Fantasy football: 8 late round running backs with upside

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Aug 22, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) rushes the ball against the San Diego Chargers at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Chargers won 22-19. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s a huge weekend for fantasy football drafting across the country as NFL teams put in their “dress rehearsals” in week 3 of the preseason and fantasy football owners put the finishing touches on their rosters headed into the new season. One of the questions on every owners mind is where to find value in late round running backs who have the potential to produce solid fantasy points in the coming season.

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The first few rounds of most fantasy football drafts are extremely running back heavy with all 32 starters and several backups flying off the board quickly. As your draft winds down, though, many owners are still searching for running back depth since the attrition rate is startlingly at the extremely physical position.

In this post, my goal is to point out several of the late round running backs who have the potential to step up and produce at some point this season. If you have any questions about these picks or any other decisions you are stuck on, I’m available on Twitter @FansidedFantasy. To check out all our preseason coverage visit our fantasy football hub where you can find ten things to watch in Preason week 3, some late-round WR, and plenty of sleepers.

One strategy that many owners rely on when picking their late round running backs is called “handcuffing.” If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s basically just drafting someone who is the backup to your elite starter and “handcuffing” them together so that if your star gets injured you have the backup. For example, if you spend a first round pick on Jamaal Charles you can draft his handcuff later and pick on Knile Davis. The thinking is that if Charles goes down, you simply plug Davis in basically giving you an insurance policy.

While there is definitely some merit to that way of thinking, this post is designed to focus on other late round running backs who have potential regardless of who else you have on your team. These players are not handcuffs, but they do have upside despite being drafted outside the top 50 running backs off the board according to current average draft position (ADP) listed on fantasy pros.com.

Click below to start looking through my top options to consider as you look for late round running backs.

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