Running Backs to Avoid: Rachaad White, Rhamondre Stevenson, D’Andre Swift, Josh Jacobs (2024)

It’s important to know who to target and who to pass on when it comes to your fantasy football draft, and our FeaturedPros experts have identified four running backs to avoid in 2024.

Running Backs to Avoid in 2024

What one RB inside the top 100 in our consensus ADP do you plan on avoiding in all your drafts relative to their price and why?

Rachaad White (RB – TB)

“Rachaad White feasted on volume in 2023 because he was the Bucs’ only backfield answer. He has been a poor rusher for two years, though. White has ranked 41st and 46th in Next Gen Stats’ rush yards over expected per attempt and 49th and 42nd in yards after contact per attempt. Rookie Bucky Irving won in those same ways at Oregon. And Todd Bowles has already praised Irving’s ability to evade early tackle attempts and create big plays. I wouldn’t be shocked if Irving garners more carries than White this year. If that happens, it’d be a short trip for Irving to edge White in receiving work as well. Both have been effective in that area. With White going on the edge of RB1 territory and Irving carrying an RB5 price tag, I’ll easily favor the rookie all summer.”
– Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks)

D’Andre Swift (RB – CHI)

“From a simplified point of view, you could argue that D’Andre Swift was one of the more effective running backs in fantasy in 2023. In the main counting stats, he ranked as the RB12 in carries (229) and RB5 in yards (1,049), all while logging the most games played in his career. But where he fell short for fantasy managers last season was his ability to find the end zone. His six total touchdowns (RB24) sunk his fantasy points per game (12.5), which was even lower than his expected fantasy PPG (13.3). Even though he added 39 receptions (RB21) to his stat sheet, it could not make up for the fact that Jalen Hurts was the preferred goal-line option for the Eagles. So, you may ask yourself, what is not to like from Swift as we project to 2024? It’s quite simple, really. He is now on his third team in three years, so despite all the talent he has flashed in the past, something is just not clicking with the coaching staff to keep in the plans long term. Now, he lands in Chicago with the Bears and will potentially be sharing the load with two other backs while a rookie quarterback gets acclimated to the NFL. Swift is currently getting drafted as an RB2 but may only see the workload and scoring potential to constitute the value of an RB3 at best. A total avoid for me at current cost.”
– Brandon Murchison (RotoBaller)

Josh Jacobs (RB – GB)

“The ADP for Josh Jacobs (RB11, 38th overall) is based on the assumption that Jacobs will be the clear lead back for Green Bay, and that’s not a safe assumption. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has been an RB-by-committee guy. A.J. Dillon has routinely gotten double-digit carries for the Packers, even in games where Aaron Jones has been healthy, and it’s pretty obvious that Jones is far better than Dillon. When LaFleur was the Titans’ offensive coordinator in Tennessee in 2018, Derrick Henry had 215 carries in 16 games, and Dion Lewis had 155 carries. Think about that for a moment: LaFleur actually used Derrick Henry as a rotational back. Still want to bet on high usage for Jacobs this year? It’s also worth noting that Jacobs had minus-86 rushing yards over expected last year and rated poorly in the missed-tackles-forced and yards-after-contact metrics.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)

“I’m out on Josh Jacobs, and I don’t care who knows it. Jacobs hasn’t been the same player since his epic 2022 season. The volume took a toll on him last year. The biggest worry surrounding this back that I can’t seem to shake is his tackle-breaking juice might be gone for good. Last season, Jacobs had the 12th-highest stuff rate while also crawling in at 37th in missed tackles forced per attempt and 44th in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). If you’re targeting a back from this depth chart, it’s easily MarShawn Lloyd. ”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)

Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE)

“I’m avoiding Rhamondre Stevenson (RB-NE) in all of my fantasy football drafts this season. There are too many question marks that I have that merit drafting him at his current price. He plays on an offense that will look totally new this season. And I’m even more concerned that Antonio Gibson will vulture most of Rhamondre’s 3rd down work.”
– Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire)

To better understand players to avoid and others to reach for, use our Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) and compare them to a player’s average draft position (ADP). Players going higher in ADP versus ECR are likely those you want to reconsider at their current cost. On the flipside, players that experts are higher on versus ADP are those that could be worth reaching for or at least targeting at their current ADP.

You can also use our expert accuracy rankings to help determine which experts to select when you are building your custom fantasy football draft cheat sheets.

Here’s a look at players the experts are avoiding at their current ADP.

Busts NFL Rachaad White Bucky Irving D’Andre Swift Josh Jacobs A.J. Dillon Aaron Jones Derrick Henry MarShawn Lloyd Rhamondre Stevenson Antonio Gibson