Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers the Experts Love: Running Backs (2023)

What makes a fantasy football sleeper? It’s a term that has been thrown around over the year. We’ve done our best to quantify the phrase fantasy football sleeper. To us, sleepers are players that have a strong chance to exceed expectations to become surprise difference-makers for fantasy managers. We’ve put together some ranking parameters for these sleepers and asked our experts to share their top draft values and potential difference-makers. You can find all of our fantasy football sleeper rankings here. Let’s take a look at our expert sleeper rankings.

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Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers the Experts Target

Here are how experts rank 2023 fantasy football sleeper targets for each position.

Fantasy Football Running Back Sleepers

Our RB sleepers are based on a poll of experts that selected their favorite RBs with high upside. Each RB has a consensus draft rank below #45.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Bye	Num Experts	ECR	ADP
1	De’Von Achane	MIA	10	31	41	41
2	Tank Bigsby	JAC	9	29	49	49
3	Roschon Johnson	CHI	13	23	52	52
4	Jaylen Warren	PIT	6	14	44	51
5	Kendre Miller	NO	11	17	53	50
6	Ezekiel Elliott	NE	11	10	54	48
7	D’Onta Foreman	CHI	13	7	51	47
8	Kenneth Gainwell	PHI	10	7	50	57
9	Clyde Edwards-Helaire	KC	10	7	58	53
10	Jerome Ford	CLE	5	9	56	66

Andrew Erickson shares his takes on a few popular fantasy football sleepers.

De’Von Achane (MIA)

De’Von Achane is one of the most exciting rookie running backs entering the league this season. In his final year at Texas A&M, Achane exploded for 1,100 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, while also catching 36 passes (3.6/game) for 196 yards. He finished the season with a 33% dominator rating, proving that he can handle a large workload as the clear-cut No. 1 back for the Aggies. Despite concerns about his size, Achane proved his toughness by carrying the ball 38 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns in his final game against LSU. Achane ended his final college season with the second-highest “hit at the line” positive run percentage, making the most of unfortunate situations when the defense pierced through the offensive line.

The Miami Dolphins made a smart move by selecting Achane in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. It was the highest draft pick used on a running back by the Dolphins since Kenyan Drake.

He is a perfect fit for their outside zone running offense, and his elite track speed will make him a terror for opposing defenses. The current depth chart in Miami consists of an injury-prone Raheem Mostert and journeyman Jeff Wilson Jr., so Achane has a real chance to earn opportunities if not the starting job altogether. Not only is Achane a dynamic runner, but he is also an elite kickoff returner. He finished last season as PFF’s third-highest graded kick returner among 2023 draft-eligible players. This ensures he will be an active player on game days, giving him additional opportunities to make an impact. Achane’s potential in Miami’s offense and lack of competition behind him makes him a great high-upside pick in fantasy drafts.

Roschon Johnson (CHI)

Meet Roschon Johnson, the Bears’ fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite sitting behind Bijan Robinson at Texas, the 8th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Johnson managed to post an impressive 49% missed tackle rate and finished fourth in yards after contact per attempt among the 2023 draft class. With bell-cow size at 6 feet and 219 pounds and tenacity to match, Johnson has the potential to become a major player in the Bears’ backfield. Johnson only started five games in his 47 total games played as a Longhorn, but his size and athleticism caught the attention of the Bears, who drafted him with the hope that he can compete with veterans D’Onta Foreman and Khalil Herbert for snaps. Despite being a mid-round pick, Johnson has a good chance to rise the depth chart and make an impact early on, especially since he won’t have to compete with the likes of an elite stud like Robinson for playing time.

In fact, don’t be surprised if Johnson beats out Foreman by the time training camp concludes. His reliable work on special teams and pass protection — 4th-highest graded pass-blocker in the 2023 RB class per PFF in 2022 — should earn him early playing time, and if he can continue to display his impressive ability to make defenders miss, he could end up being a steal for fantasy football managers. Keep an eye on Johnson as a potential sleeper pick who could pay big dividends down the road. Chicago has the fifth-easiest schedule overall and they also boast a juicy playoff schedule (CLE, ARI, ATL) that could benefit whichever Bears RB emerges late into the season.