If you’re in a dynasty league, what are you to make of D’Ernest Johnson? He was awfully impressive on Thursday night, and he’s going to be a free agent at the end of the season. Is some team going to sign him with the intention of making him their starter?
Maybe. Johnson doesn’t have elite speed, but he’s sure got nice vision and elusiveness. He finds the cutback lanes, and he can make people miss. I was sure impressed when he froze Patrick Surtain and popped outside for a nice gain in the fourth quarter.
How is it that at South Florida, he never ran for 800 yards in a season or averaged 5.0 yards per carry? He seems better than that. Troy Aikman during the broadcast pointed out that Johnson ran only 4.8 at his pro day workout, contributing to him not even being drafted. Johnson definitely is faster than that (probably runs under 4.6).
I would think that some team would sign Johnson with the intention that he would have a role – maybe not with the hope of him running for 1,200 yards, but as a back who could be part of the solution (perhaps sharing time or competing for carries with another comparable back).
If you’re in a dynasty league, I would think that it makes sense to carry Johnson with the hopes of him developing into something in 2022. And he also, of course, has some value right now. If Nick Chubb remains out, Johnson should have some top-10 games in him, and he’ll be one of the busier change-of-pace backs behind Chubb until Kareem Hunt returns in a month or so.
My updated dynasty rankings for running backs appear below. I’m assuming PPR scoring, and I’ve got rookie running backs tagged with black dots.
I turn the focus to dynasty leagues every Saturday, rotating between the four notable positions. To see previous rankings, use the “past issues” navigation box on this page.
Last week: Quarterbacks
Next week: Tight ends
DYNASTY RANKINGS / RUNNING BACKS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
1. | IND | Jonathan Taylor | 22 |
2. | CAR | Christian McCaffrey | 25 |
3. | PIT | • Najee Harris | 23 |
4. | TEN | Derrick Henry | 27 |
5. | MIN | Dalvin Cook | 26 |
6. | NO | Alvin Kamara | 26 |
7. | DAL | Ezekiel Elliott | 26 |
8. | CLE | Nick Chubb | 25 |
9. | GB | Aaron Jones | 26 |
10. | NYG | Saquon Barkley | 24 |
11. | LAC | Austin Ekeler | 26 |
12. | CIN | Joe Mixon | 25 |
13. | DET | D'Andre Swift | 22 |
14. | JAC | James Robinson | 23 |
15. | LAR | Darrell Henderson | 24 |
16. | DEN | • Javonte Williams | 21 |
17. | WAS | Antonio Gibson | 23 |
18. | LV | Josh Jacobs | 23 |
19. | CHI | David Montgomery | 24 |
20. | TB | Leonard Fournette | 26 |
21. | KC | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | 22 |
22. | PHI | Miles Sanders | 24 |
23. | BUF | Zack Moss | 23 |
24. | NE | Damien Harris | 24 |
25. | GB | AJ Dillon | 23 |
26. | ARI | Chase Edmonds | 25 |
27. | CLE | Kareem Hunt | 26 |
28. | SEA | Chris Carson | 27 |
29. | SF | • Elijah Mitchell | 23 |
30. | NE | • Rhamondre Stevenson | 23 |
31. | MIA | Myles Gaskin | 24 |
32. | BUF | Devin Singletary | 24 |
33. | ARI | James Conner | 26 |
34. | DAL | Tony Pollard | 24 |
35. | DEN | Melvin Gordon | 28 |
36. | CAR | • Chuba Hubbard | 22 |
37. | ATL | Cordarrelle Patterson | 30 |
38. | SEA | Alex Collins | 27 |
39. | SF | • Trey Sermon | 22 |
40. | NYJ | • Michael Carter | 22 |
41. | LV | Kenyan Drake | 27 |
42. | TB | Ronald Jones | 24 |
43. | ATL | Mike Davis | 28 |
44. | PHI | • Kenneth Gainwell | 22 |
45. | MIN | Alexander Mattison | 23 |
46. | WAS | J.D. McKissic | 28 |
47. | IND | Nyheim Hines | 24 |
48. | BAL | J.K. Dobbins | 22 |
49. | CLE | D'Ernest Johnson | 25 |
50. | KC | Darrel Williams | 26 |
51. | CHI | • Khalil Herbert | 23 |
52. | JAC | • Travis Etienne | 22 |
53. | DET | Jamaal Williams | 26 |
54. | LAR | Sony Michel | 26 |
55. | BAL | Latavius Murray | 31 |
56. | SF | JaMycal Hasty | 25 |
57. | HOU | Mark Ingram | 31 |
58. | NYJ | Ty Johnson | 24 |
59. | BAL | Devonta Freeman | 29 |
60. | NO | Tony Jones | 23 |
61. | LAC | • Larry Rountree | 23 |
62. | MIA | Salvon Ahmed | 22 |
63. | NYG | Devontae Booker | 29 |
64. | LAC | Justin Jackson | 25 |
65. | SEA | Rashaad Penny | 25 |
66. | HOU | David Johnson | 29 |
67. | NYJ | Tevin Coleman | 28 |
68. | CHI | Damien Williams | 29 |
69. | CIN | Samaje Perine | 26 |
70. | JAC | Carlos Hyde | 30 |
71. | IND | Marlon Mack | 25 |
72. | HOU | Phillip Lindsay | 27 |
73. | SF | Jeff Wilson | 25 |
74. | TB | Giovani Bernard | 29 |
75. | LAR | Cam Akers | 22 |
76. | NE | James White | 29 |
77. | SF | Raheem Mostert | 29 |
78. | MIA | Malcolm Brown | 28 |
79. | SEA | DeeJay Dallas | 23 |
80. | TEN | Jeremy McNichols | 25 |
—Ian Allan