Jordan Woodson | Mon, Jul 22nd 2024, 7:06am EDT

Running Back Targets Outside Top 50 Rankings (2024 Fantasy Football)

The 2024 NFL Preseason kicks off in less than two weeks when the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans travel to Canton, Ohio to participate in the Hall of Fame Game. While preseason football might not be for everyone, it means the NFL regular season is fast approaching.

With that in mind, it’s time to start looking ahead to fantasy football season. Training camp and preseason action will swing player values over the next few weeks, so it’s important to identify outliers early in the process.

Whether you’re drafting best-ball teams or have early home league drafts, here are three undervalued running backs currently being drafted outside the Top 50 of our FantasyPros Expert Consensus Rankings.

Best Running Back Targets Outside ECR Top 50

Alvin Kamara (RB – NO): ECR 52 | RB17

One season after finishing as the RB11 in a suspension-shortened season, Saints running back Alvin Kamara is one of the best values in early fantasy-football drafts. Kamara’s red flags are his age (28) and the mediocre offense around him in New Orleans, but the volume and consistency seem likely to continue for at least one more season.

Kamara’s main competition for touches, Kendre Miller, is an intriguing late-round stash, but he could be viewed as more of a handcuff than someone with standalone value. Even if Miller earns more of a regular role, Kamara will get the majority of high-value touches out of the backfield.

Last season, Kamara averaged 17.9 points per game and was the RB4 from Weeks 4-17. This season, New Orleans has the easiest strength of schedule for running backs according to FantasyPros metrics. At RB17 and just outside the ECR Top 50, it’s a no-brainer selection.

Raheem Mostert (RB – MIA): ECR 75 | RB25

After scoring a league-high 18 rushing touchdowns last season, Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert is one of the most obvious regression candidates in all of fantasy football. That said, his slide to RB3 territory is an overcorrection.

While many are comparing Mostert to Saints running back Jamaal Williams, there are quite a few differences on paper. As a reminder, Williams scored a league-high 17 rushing touchdowns with Detroit in 2022, signed with New Orleans in Free Agency, and subsequently fell off the face of the fantasy football planet.

Mostert’s journey is a little bit different. Instead of chasing the bag in Free Agency, Mostert re-signed with Miami, where he’ll remain attached to Mike McDaniel and that explosive offense. Even if Miami is forced into more pass-heavy game scripts this season, Mostert should easily pay off his current ECR of 75 overall.

Jonathon Brooks (RB – CAR): ECR 102 | RB33

After being selected in the second round of April’s NFL Draft, Jonathon Brooks has been deemed the running back of the future in Carolina. It’s just unclear when that future becomes the present.

With Brooks still recovering from a mid-November ACL tear, his status for Week 1 is still up in the air. A couple of positive reports have trickled out over the past few months, but there’s nothing concrete regarding his timetable. That uncertainty has created a buyer’s market in early fantasy football drafts.

Even if Brooks is limited or sidelined to begin the year, all of the risk is already baked into his current average draft position. Brooks has too much upside to be ranked below players like Tyjae Spears, Devin Singletary, and Javonte Williams. Once healthy, Brooks has the third-easiest running back schedule in the NFL and should easily supplant veterans Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders as Carolina’s RB1.

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