Running backs in the NFL have had an interesting offseason. It became very public that the salaries for their position weren’t matching their expected roles and output on the field.
Furthermore, while it used to be thought that a running back would age out of his position around 30 years old, it looks like it moved up to 28 as Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Kareem Hunt and Ezekiel Elliott were either released or remain unsigned this offseason. This article is dedicated to how we approach running backs for continuing dynasty leagues or dynasty league start-up drafts.
2023 Fantasy football rankings: Top 94 RBs in dynasty leagues
The elephant in the room is Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor. Team CEO Jim Irsay was publicly outspoken about the salary complaints from running backs causing Taylor to request a trade from the team. Another plot line also involves a back injury that Taylor says he doesn’t have. Regardless, we assume that all things are patched up for the regular season and that Taylor plays Week 1, keeping him atop the dynasty rankings. Even if he ends up traded, some team will likely pay and feature him. The only thing that will change this ranking is if he is put on some injury list that prevents him from playing this year.
Ready to hop Taylor depending on how his situation plays out, is San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey. He will head into his first full season with the team after finishing last year as the overall RB2. CMC is expected to retain a high target share in the offense as well as being the team’s featured back on the ground.
The first rookie on the list is Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons, coming in at No. 3. His ADP, average draft position, actually has him as the No. 1 overall choice, but I am waiting to bump him up until I see a competent Atlanta Falcons offense. They had Tyler Allgeier run for 1,035 yards a season ago and decided just to replace him. Atlanta can be good, but the big question is when will they be good. Robinson has a ton of upside, but I’m not ready to pass the torch just yet.
I am slightly lower than the consensus on Ken Walker III. I don’t love that he has been in two training camps and has picked up a big injury in both. Add that Seattle knew what they had with him and decided to use a second-round pick on Zach Charbonnet, and the doubt sets in.
I am way higher on Alexander Mattison than ADP by almost 20 spots. He is getting the chance to lead the Minnesota Vikings backfield. If he can continue the level of play that we have seen from him when he used to play for Dalvin Cook when he was injured, he will surprise people. The only reason I can think that his ADP is down is that with the lack of big running back contracts, Mattison could be rumbling around free agency after next year.
