Whether you’re taking a hero running back approach, a robust running back strategy, or a zero running back plan, there are values to be had across the board. If the offseason told us anything about running backs, it’s that the NFL values them differently than ever before. Because of that, there are many backfields with question marks and many backfields with a relevant second or third option.
Finding the values at running back and squeezing extra juice out of the position can turn a quality roster into an elite one. Here are some of my favorite picks at the position that are currently being undervalued.
Whether you’re taking a hero running back approach, a robust running back strategy, or a zero running back plan, there are values to be had across the board. If the offseason told us anything about running backs, it’s that the NFL values them differently than ever before. Because of that, there are many backfields with question marks and many backfields with a relevant second or third option.
Finding the values at running back and squeezing extra juice out of the position can turn a quality roster into an elite one. Here are some of my favorite picks at the position that are currently being undervalued.
Undervalued RBs Based on ADP
I wrote about Dameon Pierce in my breakout candidates article, but these metrics are worth stating again. Last season, Pierce generated the eighth most yards after contact per rush with 3.28 yards. The most impressive aspect of the performance was that the Texans’ offensive line allowed .8 rushing yards before contact, the lowest mark in the league. Although questions remain around the offensive line, they’ve added talent to the group, and it’s difficult to think they could be any worse. With Pierce’s ability to create yards after contact at the line of scrimmage, I’m confident in his ability to do it downfield if the line can provide more running lanes.
Pierce’s 84.4 PFF rushing grade from last season was 11th highest among running backs, and the rookie was pacing to clear 1,200 rushing yards had he remained healthy for the full season. Devin Singletary is a competent back, but he doesn’t possess the talent that Pierce does, and the Texans passed up opportunities to add bigger names to the backfield. Going as RB18, Pierce is in the range of the dead zone among running backs who are sharing a backfield or haven’t proven the efficiency we’ve seen from Pierce. I like the upside here for the second year back.
For all the love and respect Alexander Mattison received as a backup running back, the narrative has shifted in the other direction now that he’s the Vikings starter. This is due, in part, to the perceived fall-off in production last season. Although we didn’t get one of Mattison’s patented big games filling in for Dalvin Cook last season, he finished the season with the 14th-highest PFF rushing grade at 84.2. The idea that Mattison wasn’t very good last year has as much to do with Cook staying healthy as anything.
Mattison is sporting a 22.3% broken tackle rate since 2019, the fifth-highest mark among running backs with 300+ carries in that time. His .96 fantasy points per opportunity last season was 13th best among running backs, yet the fantasy football consensus believes he struggled last year. Now, as Minnesota’s backfield leader, Mattison has nothing but an unproven list of names beneath him on the depth chart. Some analysts believe Mattison should have been able to steal touches away from Cook and make a push for the starting role last year, but the Vikings didn’t move on from Cook and shift to Mattison on a whim. They knew this time was coming, and it’s likely the team was looking to run Cook as much as possible while preserving Mattison for the future. The future is now, and I’ll take my chances on Alexander Mattison.
I get it; it’s not a sexy pick. Truth be told, I’ve never been a James Conner guy going back to his days in Pittsburgh, but the times are changing. In 2021, Conner’s first season with the Cardinals, he finished as the RB7 in points per game before an RB9 PPG finish last year. The easy argument to make against Conner is that Kyler Murray is going to miss a portion, if not all, of the upcoming season. That would be a valid point, except for the fact that Conner was the RB6 in weeks 10 and 11 last season while Murray was on the shelf and again produced RB6 overall numbers without the quarterback in weeks 15-17.
Conner is not the most efficient back, nor will he ever be, and he has dealt with some injuries through the years, but it’s difficult to find a player who is an early down grinder, short yardage/goal line back, who also catches passes out of the backfield. The Cardinals have invested strikingly little in the running back position behind Conner with last year’s sixth-round pick Keaontay Ingram, who has 27 career carries to his name, operating as the RB2. Workhorse-type running backs are an anomaly in the modern NFL, and it’s even more unusual to find them lurking in the sixth round of fantasy drafts.
More Players to Target & Avoid
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