Two of the biggest risers in the March edition of my Dynasty Fantasy Football rankings are Derrick Henry and Austin Ekeler, and they may as well be neighbors with Ekeler joining the Washington Commanders and Henry signing with the Baltimore Ravens. But at least part of the reason they are risers is because I wasn't 100% sure how soon they would find jobs at their age. If you're not a stone-cold contender, they're not just risers; they're also sells
Ekeler and Henry will be 29 and 30 years old to start the 2024 season, and we have very little recent evidence of good running back play at that age. Henry scored 246.7 PPR Fantasy points last year, the most any back has scored since 2017 at this age. Matt Forte's 2015 is the only season since 2008 where a running back Age 29 or 30 has topped 270 PPR Fantasy points. In other words, the odds of getting a truly difference-making season out of this duo is pretty low, and their age means that this season may very well be their last in the NFL.
There are other mitigating factors that could make you even more concerned. Ekeler wasn't efficient last year and now looks like he could be in a time share with Brian Robinson, who may be a better rusher at this stage of their careers. Henry joins the Ravens, which means he's in a time share with Lamar Jackson, and his targets will likely go down due to Jackson's aversion to dumping the ball off to his running backs. Oh yeah, and Keaton Mitchell could play a Tyjae Spears role once he's healthy.
For all those reasons and more, I would be happy to try to sell either Ekeler or Henry for a Round 2 pick, even a 2025 Round 2 pick, if I don't think I am one of the two or three best teams in the league. I would also be cautious as a buyer. These are the types of players in Dynasty that I am much more fond of buying in October or November, when I know they're still healthy and contributing. Because they are both one major injury away from having zero Dynasty value.
Here are my updated Dynasty running back rankings:
