As it typically does every year, the 2022-23 fantasy football season gave managers a lot to think about with how they construct their teams. Everyone’s respective drafts mark the first opportunity for a successful campaign. There are the inevitable first and second-round busts, the undervalued sleepers in the middle rounds, and finally, the lowly-ranked players who wind up turning into unsung heroes for a lineup.
Running backs are essential to every fantasy team’s chances of winning, but they can also have a pernicious effect if their draft value is taken too lightly. That said, we’ve provided a list of sleepers at the RB position that could lift lineups to greater heights in 2023.
Looking for sleepers for fantasy football isn’t about finding players nobody has heard about, because that isn’t happening. When we talk about sleepers, we’re highlighting players who should outplay their average draft position. Instead of the term “sleeper,” we can replace it with “value” and still be on the right track.
Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings
At long last, the keys have been officially handed to Mattison in the Minnesota backfield. While he ranks just inside the top-25 among fantasy running backs this summer, he’s anxious to take full advantage of the opportunity that lies ahead of him next season. The team shockingly released Dalvin Cook in June, which leaves Mattison as the top ball carrier on the depth chart.
Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
In many ways, this could wind up being Williams’ most important season of his career. The Broncos drafted him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but he has yet to fully live up to expectations thus far in his career. To be fair, he tore his ACL and LCL in Week 4 of the 2022 season, so he hasn’t really gotten the chance to prove how indispensable he is as a ball carrier. Williams was averaging 11.8 carries and 51 yards on the ground before his injury, so he’ll be looking for a huge bounce-back opportunity in 2023.
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
While we can only speculate how the Buccaneers offense will look without Tom Brady running the show in 2023, a set of fantasy football stars remain. A change at quarterback from Brady to Baker Mayfield is going to be a bit of a process for Mike Evans and Chris Godwin drafters, but White should continue to shine as the team’s No. 1 ball carrier. He is going to see the volume of an RB1, which is why his current ADP of 62 is laughable.