The 2023 fantasy football season is almost here. Regardless of your draft strategy, fantasy players want to leave the draft with the guys on their must-have list.
- 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
Must-Have Running Backs (2023 Fantasy Football)
Bijan Robinson (ATL): ADP 8.3 | RB3
Some won’t draft Robinson in the top 10 because he’s a rookie. However, running backs picked in the top 10 of the NFL Draft tend to have successful rookie seasons. Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley were top-10 draft picks and finished their rookie year as an RB1. The former Longhorn was a better prospect coming out of college than all four and is in an excellent fantasy situation.
Last year, the Falcons had the top running blocking offensive line in the NFL, earning an 83.7 grade from PFF. Furthermore, Chris Lindstrom (93.1) and Kaleb McGary (91.6) finished first and third in PFF run-blocking grades among all offensive linemen. Meanwhile, Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson averaged a combined 4.89 yards per rushing attempt and 1.53 yards per attempt before contact in 2022. Imagine how well Robinson will do behind the NFL’s top run-blocking offensive line.
Tony Pollard (DAL): ADP 16.3 | RB7
Pollard had a breakout season last year, finishing as the RB7, averaging 14.3 half-point points per reception (PPR) fantasy points per game. The former Memphis star had his first 1,000-yard rushing season. He also scored 12 touchdowns in 2022 after totaling 10 career touchdowns entering the year. Furthermore, Pollard is a home run threat who can take any rushing attempt to the house.
Last year, the superstar finished third in the NFL in breakaway runs (17) and fourth in breakaway run rate (8.8%). Furthermore, Pollard was fourth in yards per route run (1.82) and eighth in yards created per touch (3.3) among running backs. More importantly, the former Memphis star will have more touches this year after Ezekiel Elliott signed with the New England Patriots. Pollard should have at least 240 rushing attempts after getting 193 last season.
Cam Akers (LAR): ADP 56.3 | RB22
I have Akers significantly higher in my rankings than the average draft position (ADP) has the former Florida State star. Last year was a season of two halves for the young running back. After having his trade request denied, Akers turned into a superstar to end the year. He was the RB2 over the final four weeks, averaging 18.3 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. The former Florida State star forced a missed tackle on 22.7% of his rushing attempts in those contests.
Akers had a better 2022 season than he got credit for. He averaged 2.78 yards after contact per rushing attempt, the same average as Saquon Barkley. Furthermore, the former Florida State star had 36 missed tackles forced on his 188 rushing attempts. By comparison, Christian McCaffrey has the same 36 missed tackles forced on 244 rushing attempts last season. The Rams didn’t add any meaningful competition this offseason. Akers is prime to have a breakout season in a contract year.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
