What exactly do we make of Braelon Allen? On the one hand, he’s backing up one of the top few running backs in the league. But at the same time, it’s clear Allen is a needle mover. He’s going to start some games before his career is through.
If you’re looking to make a long-term investment in a big, violent back, Allen would need to rank high on the list. As the league’s youngest player, he’s got a lot more tread left on his tires than Derrick Henry, Nick Chubb and James Conner. He’s about six years younger than Najee Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. Brian Robinson is an emerging back in this genre, but he’s about 5 years older than Allen.
Ranking players for dynasty purposes is always difficult, with the need to balance what players are doing now against what they’ll be doing next year and 2-3-4 seasons down the road. But Allen in general looks like a guy who’d be worth going after, with some confidence he might be a top-10 back in the future (perhaps with a different quarterback, different coach or even a different team – but it should happen).
If I were walking in a dynasty draft today, I wouldn’t make Allen one of the first 25 running backs drafted. I would want to prioritize guys who are more productive in the here and now. But I would think Allen would be a third or fourth back on some team (in a 12-team league) – stashed away with some confidence he’ll be something in the future.
Stacking him up against the other rookies, I think he’s the No. 3 guy. I’m sticking with Jonathon Brooks (who should be in uniform soon) as the No. 1 rookie. If not for his knee injury, he might have snuck into the first round in April. For the 2nd-best rookie back, I would go with Trey Benson; he hasn’t shown as much as Allen yet, but I like his situation more – in a stat-friendly offense behind an older back who’s had a lot of injuries.
Jaylen Wright would be my fourth rookie. I liked the look of him in the preseason, and I believe his time will come in Miami. And then perhaps Blake Corum; as with Benson, I like his situation.
I turn my attention to dynasty leagues each Saturday during the regular season, rotating between the four notable positions. Rankings assume about 12 teams, with players held on rosters indefinitely. PPR scoring. I've got rookies tagged with black dots. (To see previous lists, use the “past issues” option on the right side of the page.)
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Next week: Tight ends
DYNASTY RANKINGS, RUNNING BACKS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
1. | ATL | Bijan Robinson | 22.6 |
2. | NYJ | Breece Hall | 23.3 |
3. | DET | Jahmyr Gibbs | 22.5 |
4. | IND | Jonathan Taylor | 25.7 |
5. | PHI | Saquon Barkley | 27.6 |
6. | SF | Christian McCaffrey | 28.3 |
7. | JAC | Travis Etienne | 25.7 |
8. | GB | Josh Jacobs | 26.6 |
9. | LAR | Kyren Williams | 24.1 |
10. | BUF | James Cook | 25.0 |
11. | MIA | DeVon Achane | 22.9 |
12. | HOU | Joe Mixon | 28.2 |
13. | NO | Alvin Kamara | 29.2 |
14. | KC | Isiah Pacheco | 25.6 |
15. | SEA | Kenneth Walker | 23.9 |
16. | TB | Rachaad White | 25.7 |
17. | TEN | Tony Pollard | 27.4 |
18. | CAR | • Jonathon Brooks | 21.2 |
19. | DET | David Montgomery | 27.3 |
20. | WAS | Brian Robinson | 25.5 |
21. | NE | Rhamondre Stevenson | 26.6 |
22. | DEN | Javonte Williams | 24.4 |
23. | PIT | Najee Harris | 26.5 |
24. | ARI | James Conner | 29.4 |
25. | MIN | Aaron Jones | 29.8 |
26. | BAL | Derrick Henry | 30.7 |
27. | LAC | J.K. Dobbins | 25.8 |
28. | SF | Jordan Mason | 25.3 |
29. | LV | Zamir White | 25.0 |
30. | CIN | Zack Moss | 26.8 |
31. | ARI | • Trey Benson | 22.2 |
32. | CLE | Nick Chubb | 28.7 |
33. | NYJ | • Braelon Allen | 20.7 |
34. | PIT | Jaylen Warren | 25.9 |
35. | CHI | D'Andre Swift | 25.7 |
36. | MIA | • Jaylen Wright | 21.5 |
37. | DEN | Jaleel McLaughlin | 24.0 |
38. | NYG | Devin Singletary | 27.0 |
39. | CAR | Chuba Hubbard | 25.3 |
40. | ATL | Tyler Allgeier | 24.4 |
41. | CIN | Chase Brown | 24.5 |
42. | SEA | Zach Charbonnet | 23.7 |
43. | MIN | Ty Chandler | 26.4 |
44. | LAR | • Blake Corum | 23.8 |
45. | TEN | Tyjae Spears | 23.3 |
46. | BUF | • Ray Davis | 24.9 |
47. | CLE | Jerome Ford | 25.0 |
48. | DAL | Ezekiel Elliott | 29.2 |
49. | JAC | Tank Bigsby | 23.1 |
50. | WAS | Austin Ekeler | 29.3 |
51. | MIA | Raheem Mostert | 32.4 |
52. | GB | • MarShawn Lloyd | 23.7 |
53. | NE | Antonio Gibson | 26.2 |
54. | TB | • Bucky Irving | 22.1 |
55. | LAC | Gus Edwards | 29.4 |
56. | CHI | Khalil Herbert | 26.4 |
57. | NYG | • Tyrone Tracy | 24.8 |
58. | DAL | Rico Dowdle | 26.3 |
59. | DEN | • Audric Estime | 21.0 |
60. | KC | • Carson Steele | 21.9 |
61. | BAL | Justice Hill | 26.9 |
62. | CHI | Roschon Johnson | 23.6 |
63. | NYG | Eric Gray | 24.9 |
64. | NO | Kendre Miller | 22.3 |
65. | PHI | • Will Shipley | 22.1 |
66. | LV | Alexander Mattison | 26.3 |
67. | HOU | Dameon Pierce | 24.6 |
68. | IND | Trey Sermon | 25.6 |
69. | PHI | Kenneth Gainwell | 25.5 |
70. | GB | Emanuel Wilson | 25.4 |
71. | SF | • Isaac Guerendo | 24.2 |
72. | NO | Jamaal Williams | 29.5 |
73. | CAR | Miles Sanders | 27.4 |
74. | CLE | Pierre Strong | 25.8 |
75. | KC | Samaje Perine | 29.0 |
76. | HOU | Cam Akers | 25.2 |
77. | BUF | Ty Johnson | 27.0 |
78. | SEA | Kenny McIntosh | 24.6 |
79. | CLE | D'Onta Foreman | 28.4 |
80. | MIA | Jeff Wilson | 28.8 |
—Ian Allan