Fantasy Football 2018: 3 Backup Running Backs Worth Drafting

With RBBC becoming more popular, there are a few backups that will have fantasy football value this season.

Drafting a top-10 fantasy football running back is more important than ever. If you miss out on one of them, you will be stuck with a couple of RB2s, which won’t help you in the long run. After you get your top ball carrier, there are a couple of backups that will still provide you with value later in the draft.

There are only a handful of teams that won’t be using a committee approach at running back. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are just a few that come to mind. There are likely a couple of more but it may be a third of the league at the most.

As a result, even if a running back doesn’t start the game, the team has a scheme that gets multiple running backs involved. That doesn’t help the team’s starter but helps the value of the backup in all league formats.

Here are three backup running backs that will put up significant numbers to be worth owning for fantasy football this season.

Honorable mention: Matt Breida, Rex Burkhead, Buck Allen

Giovani Bernard, CIN

Bernard can almost be listed as RB1A. Joe Mixon will be the starting back now that Jeremy Hill is off the team. But Bernard is still there. He will be the change-of-pace and pass-catching option.

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Bernard caught 43-of-60 targets for 389 yards and two touchdowns. He racked up 405 rushing yards and two more touchdowns on 105 carries.

The Bengals, outside of AJ Green, don’t have many pass catchers that can be trusted so I expect Bernard to have a big role on passing downs. He is being drafted as the No. 48 running back. If Mixon continues to struggle in the regular season, that number should go down.

Theo Riddick, DET

The Detroit Lions have an abundance of running backs so it’s hard to figure out who will get the ball. They have rookie Kerryon Johnson, LeGarrette Blount, Ameer Abdullah and Riddick.

Johnson will eventually take over starting duties but he’s been practicing with the second group in training camp. Blount and Riddick have been splitting time with the starters.

Blount can still run as he racked up 766 yards on 173 carries. He isn’t much of a pass catcher which is where Riddick comes in. Riddick caught 53 passes for the second straight season and finished with 444 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 84 carries, 286 yards and another three touchdowns.

Riddick is being drafted as the No. 50 running back with a 135.0 ADP. That is great value for the Detroit running back.

Dion Lewis, TEN

Lewis is being drafted like a starter, at least according to the ESPN ADP. He has a 64.8 ADP as the 24th running back drafted.

Lewis is a great pass-catching running back and compliment to Derrick Henry. Based on last year’s stats, Henry doesn’t catch a lot of passes. It could be based on the playcalling or scheme but Marcus Mariota didn’t throw to him a lot.

Henry had 11 receptions on 17 targets with 136 yards and one touchdown. Lewis caught 32 of 35 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns.

The Tennessee Titans have a good tight end in Delanie Walker that Marcus Mariota could check down to if needed. But the speed of Lewis could change that. I wouldn’t draft him as high as he’s going but in a PPR league, he’s worth a top-100 pick.

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These three running backs will benefit owners in PPR leagues. They have the advantage over their teammates as top pass-catching running backs. In standard leagues, their value goes down a bit because they won’t be getting many carries.

Running back is a very shallow position so finding any value late can make a difference in any league.

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