Fantasy football 2019: Running back tier rankings
By Bill Pivetz
With more committees in the backfield, finding a top running back for fantasy football is becoming more difficult.
The running back position has changed a lot for fantasy football over the last few seasons. The list of the elite rushers is shrinking every year, making it harder to build good depth at the position.
Running backs’ careers are shorter than every other position. Front offices are quicker to draft a replacement after a three or four seasons. There are more teams going with a platoon at the running back position. Whether that’s 50-50, 60-40, or even 70-30, the lack of rushing attempts from the top running back hurt their fantasy value.
That’s why drafting a top-10 running back is important. Looking at the top options, they don’t have a viable backup to take carries from them during the game. Having one rusher with the potential for 200 attempts is better than having two or three options with 120 attempts.
Consistency is key at this position. If you can lock up a top option, you can wait a few rounds to build up other positions before going back for your RB2. Or, you can go RB-RB with your first two picks and not worry about the position for a while.
With the league changing to a more passing league, you can wait on wide receivers for an extra round. That’s even more true for those in PPR leagues. An extra five points per game boosts their value greatly.
Because of the lack of true starting options, my running back rankings are of the top-50 options, broken out into seven tiers.
Samuels didn’t get much playing time in his rookie season. With the breakout of James Conner, Samuels spent most of his rookie season on the bench. He didn’t accumulate 256 yards on 56 carries.
The Steelers do a good job finding good running backs. Should anything happen to Conner, Samuels will be the top waiver add. He’s a handcuff in deep leagues.
Johnson was likely getting squeezed out in Cleveland with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the backfield and the addition of Odell Beckham. Johnson was traded to Houston on August 9.
He will serve as the backup to Lamar Miller and have some playing time on passing downs. Johnson has 235 career receptions and 299 rush attempts. Miller has just 209 receptions in seven seasons.
Hyde will backup Damien Williams in Kansas City. Though, with Andy Reid calling the plays, Hyde will see some playing time. Williams has never handled a full workload going back to his college days.
The Chiefs are a pass-first offense with Patrick Mahomes but they will need to slow the game down with some running plays. Hyde is worth drafting in deeper leagues for the potential of him starting a game or two.
I believe the LeSean McCoy days in Buffalo are coming to an end. However, the Bills have Frank Gore and TJ Yeldon ahead of Singletary on the depth chart. Though, looking at his college numbers, I don’t think the Bills will keep him on the bench.
In three seasons with Florida Atlantic, Singletary had 4,287 yards and 66 touchdowns on 714 carries, 51 receptions, 397 yards and another score. He won’t rush that much with Buffalo but will be relied upon as Josh Allen continues to grow.
Singletary is one of my sleeper rushers this season.
Hines will be on the field for passing downs. If you play in a deep PPR league, Hines is a good pick on the later rounds. Outside of that, he doesn’t have much value with Marlon Mack healthy. Even if Mack were to go down, Hines would split time with Spencer Ware, and Jordan Wilkins.
Hines is a borderline RB4 because of his pass-catching abilities.