Fantasy Football Rookie Stock Watch: Risers and fallers from 2020 NFL Draft
By Drew DeLuca
Fantasy Football rookie running back risers, fallers and rankings
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the only running back selected in the first round, so he went from being an afterthought in many people’s minds to the top rookie available at any position, thanks to his juicy landing spot in the Kansas City Chiefs offense. No team takes a running back in the first round to make him a member of a committee, especially a squad as shrewd as the defending Super Bowl champions.
“CEH” was the number three running back on my board prior to the draft. Jonathan Taylor, taken by the Colts on the heels of an eye-popping NFL Combine performance that reinforced highlight reels from a storied college career at Wisconsin, was fourth in our rankings.
The Salem, NJ native is now a consensus top-two running back, leaping all the way up to first on my board. However, neither appears as high on my overall rankings as top rookie running backs in past years: both players have capable incumbents to show them the ropes. And with OTAs being online instead of live, both players miss out on key reps and may need to be eased into action as the season progresses.
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That said, Cam Akers (previously ranked fifth) is as good a bet as anyone to finish the 2020 season as the top rookie running back. Not only does he inherit a key role in a prolific Los Angeles Rams offense, he lacks sufficient competition to keep him out of a lead back role…unless Darrell Henderson made a believer out of you last year.
J.K. Dobbins, our second-rated running back before the NFL Combine in February, maintains his status as an elite running back prospect in keeper and dynasty leagues. However, his redraft value takes a slight hit, as the newly-minted member of the Baltimore Ravens backfield looks to share touches with established veteran Mark Ingram in 2020.
Other running backs on the rise include Tampa Bay Buccaneers third-round pick Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who’ll be given ample opportunity to succeed in a system in which Ronald Jones has disappointed. Vanderbilt’s Vaughn was highly productive on one of the SEC’s worst teams against one of college football’s tougher schedules.
A pair of ACC products, Boston College’s A.J. Dillon and Maryland’s Anthony McFarland Jr., are sneaky buy-low options given the contract situations of Aaron Jones and James Conner, respectively. The Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers have some potentially expensive decisions to make on the running back front next offseason, so they’ll want to see what they have in their shiny new toys.
On the flip side of the proverbial coin, we find D’Andre Swift’s bust. Wait — Swift is supremely talented, so I didn’t mean to use that word, even if every lead running back for the Detroit Lions since Barry Sanders pretty much fits that bill to date. Kerryon Johnson’s no slouch either when healthy, and he’s in a contract year, so the former top-ranked running back from Georgia has slipped all the way down to fifth.
Only Zack Moss, once my sixth-ranked running back, saw his fortunes fall as far after the NFL Combine and Draft. He ended up on a team with an offensive philosophy that suits his talents, but the presence of Devin Singletary and Josh Allen’s prolific legs in the Bills’ scheme dramatically caps the upside of the former Utah standout.
Updated dynasty rookie running back rankings:
1. Jonathan Taylor, IND (it’s very close; I go back-and-forth)
2. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC
3. J.K. Dobbins, BAL
4. Cam Akers, LAR (closer to Dobbins than you might think)
5. D’Andre Swift, DET
6. Ke’Shawn Vaughn, TB
7. A.J. Dillon, GB
8. Anthony McFarland, PIT
9. Zack Moss, BUF
10. Antonio Gibson, WAS