Sean Tucker runs for 136 yards at New Orleans. Tyler Allgeier runs for 105 at Carolina. And I am reminded of the value of backup running backs. There are the premium running backs – Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley – but some portion of the big rushing games are invariably produced by players who were lightly regarded in fantasy drafts (or not even selected at all.
On the scorecard this year, I see 22 different running backs who’ve run for 100-plus yards in at least one game. Six of these players are guys who were later-round picks in fantasy drafts (or not even picked at all). Tucker and Allgeier, most recently, but Kareem Hunt, Tank Bigsby and Tyrone Tracy the previous week.
Jordan Mason has been the poster child for these kind of running backs this year, stringing together good games for the 49ers.
When constructing rosters, it makes sense to stash away these kind of players. The odds of getting some good with a backup running back are probably better than what will be gained by adding another low-level pass catcher.
In the chart below, I’m showing only the most productive game for each running back (rather than listing guys like Henry and Barkley multiple times).
| RUNNING BACKS WITH 100-YARD GAMES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Opp | Result | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Derrick Henry, Balt. | Buff. | W 35-10 | 24 | 199 | 8.3 | 1 |
| Joe Mixon, Hou. | at Ind. | W 29-27 | 30 | 159 | 5.3 | 1 |
| Josh Jacobs, G.B. | Ind. | W 16-10 | 32 | 151 | 4.7 | 0 |
| Saquon Barkley, Phil. | at N.O. | W 15-12 | 17 | 147 | 8.6 | 2 |
| Jordan Mason, S.F. | NYJ | W 32-19 | 28 | 147 | 5.3 | 1 |
| Sean Tucker, T.B. | at N.O. | W 51-27 | 14 | 136 | 9.7 | 1 |
| J.K. Dobbins, LAC | L.V. | W 22-10 | 10 | 135 | 13.5 | 1 |
| Brian Robinson, Was. | NYG | W 21-18 | 17 | 133 | 7.8 | 0 |
| Tyrone Tracy, NYG | at Sea. | W 29-20 | 18 | 129 | 7.2 | 0 |
| James Conner, Ari. | LAR | W 41-10 | 21 | 122 | 5.8 | 1 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | at Cin. | W 16-10 | 25 | 120 | 4.8 | 1 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | at Dall. | W 44-19 | 20 | 115 | 5.8 | 3 |
| Chuba Hubbard, Car. | at L.V. | W 36-22 | 21 | 114 | 5.4 | 0 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | Chi. | W 21-16 | 23 | 110 | 4.8 | 2 |
| Najee Harris, Pitt. | at L.V. | W 32-13 | 14 | 106 | 7.6 | 1 |
| David Montgomery, Det. | at Ari. | W 20-13 | 23 | 105 | 4.6 | 1 |
| Tyler Allgeier, Atl. | at Car. | W 38-20 | 18 | 105 | 5.8 | 1 |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | Den. | W 26-20 | 20 | 103 | 5.2 | 1 |
| Kyren Williams, LAR | G.B. | L 19-24 | 22 | 102 | 4.6 | 1 |
| Aaron Jones, Min. | Hou. | W 34-7 | 19 | 102 | 5.4 | 0 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | N.O. | W 26-13 | 27 | 102 | 3.8 | 1 |
| Tank Bigsby, Jac. | Ind. | W 37-34 | 13 | 101 | 7.8 | 2 |
—Ian Allan