Moving on to October, it’s time to give the running backs their day in the sun, a Shuffle Up of fantasy football’s most critical position. What has happened so far is just an audition. The ranks and levels you’ll find below are what I would use if I were entering another fantasy football draft from now on. Use these levels to explore your selection yourself or as a sounding board when considering trades and pickups.
The salaries are unscientific and intended as a tool to show where the talent is concentrated. Players with the same salary are considered equal. Remember the golden rule: no player gains (or loses) extra value simply because you roster him.
Players who are currently injured will receive their own provisional rank at the bottom. They are not for debate. Everyone has their own ideas about injuries and comebacks.
The big ticket items
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$44 Saquon Barkley
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$43, Derrick Henry
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$42 Kyren Williams
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$40 Breece Hall
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$38 Bijan Robinson
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$35 Kenneth Walker III
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$32 Jahmyr Gibbs
It’s a shame that Barkley’s next revenge game in New York is in Week 18 (irrelevant to the vast majority of fantasy leagues), but he’s capable of going toe-to-toe with anyone; his weekly finishes are RB1, RB1, RB20, RB33 and RB3 last week. He is averaging 6.1 yards per carry and his yards per target has also increased slightly. It’s the best Barkley has played in six seasons.
Henry has a tough playoff schedule, but he also has a steady career trend of getting better as the seasons go by. With Baltimore’s line starting to play better — and Lamar Jackson getting a boost for the rushing lanes — I’m not going to sweat Henry’s opponents. He will come home more often.
The offensive line play hasn’t been good for the Rams, but Williams is a decisive defender with stealth power that could make him one of the best goal-line converters in the league. He has seen 10 rushes from inside the five-yard line, and he has hit seven of them into the end zone. The attacking momentum should also increase with Cooper Kupp returning this week and hopefully Puka Nacua not far away. Sean McVay is always good for his strong backs.
Legitimate building blocks
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$30 Joe Mixon
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$29David Montgomery
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$28 Jonathan Taylor
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$27, Josh Jacobs
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James Cook $26
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$24Alvin Kamara
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$23 De’Von Achane
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$22James Conner
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$22 Tony Pollard
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$21Brian Robinson Jr.
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$20 Jordan Mason
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$20, Aaron Jones
Robinson will always have to share in Washington; Jayden Daniels has some of the targeting power and Austin Ekeler is the more active receiver. But Robinson nonetheless has a touchdown in five of his six starts and is racking up plenty of yards after first contact. He is one of the most underrated between-the-tackle-pounders in the league.
Kamara is averaging a modest 3.9 yards behind New Orleans’ shaky offensive line, and his last 20-yard rush came in 2022. But he leads the NFL in touches and still gets plenty of dump-off passes , which ensures a sturdy floor. The Saints aren’t worried about any derailments in his age-29 season, as they forced Kamara into an extension this week. He’s more about projectable volume than explosive plays these days, but Taysom Hill’s injury has helped Kamara maintain touchdown equity.
Age is also just a number for Conner, who is posting a career-high yards per touch in six years. He can play in all packages, he finishes every run and even on broken plays he impresses with his awareness and intelligence (the punchout Monday night was a good example). He can play in my team at any time. Conner generally needs two to four maintenance visits per year, but that’s almost standard at this position. Hopefully he’ll be ready for the fantasy playoffs, where the Patriots and Panthers await.
Talk them up, talk them down
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$18 JK Dobbins
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$17 D’Andre Swift
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$15 Kareem Hunt
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$14 Rhamondre Stevenson
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$14 Chuba Hubbard
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$14 Najee Harris
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$13 Rachaad White
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$11 Rico Dowdle
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$11 Chase Brown
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Tank Bigsby from $11
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$11 Travis Etienne Jr.
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$11 Javonte Williams
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$10 Bucky Irving
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$10, Nick Chubb
Dobbins is on a run-first team and no one is pushing him, but I wish the secondary stats liked him more. His success rate is below league average and he doesn’t make explosive plays in the passing game. And his extensive injury history can’t be ignored either. If Dobbins hits the road in Week 8 against the Saints, this could be good timing to quietly acquire him.
Hunt has only played three games, but he has the highest success rate among running backs, and the Chiefs already favor him at the goal line. There is no threat to his touch share. Last year’s collapse in Cleveland was more of a statement about the Browns than it was about Hunt.
Bigsby has proven to be the best runner in Jacksonville, but can the Jags coach him in the passing game? He has just six goals and two receptions for his career, which spans 24 games. That will cover the top.
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White has to share it with two other backs in Tampa Bay, and normally that would be a fantasy kill shot. But the Buccaneers will have to change their offensive scope with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin injured, and White is by far the best pass-catcher in this backfield. Bucky Irving isn’t going away and Sean Tucker might see 4-8 hits most weeks, but Monday’s chaos actually helps White’s value.
A plausible advantage
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$9 Zack Moss
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$9 Devin Singletary
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$7 Alexander Mattison
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$6 Austin Ekeler
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$6 Tyrone Tracy Jr.
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$6 Tyler Allgeier
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$5 Braelon Allen
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$5 Zach Charbonnet
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$5 Jaylen Warren
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$4 Ty Chandler
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$4 Raheem Mostert
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$4 Ray Davis
Allgeier is fourth in passing percentage (teammate Bijan Robinson is eighth) and he could probably do more in the passing game; he secured all eight objectives. Allgeier might have some deep-flex value when the tougher bye weeks roll around, and he becomes an automatic starter if Robinson misses.
Mattison will never be great, but he runs slightly better than Zamir White and he is the better receiver by a significant margin. I’ve long given up on the idea of Gardner Minshew having an advantage, but he’s certainly better for this offense than Aidan O’Connell. Mattison will easily beat his ADP, a useful RB3/4 for most teams.
Singletary’s history with Brian Daboll will always be taken into consideration in New York, but the Giants also need to use their best players, and Tracy is currently the back with more juice. A timeshare is for the moment, but remain open to the idea that Tracy could have a starring role if all goes well.
Bargain bin
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$3 Roschon Johnson
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$3 Jaylen Wright
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$3 Blake Corum
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$3 Justice Hill
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$3 Emmanuel Wilson
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$2, Jerome Ford
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$2 Jaleel McLaughlin
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$2 Antonio Gibson
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$2 Zamir White
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$2 Isaac Guerendo
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$2 D’Onta Foreman
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$2 Tyler Goodson
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$1 Trey Benson
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$1 Kimani Vidal
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$1 Samaje Perine
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$1 Trey Sermon
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$1 Khalil Herbert
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$1 Ezekiel Elliott
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$1 Kendre Miller
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$1 Australian estimate
Courtesy of injury ranks – not for debate
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$19 Christian McCaffrey
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$10 Jonathon Brooks
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$4 Isiah Pacheco
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$3 Tyjae Spears
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$2 Guus Edwards
