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As a position group, running backs matter. They've always mattered. They're huge components of Fantasy in that they're highly productive thanks to their workloads, they're the best trade currency out there and there are enough good ones to go around.
That means Fantasy owners have plenty of strategies when it comes to drafting them, and your league's scoring system will play a huge role in what strategy you go with.
Once you know your lineup requirements and scoring system, you can answer these questions:
- Are you willing to take risks?
- Does running back injury history matter to you?
- Do you believe in handcuffing non-elite running backs?
- Do you enjoy being active on waivers?
The first two questions are meant to help you determine how deep the running back talent pool is for you. The more chances you're willing to take and the more injuries you're willing to overlook, the more running backs you'll happily put in your starting lineup.
The second two questions are designed to get an idea of how you should attack your running back depth. There are plenty of cases where getting the real-life backup to one of your ball carriers is wise. And if you're lazy about waivers, you might prefer to build serious running back depth on Draft Day.
Because of the depth at receiver and the lack of "safe" running backs once you're through Round 4, it's probably in your best interests to lean toward grabbing reception-heavy running backs early and often. That's a breeze in Round 1, especially if you're picking in the top-4. Round 2 doesn't offer quite as much, but there will be a run in Round 3. As you'll see, there are enough running backs to propel you through Round 3 unless you rule out some based on injury concern (Todd Gurley, Devonta Freeman) or a lack of experience (Damien Williams, Josh Jacobs). The more running backs you refuse to draft, the more certain it is you'll force yourself to fill up on the position in Rounds 1 and 2.
In non-PPR, expect most people to begin taking one running back and one wide receiver/tight end to kick off their teams. If running backs mean anything to you at all, taking three within the first five rounds -- and two in the first four -- should set you up nicely for a well-built roster.
Is Zero RB still a thing? It is, and it's not a bad way to go if you're picking late in Round 1/early in Round 2 in full PPR or are in a smaller league (10 or fewer teams). You could kick off a team with DeAndre Hopkins, Travis Kelce and Julian Edelman and still find Tier 3 running backs later on. This plan is a lot less appealing in non-PPR due to receptions becoming meaningless, and it's straight-up insanity to do it when there's an elite-tier running back staring you in the face, so rule it out if you have an early first-round pick.
The other key is to select unpopular backs who will at least start the season in a prominent role (Lamar Miller, Jordan Howard, maybe Peyton Barber). You'll squeeze points out of them before replacing them for whatever hotness comes to you off waivers. You must be willing to be active in finding running backs on waivers in order to skip running backs early.
Because running backs are so vital to Fantasy Football success, I still recommend getting a lot of them. If you have six bench spots, aim for at least five. Seven or eight bench spots, aim for six. Remember, each running back you take represents potential, even the ones who begin the season as backups. Never draft a running back you're not excited about, and never draft a running back who you'd probably drop after one or two dud games to begin the year. My favorite backs to be patient with can be found in Tier 6.
Running Backs - PPR
S. Barkley
PHI
Saquon Barkley
PHI
|
A. Kamara
NO
Alvin Kamara
NO
|
E. Elliott
DAL
Ezekiel Elliott
DAL
|
D. Johnson
NO
David Johnson
NO
|
J. Conner
ARI
James Conner
ARI
|
N. Chubb
CLE
Nick Chubb
CLE
|
L. Bell
TB
Le'Veon Bell
TB
|
L. Fournette
BUF
Leonard Fournette
BUF
|
K. Johnson
PHI
Kerryon Johnson
