookie running backs are meeting expectations so far

What kind of long-term value the rookie running backs hold? There are a number of them that haven’t done much yet, but who look like they’re going to do a lot more in the future.

Most, I think, agree that Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jonathan Taylor are the best of the first-year running backs. If we’re walking into a dynasty draft today, I’m pretty sure they would be the first two chosen. (That’s if you’re picking players with the ability to hold onto them indefinitely.)

But CEH, at least for this year, now has another viable back sharing time with him (with the team having signed LeVeon Bell). And Kansas City will have Damien Williams coming back next year; he could get a decent amount of work. And in Indianapolis, Taylor hasn’t yet really lit up the league.

With a half-dozen other rookie running backs, they look like they could be pretty good in the future.

J.K. Dobbins, for example, looks like he’ll move at some point into a more featured role for the Ravens. He’s 9 years younger than Mark Ingram, and he’s got a more diverse game than Gus Edwards. He looks like he’ll be a good pro for a lot of years.

Another 21-year-old back, D’Andre Swift, looks like he’s going to be good for the Lions. Detroit has misfired on a lot of running back picks over the years, but Swift looks legit. He had his first 100-yard game last week, and they’ll likely continue to expand his role. They’ve been using Adrian Peterson as their starter, but he’s 35 – Swift is a lot younger and faster, and a lot better in the passing game.

James Robinson wasn’t even drafted, but he’s been playing well for Jacksonville. He runs hard, and he’s a capable pass catcher.

Antonio Gibson was primarily a wide receiver in college; he carried the ball only 33 times at Memphis. But Washington selected him early in the third round, and it looks like he’s successfully making the switch to tailback. They’ve been starting him, and he passes the eyeball test – he’s a big, talented guy. I will be interested to see what he can do this week against a really bad Dallas run defense.

AJ Dillon hasn’t played much yet, but he sure looked powerful on a couple of runs last week early in Green Bay’s game at Tampa Bay. He’s a big, physical runner. To me, he looks like he’ll be a big factor at some point. The two running backs ahead of him on the depth chart (Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams) are both in the final years of their rookie contracts, so I would expect Dillon will be one of Green Bay’s two main runners at the start of next year. Jones has a calf injury; if that reduces his playing time in Houston tomorrow, Dillon could make a case for more playing time now against that lesser run defense.

Two other rookie backs, Cam Akers and Zack Moss, have missed some time with injuries, but nobody should be giving up on them just yet.

If I were walking into a dynasty draft today, my running back list would look something like this. This is assuming PPR scoring (and operating under the assumption that teams could keep players indefinitely).

On these rankings, rookies are tagged with black dots.

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

I turn my attention to dynasty leagues each Saturday, addressing a different position each week. To see past articles, use the “past issues” navigation tools on the right side of the page.

Last week: quarterbacks.

Next week: tight ends.

—Ian Allan

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