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Fantasy Football Preview 2013: Six rookie RBs every owner needs to know

By Zachary Thompson

Dec 9, 2012; Tampa FL, USA; An NFL logo is seen on the field after a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 9, 2012; Tampa FL, USA; An NFL logo is seen on the field after a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 27, 2013; Allen Park, MI, USA; A general view of a NFL football during the Detroit Lions training camp at the Detroit Lions training facility. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2013; Allen Park, MI, USA; A general view of a NFL football during the Detroit Lions training camp at the Detroit Lions training facility. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

Running backs in today’s NFL have a notoriously short shelf life, and their time as a workhorse “feature-back” is extremely limited. The flip side of that is that there are constantly new options coming into the league and infusing new talent into backfields across the NFL.

Last year, rookie RB Alfred Morris exploded onto the fantasy football scene after dropping into the sixth round of the NFL Draft and set a high bar for this year’s rookie rushers to measure up to. With a thin running back class in the 2013 Draft, there were no running backs taken in the first round. That means you don’t have to worry about them for your fantasy team, right?

To borrow from a soon-to-all-over-TV-again ESPN College Football analyst “Not so fast, my friend!”

There are six rookie running backs every fantasy football owner needs to know going into draft day and several others that could emerge if opportunity comes their way via injury or a bigger workload. These are the six that should be drafted in standard leagues since they appear to be in the best spots. For each one, I’ll give you the upside, the downside, and my verdict on where I’d draft them.

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