Fantasy Football Sleepers: Tyjae Spears, Brian Robinson Jr., Trey Benson (2024)

2023 provided one of the all-time great sleeper running backs for fantasy football in Kyren Williams, adding him to a list that in recent years includes James Robinson in 2020, Elijah Mitchell in 2021 and Antonio Gibson in 2020. With fantasy football more popular than ever it’s getting harder and harder to find sleepers, but here are some of the best candidates in 2024 going outside of the top 100 picks.

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Running Backs to Draft

Tyjae Spears (RB – TEN)

If Tony Pollard hadn’t been added in free agency then it’s very possible Tyjae Spears would be a fourth-round pick right about now. As it is, Spears sits just outside the top 100 and is a fine bet for 2024 drafts, having ranked third among rookie running backs in receptions last year with 49, having the second-highest target share among rookies at 14.9% and ranking fourth in total yardage. Spears was given plenty of opportunities to shine in 2023 with the Titans comfortable using him on both passing downs and rushing plays. While Pollard does profile quite similarly to Spears in some ways that isn’t necessarily a bad thing with both players able to mix in throughout games in what should be an improved offense. When it comes to ambiguous backfields, targeting the cheaper option has proved smart historically.

Tyjae Spears appreciation post
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– Barstool NOLA (@BarstoolNOLA) June 24, 2024

Brian Robinson Jr. (RB – WAS)

The Commanders are an ascending offense, finally making a strong addition at quarterback after several years in QB purgatory, and the whole offense should take a step forward as a result. Kliff Kingsbury has been installed as the new offensive coordinator and while there were valid complaints about his passing scheme in Arizona, his running game was always excellent. Kingsbury favors a no-huddle type offense giving defenses less time to react. One of the key features is that players who are on the offensive side of the ball tend to stay on the field consistently. This is where Brian Robinson Jr. comes into play. Robinson is the clear choice for first-down work, having rushed for a consistent 4.1 yards per carry in 2022. Free-agent addition Austin Ekeler is coming off an awful year by his standards, seeing his missed tackles forced per game drop from 4.2 in 2022 to 2.9 in 2023, along with setting a career-low in yards after contact per attempt, a number that has fallen for Ekeler in six straight seasons. Robinson might not be as strong of a pass-catcher as Ekeler, but if he’s staying on the field, targets can find their way to him regardless.

Trey Benson (RB – ARI)

Ever since the Cardinals picked Trey Benson in the third round of the draft they’ve been gushing positively about him. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said, “I think Trey [Benson] fits us from a schematic standpoint, in that he’s instinctive, he’s tough, he’s physical, he’s got good contact balance, he’s able to run through and gain tough yards.” He then mentioned how much speed and burst they see from Benson and that he can be the perfect complement to James Conner, who, while still a good running back, hasn’t played more than 13 games in a season ever and has managed 32 over the last three seasons in total. If anything happens to Conner, or when, Benson’s three-down abilities will be very valuable. Benson averaged over 11 yards per reception in each of his last two seasons at Florida State, along with rushing for over 900 yards in both.