Fantasy Football: Pre-Draft Running-Back Rankings
By Shaun Evans
Fantasy Football – Pre-Draft Running-Back Rankings
Welcome ladies and gentlemen once again to another Pre-Draft Fantasy Football article! Today we will be covering the Top 30 running-backs in your draft! Behind the Quarterback position, running-backs can help you out greatly each week as cornerstones of your fantasy franchise. Some you may want to target to handcuff with their backups and others you’ll want to target mainly for PPR formatted leagues. So lets not waste any time and dive in to the top 30 running-backs in this years NFL Fantasy Football league!
30. Josh Jacobs (Oakland Raiders)
2018 College Stats: 640 Yards | 11 TDs | 20 Receptions | 3 Receiving TDs
This is one rookie and Oakland Raider play that I am extremely excited for. His story is also incredible as he runs for his 3-year-old son due to the fact that he doesn’t want him to have the same childhood that he had. Jacobs will be an angry runner coming in to his rookie season and will most likely find his way moved up in the rankings coming in to next season. He’s replacing Marshawn Lynch and will be battling it out with Doug Martin and Jalen Richard. The Raiders offense is still unknown though with all of the new additions so there is risk but that is covered by putting him this low in the initial rankings.
29. Tevin Coleman (San Francisco 49ers)
2018 Stats: 800 Yards | 4 TDs | 32 Receptions | 5 Receiving TDs
This is a spot where you can handcuff Tevin Coleman and Jerick McKinnon together. The San Francisco 49ers added Tevin Coleman during the off-season and reconnected him with Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers do use a running-back by committee option and with the way injuries played out for them last season, who knows what we’ll see this season. Coleman can get the job done whenever he’s asked though and if he has to step up, he’ll be a good addition to the younger backs that the 49ers have currently.
28. David Montgomery (Chicago Bears)
2018 College Stats: 1,216 Yards | 13 TDs | 22 Receptions | 0 Receiving TDs
Another rookie has made his way in to the top 30 and David Montgomery is placed in a pretty good system. The Bears did rank 26th last season in yards per carry, allowing Jordan Howard to rush just 4.1 yards per carry on average. Montgomery isn’t Jordan Howard by any means and he has fresher, younger legs. The one drawback with Montgomery is his lack of involvement in the passing game at the college level but his sophomore and junior years he was able to rush for over a thousand yards and had double-digit rushing touchdowns.
27. Sony Michel (New England Patriots)
2018 Stats: 931 Yards | 6 TDs | 7 Receptions | 0 Receiving TDs
I don’t trust in the running-back system in New England and I probably won’t while Tom Brady is there. Belichick is known to throw in multiple running-backs during games but Sony Michel is still able to get the job done. The downside is with James White in the backfield too, being used as more of the enforcer type back. The Patriots ranked 18th last year when it came to running-backs and their average yards per carry with 4.3. We should hopefully see a full season of Sony Michel as he only played 13 games last season and he still almost broke that 1,000 yard rushing mark.
26. Kenyan Drake (Miami Dolphins)
2018 Stats: 535 Yards | 4 TDs | 53 Receptions | 5 Receiving TDs
Now this is more of a PPR style draft pick as Kenyan Drake’s status as a rusher is still up in the air in a new system in Miami. He makes for a great receiver though as he almost matched his rushing yards with his receiving yards. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry and almost 9 yards per reception. The Dolphins also added in Ryan Fitzpatrick as their new starting quarterback (for now) and quietly has a strong running attack last year, ranking 8th in yards per carry with 4.7 yards. The Dolphins identity is still a question mark and Kenyan Drake could be a big reason to remove it this season.