As the 2023 Fantasy Football season heats up, crafting a solid draft strategy is one of the keys to winning your leagues. One essential tactic is figuring out which players you’re going to target in the middle rounds of your draft, which can be the difference between a decent roster and a championship-winning lineup. With that in mind, we asked our featured experts for their favorite mid-round running targets ahead of the 2023 season.
- Snake Draft Pick Strategy: Early | Middle | Late
- Draft Targets for Every Round: Early | Middle | Late
- Fitz’s Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Mid-Round RB Targets
Which RB with a half-PPR ADP between RB25-48 are you targeting the most in your drafts and why?
Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
“Antonio Gibson — After his first two years, which saw RB1 returns, Gibson had a massive fall in his third year in the NFL. Brian Robinson arrived to split the early downs work while also splitting with J.D. McKissic in the passing game. Fast forward to the here and now, McKissic is now in Detroit, and the Commanders have two running backs to ride. Despite the heavy volume, with 17.8 attempts per game from Week 6 onward, Robinson only averaged 9.4 fantasy points per contest. We know Gibson can handle the workload, showcased by his 300 total touches in 2021. Oh, and he is looking to get paid, which also serves as an extra incentive. Gibson is my RB31, and with an ADP of 97, he jumps off the page as a player that can, and will, return significant value in 2023.”
– Ed Birdsall (Talking Points Sports)
Damien Harris (RB – BUF)
“Damien Harris is the mid-round running back worth taking back part of the middle rounds. Harris joins a Bills team, considered a high-scoring offense that will lead Harris into scoring situations. It was only two years ago that Harris produced a 15 touchdowns season on only 202 carries. Even with James Cook splitting the work, I’d expect Harris to fully take on the red zone/goalline work in the offense. When the weather gets cold in November, the Bills will rely on the 5’11” 213lb runner over the smaller back in Cook. ”
– Steven Pintado (The Fantasy Coaches)
Jamaal Williams (RB – NO)
“This was honestly a difficult decision, as I plan to target most of my running backs either before this group or after. I don’t strictly adhere to the RB Dead Zone, but I also tend to not really find myself targeting most of these guys. Having said that, I do quite like Jamaal Williams going 109th overall. Williams isn’t going to repeat his 17 TD output from 2022, but that’s already baked into the price. There’s a chance Alvin Kamara misses significant time from a potential suspension, opening up more touches for Williams, and I expect the Saints offense to score a lot more this season with the QB upgrade. Williams isn’t a superstar, but he’s a decent-to-good runner playing in a decent-to-good offense while likely getting most of the goal-line touches. That’s better than RB38.”
– Ryan Wormeli (FantasyPros)
Rashaad Penny (RB – PHI)
“Rashaad Penny at RB40. Yes, his injury history is grim, but Penny has been productive when healthy. He’s also been wildly efficient, averaging 5.7 yards per carry for his career and 6.2 YPC over the last two years. He won’t catch many passes, which is a drawback in PPR leagues, but Penny is the favorite for early-down work for the Eagles, who have a high-scoring offense and the best offensive line in the league. If Penny stays reasonably healthy and gets close to 200 carries, he’ll give you a tidy profit on a modest investment.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
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