2019 Fantasy Football Running Back Dynasty Rankings: Rookies no match for Saquon Barkley

Heath Cummings says the 2019 class of running backs bring plenty of skills to the table but questions how many complete backs there are.

By Heath Cummings

May 6, 2019 at 5:25 pm ET • 3 min read

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Dynasty: RB | WR | QB | TE | Rookies

The smarter NFL teams get about the running back position, the more difficult our job as Fantasy players becomes. More and more it has become about gauging fit, role and situation instead of talent. That's really fine in redraft. In fact, it's probably easier, but it can be maddening when projecting out for multiple years or putting together Dynasty rankings.

The rankings you'll see below are based on PPR leagues, which is going to elevate players like Tarik Cohen, though Cohen's short and long-term value was impacted by the Bears selection of David Montgomery. Yes, we always knew Cohen was going to share the load with someone, but the Bears traded up for Montgomery in a year in which they were already short on picks. In full disclosure, my opinion on this backfield could also be jaded by the fact I had Montgomery as my No. 1 rookie back before the draft.

While pass catching is important in today's NFL, there's nothing more important than a bell-cow role, which is slowly disappearing. There were only five backs in 2018 that reached 300 touches; Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Todd Gurley and David Johnson. After what we saw from Gurley in the playoffs and the fact that the Rams invested a third-round pick in Darrell Henderson, it's hard to imagine he'll reach that mark again in 2019.

Of course, there were other backs who were on pace for 300 touches. Melvin Gordon, James Conner, Joe Mixon and Chris Carson all would have reached the mark had they had played 16 games. Nick Chubb was on pace after the Browns traded Carlos Hyde as well. You'll see most of these names at the top of my rankings below, with all of them except for Carson ranked ahead of every rookie.

Rookies

As I said above, Montgomery was my No. 1 back before the draft and that hasn't changed. Well, it's basically a 1A and 1B situation that includes Josh Jacobs. I could understand ranking Jacobs first if you think he's more talented. A lot of people do. What I don't think you should do is assume Jacobs is a workhorse and Montgomery isn't. Jordan Howard touched the ball 270 times in 2018 and has averaged 17.8 touches per game in two years with Cohen. In the six games before his injury, Marshawn Lynch was averaging 17.5 touches per game. In the 10 games after Lynch went down, Doug Martin averaged 16.9.

After Jacobs and Montgomery, it gets really easy for me, then really difficult. Miles Sanders landed in Philadelphia with Howard, and should have an excellent opportunity to earn Fantasy relevance in his first season. He's actually faster than Montgomery or Jacobs. He and Darrell Henderson are the only other rookies to crack my top-25 in Dynasty.

That doesn't mean you should ignore the other backs. Devin Singletary could have a fast track to a feature role in Buffalo. Damien Harris and Alexander Mattison were both among my favorite backs coming into the draft. Darwin Thompson landed in Kansas City, which offers a world of upside if he can get on the field.

One name that wasn't drafted, but I think you should pay attention to is Bruce Anderson. He signed after the draft with Tampa Bay after the Bucs shockingly didn't select a running back in the draft. That may mean that Bruce Arians is really enamored with Peyton Barber or Ronald Jones, but Anderson is a big, strong back who is very good in the passing game without a true feature back in front of him. It's a long shot, but it's worth a late pick in your rookie draft.