Ask the Experts

October 06, 2022

Which backup RB is most valuable?

Falcons, Broncos make the list

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which backup running back has the most value the rest of the way?

SAM HENDRICKS

Obvious answer is Caleb Huntley for Atlanta. He will be splitting time with Tyler Allgeier, but also may not be in all season long if Cordarrelle Patterson can return in 5 weeks. So that's why I like Mike Boone for Denver. Let me beat you naysayers to the criticism....but he is behind Melvin Gordon (injury concerns and ball handling issues) and maybe Latavius Murray (aging gracefully). Boone is a LONG shot but that's why he is available on the waiver wire! Because no one gave him a second thought until Javonte Williams went out for the season. I would love to pick up Huntley and I will, but I have a nagging feeling that he is a short-term fix whereas Boone might just be a playoff Champion maker.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 30-year fantasy football veteran who participated in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013 and 2018.

MIKE NAZAREK

Broncos running back Mike Boone will play a lot alongside Melvin Gordon with Javonte Williams out for the season. The Broncos do not want to use a workhorse back, and Gordon has fumbled four times. Those who rostered Williams and/or Gordon should also pick up Boone if available to CYA.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc, celebrating 25 years online! His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, weekly in-season newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its web site, www.ffmastermind.com. He has been playing fantasy football since 1988 and is a four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a former columnist for SI.com. He's also won nearly $30K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.

SCOTT SACHS

Atlanta's Tyler Allgeier is the primary backup to Cordarrelle Patterson, but Caleb Huntley also contributed in last week's surprising upset of Cleveland. Former Saint Latavius Murray just signed with Denver, and with Melvin Gordon's proclivity for fumbling, he may be worthy of a waiver pickup. Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out for the Colts Thursday Night matchup with Denver. Nyheim Hines is still available in a lot of leagues, plus Deon Jackson is expected to get carries, too.

With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text Advice. He is a 3-time Winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Auction League, as well as a previous Winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll.

IAN ALLAN

Jaylen Warren of the Steelers. He’s not my favorite backup, but I’m trying to pick a guy I think is available in most leagues. I thought he looked good in the preseason, and he had a couple of nice touches at Cleveland. I would think that Najee Harris will break down at some point, and Warren could have some decent games filling in. Not that he’s going to be great; this is a lesser team. But I think Warren should be rostered.

Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. He and fellow journalism student Bruce Taylor launched the first newsstand fantasy football magazine as a class project at the University of Washington. For more than three decades, Allan has written and edited most of the content published in the magazines, newsletters and at www.fantasyindex.com. An exhaustive researcher, he may be the only person in the country who has watched at least some of every preseason football game played since the early 1990s. Allan is a member of the FSTA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.

JASON WOOD

Craig Reynolds comes to mind. He's widely available, and the Lions' offense looks unstoppable, regardless of the game script. While Reynolds will do little when D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams are healthy, we've seen Reynolds shine as the lead back in rare opportunities. Detroit's offensive line and new OC Ben Johnson's play-calling are so good that Reynolds could be a league winner for a stretch if injuries open the door.

Wood is Senior Editor at Footballguys.com and has been with the company since its start in 2000. For more than 20 years, Footballguys has provided rankings, projections, and analysis to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.

DAVID DOREY

Undrafted free agent Caleb Huntley was on the practice squad in Atlanta last year but was called up in Week 2 and had one carry for the Falcons. Cordarrelle Patterson is aging and faded last year before landing on IR. Tyler Allgeier is likely the primary back, but Huntley ran for 56 yards and a score on ten carries in the Falcons surprise win over the Browns. Those weren't just end of the game meaningless carries. He was a contributor whenever Patterson was off the field. Allgeier is still the better bet, but Huntley is in the conversation now.

Dorey co-founded The Huddle.com in 1997. He's ranked every player and projected every game for the last 23 years and is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. David has appeared on numerous radio, television, newspaper and magazines over the last two decades.

ANDY RICHARDSON

Tyler Allgeier is my favorite, but unfortunately he's probably rostered in most leagues. I picked up Caleb Huntley in dynasty, because he looked pretty decent in the preseason, and just maybe he emerges as the superior option to Allgeier. But I will also cast a vote (not in dynasty, he's 32) for Latavius Murray. Murray looked better than Mark Ingram running for New Orleans last Sunday, and now he's in Denver, behind currently fumble-prone Melvin Gordon and unproven Mike Boone. Maybe he's the 3rd choice, but there is definitely a path to him being the starter a week or two down the road.

Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.

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