It’s 2017, and running backs still make up the backbone of a fantasy football roster.
Fantasy has evolved right alongside the game itself over the years, giving owners a tougher time than ever in the process—which makes it feel overwhelming at times, but the payoff can feel even better for eventual league champs.
Gone are the days an owner could grab a workhorse back in the first or second round and call it a draft. These days, backs contribute so much in the passing game it’s both a way to find huge production at great value and tougher than usual to formulate solid starting lineups.
Below, let’s take out the legwork for those owners just getting back into the swing of things ahead of draft season and plot the top stars and sleepers to know based on 12-team standard formats.
2017 Fantasy Football RBs
RB Sleepers to Know
Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions
It’s now-or-never time for Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah.
At least, it is this time for fantasy owners. The 2015 second-round pick has yet to make the anticipated impact from a fantasy standpoint despite his slot in a Matthew Stafford-led offense and natural abilities as a receiver.
As a rookie, Abdullah only received 143 carries, which he turned into a 4.2 average, and 39 targets in the passing game. Fast-forward to his sophomore year, and the Nebraska product went down in Week 2 with a season-ending injury.
This year? The Lions will hope Abdullah can bounce back and maybe give the team its first 100-yard rusher since 2013. In mid-July, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press slapped an over/under of 850 yards on him, which isn’t a bad number for a back with an average draft position (ADP) of 5.09.
If Abdullah is on the field long enough to flirt with such a number, he’s going to see some quality looks in the passing game as well, even if Theo Riddick and Zach Zenner have been useful in the past. Abdullah is the head of this committee in an explosive offense, and owners on the hunt for a mid-round sleeper need to have him circled in red ink.
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
The idea a rookie back taken in the first two rounds can qualify for “sleeper” status is fading fast.
Ezekiel Elliott and Jordan Howard (fifth round last year, but still) crushed it last year. We know Leonard Fournette will shine with the Jacksonville Jaguars. We know Christian McCaffrey will compete for some individual hardware with the Carolina Panthers. We know Joe Mixon won’t have any problems winning the job with the Cincinnati Bengals.
But lost in all this is Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings.
Cook didn’t do one thing especially well as a prospect or have any controversy around him. He was a solid runner at Florida State who projected as a workhorse, but he landed behind veteran Latavius Murray in Minnesota, who ran for 12 touchdowns with the Oakland Raiders in 2016.
One problem: Murray currently sits on the physically unable to perform list (PUP). This could change in time, but right now the offense belongs to Cook, and if he takes over, the coaching staff won’t feel any obligation to ruin the hot hand or give the job over to an older player.
Opportunities equal production, and Cook sitting on an ADP of 5.02 means great value for owners looking to build a strong rotation.
Jamaal Williams, Green Bay Packers
Diving deeper, it’s clear the sleeper columns haven’t reached a broad audience yet because Jamaal Williams of the Green Bay Packers still has an ADP of 10.04.
Now is probably the time when a reader steps back and wonders who the Packers even have at running back, and yes, the top name on the depth chart remains wide receiver Ty Montgomery.
For now.
Williams, a fourth-round rookie out of BYU, was a talented runner in college and is more of a traditional workhorse back who slots as an interesting complement to Montgomery, with the beauty of the Green Bay offense being its ability to get both guys on the field together and producing.
Given his skill set, it wouldn’t come as a shock to see Williams emerge as the guy who tallies the most totes by the end of the season. With opposing defenses focusing on Aaron Rodgers, Williams could wind up as the reliable week-to-week Green Bay back owners have sought for years.
Rex Burkhead, New England Patriots
Rex Burkhead was one of the NFL‘s best-kept secrets during his three years with the Bengals.
Cincinnati never gave Burkhead the playing time he deserved while balancing Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard as the one-two punch. When the former sixth-round pick took the field, though, he boasted a slashing style, quality blocking and sure hands through the air.
In short, the New England Patriots pursuing him in free agency was one of the offseason’s most predictable moves.
In Foxborough, Burkhead has already turned heads, as noted by Carl Brooks of the Boston Herald: “But the running back was easily one of the best offensive players on the field yesterday during the second day of minicamp.”
Make no mistake—New England has a crowded backfield thanks to other names like Mike Gillislee, James White and Dion Lewis. But Bill Belichick stockpiling backs of a certain mold isn’t anything new, and owners by now understand the best will rise to the top.
That’s likely Burkhead, whose ADP of 14.01 makes him one of the summer’s must-have players.
All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com. Average draft position (ADP) courtesy of Fantasy Football Calculator.
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Rex Burkhead
Ameer Abdullah
Dalvin Cook