PHI
|
D. Cook
DAL
Dalvin Cook
DAL
|
T. Gurley
ATL
Todd Gurley
ATL
|
J. Jacobs
GB
Josh Jacobs
GB
|
C. Carson
SEA
Chris Carson
SEA
|
D. Freeman
BAL
Devonta Freeman
BAL
|
A. Jones
MIN
Aaron Jones
MIN
|
M. Mack
ARI
Marlon Mack
ARI
|
M. Ingram
NO
Mark Ingram
NO
|
T. Coleman
SF
Tevin Coleman
SF
|
D. Montgomery
DET
David Montgomery
DET
|
D. Williams
ARI
Damien Williams
ARI
|
S. Michel
LAR
Sony Michel
LAR
|
M. Gordon
BAL
Melvin Gordon
BAL
|
J. White
NE
James White
NE
|
P. Lindsay
IND
Phillip Lindsay
IND
|
D. Henry
BAL
Derrick Henry
BAL
|
A. Ekeler
WAS
Austin Ekeler
WAS
|
L. Miller
NO
Lamar Miller
NO
|
K. Drake
GB
Kenyan Drake
GB
|
T. Cohen
NYJ
Tarik Cohen
NYJ
|
L. Murray
BUF
Latavius Murray
BUF
|
R. Penny
CAR
Rashaad Penny
CAR
|
M. Sanders
CAR
Miles Sanders
CAR
|
P. Barber
LV
Peyton Barber
LV
|
R. Jones
DAL
Ronald Jones
DAL
|
J. Howard
NO
Jordan Howard
NO
|
R. Freeman
CLE
Royce Freeman
CLE
|
C. Hyde
JAC
Carlos Hyde
JAC
|
J. Jackson
DET
Justin Jackson
DET
|
K. Ballage
PIT
Kalen Ballage
PIT
|
D. Thompson
LV
Darwin Thompson
LV
|
D. Guice
WAS
Derrius Guice
WAS
|
D. Harris
BUF
Damien Harris
BUF
|
D. Johnson
BUF
Duke Johnson
BUF
|
J. Samuels
ARI
Jaylen Samuels
ARI
|
D. Singletary
NYG
Devin Singletary
NYG
|
L. McCoy
TB
LeSean McCoy
TB
|
T. Pollard
TEN
Tony Pollard
TEN
|
D. Lewis
NYG
Dion Lewis
NYG
|
J. Hill
BAL
Justice Hill
BAL
|
M. Breida
SF
Matt Breida
SF
|
C. Thompson
CHI
Chris Thompson
CHI
|
C. Anderson
DET
C.J. Anderson
DET
|
J. Williams
NO
Jamaal Williams
NO
|
A. Peterson
SEA
Adrian Peterson
SEA
|
K. Hunt
KC
Kareem Hunt
KC
|
N. Hines
CLE
Nyheim Hines
CLE
|
M. Davis
BAL
Mike Davis
BAL
|
J. Richard
LV
Jalen Richard
LV
|
M. Brown
LAR
Malcolm Brown
LAR
|
D. Hilliard
TEN
Dontrell Hilliard
TEN
|
T. Riddick
LV
Theo Riddick
LV
|
Running Back - Non-PPR
S. Barkley
PHI
Saquon Barkley
PHI
|
A. Kamara
NO
Alvin Kamara
NO
|
E. Elliott
DAL
Ezekiel Elliott
DAL
|
D. Johnson
NO
David Johnson
NO
|
J. Conner
ARI
James Conner
ARI
|
N. Chubb
CLE
Nick Chubb
CLE
|
L. Bell
TB
Le'Veon Bell
TB
|
L. Fournette
BUF
Leonard Fournette
BUF
|
K. Johnson
PHI
Kerryon Johnson
PHI
|
D. Cook
DAL
Dalvin Cook
DAL
|
T. Gurley
ATL
Todd Gurley
ATL
|
C. Carson
SEA
Chris Carson
SEA
|
J. Jacobs
GB
Josh Jacobs
GB
|
M. Mack
ARI
Marlon Mack
ARI
|
D. Freeman
BAL
Devonta Freeman
BAL
|
M. Ingram
NO
Mark Ingram
NO
|
A. Jones
MIN
Aaron Jones
MIN
|
S. Michel
LAR
Sony Michel
LAR
|
T. Coleman
SF
Tevin Coleman
SF
|
D. Montgomery
DET
David Montgomery
DET
|
D. Williams
ARI
Damien Williams
ARI
|
D. Henry
BAL
Derrick Henry
BAL
|
P. Lindsay
IND
Phillip Lindsay
IND
|
M. Gordon
BAL
Melvin Gordon
BAL
|
L. Miller
NO
Lamar Miller
NO
|
A. Ekeler
WAS
Austin Ekeler
WAS
|
J. White
NE
James White
NE
|
M. Sanders
CAR
Miles Sanders
CAR
|
L. Murray
BUF
Latavius Murray
BUF
|
K. Drake
GB
Kenyan Drake
GB
|
T. Cohen
NYJ
Tarik Cohen
NYJ
|
R. Penny
CAR
Rashaad Penny
CAR
|
J. Howard
NO
Jordan Howard
NO
|
P. Barber
LV
Peyton Barber
LV
|
R. Jones
DAL
Ronald Jones
DAL
|
C. Hyde
JAC
Carlos Hyde
JAC
|
R. Freeman
CLE
Royce Freeman
CLE
|
J. Jackson
DET
Justin Jackson
DET
|
K. Ballage
PIT
Kalen Ballage
PIT
|
D. Guice
WAS
Derrius Guice
WAS
|
D. Harris
BUF
Damien Harris
BUF
|
D. Thompson
LV
Darwin Thompson
LV
|
J. Samuels
ARI
Jaylen Samuels
ARI
|
D. Singletary
NYG
Devin Singletary
NYG
|
L. McCoy
TB
LeSean McCoy
TB
|
T. Pollard
TEN
Tony Pollard
TEN
|
D. Guice
WAS
Derrius Guice
WAS
|
D. Johnson
BUF
Duke Johnson
BUF
|
M. Breida
SF
Matt Breida
SF
|
J. Hill
BAL
Justice Hill
BAL
|
D. Lewis
NYG
Dion Lewis
NYG
|
C. Anderson
DET
C.J. Anderson
DET
|
K. Hunt
KC
Kareem Hunt
KC
|
J. Williams
NO
Jamaal Williams
NO
|
A. Peterson
SEA
Adrian Peterson
SEA
|
M. Davis
BAL
Mike Davis
BAL
|
M. Brown
LAR
Malcolm Brown
LAR
|
D. Hilliard
TEN
Dontrell Hilliard
TEN
|
R. Armstead
JAC
Ryquell Armstead
JAC
|
T. Montgomery
NE
Ty Montgomery
NE
|
So what 2019 Fantasy football sleepers should you snatch in your draft? And which RB1 candidate can you wait on until late? Visit SportsLine now to get 2019 Fantasy Football cheat sheets from the model that called Matt Breida's huge season, and find out.