It is easy to talk about the Fantasy Football studs you can draft within the first handful of rounds in a given season for Fantasy Football. It is much more difficult to identify players to target late in drafts that end up benefiting lineups and not just being dropped to the waiver wire. More often than not your dart throws late in a draft miss the bullseye, but every now and then we toss a dart in Fantasy Football and it ends up being the difference between winning and losing some weeks. Today we’ll try to throw those darts at a few late-round running backs who could pay off big in 2024.
Looking back to 2023, there were a handful of running backs that greatly outperformed their “Average Draft Position” or ADP:
- Gus Edwards: ADP of RB59 vs #32 in Fantasy PPG
- Chuba Hubbard: ADP of RB61 vs #33 in Fantasy PPG
- Tyjae Spears: ADP of RB62 vs #38 in Fantasy PPG
- Zack Moss: ADP of RB67 vs #28 in Fantasy PPG
- Jerome Ford: ADP of RB74 vs #25 in Fantasy PPG
- Kyren Williams: ADP of RB81 vs #2 in Fantasy PPG
Drafting these players at their draft cost delivered major benefits at the end of the day. The running back position can be tough when it comes to players who end up injured, lose their roles, find themselves in committees, enter poor game scripts, and other factors that impact production and volume. So beating the waiver wire and finding running backs who can earn touches that result in Fantasy Football benefits can help guide you towards a championship. Here are four running backs being drafted as the RB40 or later that you should target in your Fantasy Football drafts this year
4 Late-Round Running Backs to Target in 2024 Fantasy Football Drafts
1. Blake Corum, Rams (ADP RB41)
Through four seasons at Michigan, Blake Corum produced 4,148 total scrimmage yards and 61 touchdowns. Corum set the Michigan record with 58 career rushing touchdowns and became the school’s all-time leading points scorer. Corum has been extremely productive the last two seasons as a compact runner with great contact balance. Corum produces yards after the catch and fights for all yardage with the ball in his hands. 2023 teammate JJ McCarthy, now a Viking, tends to get a lot of credit for Michigan’s 2023 National Title but it was Corum in 2023 who did the heavy lifting.
The Rams selected Corum in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Kyren Williams was one of the biggest surprises of the season, recording 1,144 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns through just 12 games. There are concerns with Kyren’s injury history so far in the NFL, with him only appearing in 22 total games through two seasons. This could have been the reason that Corum was selected by the Rams, but I also think it has to do with the mixture of him just being a super productive blue-collar athlete.
There are three possibilities when it comes to Corum in 2024: 1) Corum beats out Williams for the Rams’ RB1 role. 2) Corum creates a committee role and the Rams roll with two running backs. 3) Corum is a high-upside handcuff in the event of a Williams injury. In any case, finding a feature role in the Sean McVay (Head Coach) Rams offense leads to Fantasy Football potential.
2. Jerome Ford, Browns (ADP RB40)
Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 of the 2023 season It was absolutely brutal to watch. This led to Jerome Ford taking on the lead-back role for the Browns for the rest of the season. Ford would go on to finish:
- #22 in rushing yards (813)
- #17 in receptions (17)
- #15 in receiving yards (319)
- #12 in total touchdowns (12)
- #25 in evaded tackles / #22 in breakaway runs
- #25 in Fantasy PPG (12.4)
Ford smashed his draft cost qat RB74, which benefited the lineups that rostered him. Looking ahead to 2024, the same sort of narrative can come into reality. Nick Chubb entered camp on the “Physically Unable to Perform” (PUP) list, still recovering from that major knee injury that resulted in two surgeries. I am not a doctor (or literally anything remotely close to one), but I have a feeling Chubb will either be eased into work early on or potentially miss some time to start the season. We are unsure at what percent healthy Chubb will even be at all this season. This would end up meaning that Ford would fall into more work, and enough to be in Fantasy Football lineups this season.
3. Chuba Hubbard, Panthers (ADP RB44)
One of the bigger surprises last season when it came to running back battles was Chuba Hubbard beating out Miles Sanders for the lead running back role. Especially after Carolina signed Sanders to a four-year, $25,400,000 contract. Hubbard finished 2023 with 277 total touches and 1,135 scrimmage yards. Hubbard finished the year 18th in evaded tackles, 22nd in yards created, and 33rd in Fantasy PPG (10.7). Did Hubbard win leagues? No. Was Hubbard in lineups throughout the year? Yes.
I love me some Jonathon Brooks, the Panthers’ second-round selection out of Texas in the 2024 NFL Draft. That love is for Dynasty Fantasy Football, though. Brooks tore his ACL in November of 2023, and Head Coach Dave Canales has been quoted saying the rookie will not be ready until at least Week 3. Even when Brooks is back, I doubt he is rushed into any significant work as a 21-year-old future star. What does this mean for a good chunk of the season? Touches for Chuba Hubbard. We may even see a committee of some sort with this new coaching staff with Miles Sanders, but it still is Hubbard touching the ball yet again. Running back depth is difficult and Hubbard can be just that on your roster. The Panthers have made several improvements this off-season via free-agency and the NFL Draft so the conditions have also improved for Hubbard in comparison to last year.
4. Antonio Gibson, Patriots (ADP RB48)
The Antonio Gibson disrespect has gone too far. Gibson has profiled as a pass-catching, touchdown-scoring, Fantasy impactful running back in at least 75% of his career so far:
- 48 (2023), 46 (2022), 42 (2021) reception seasons
- 389 (2023), 353 (2022) receiving yard seasons
- 1,037 rushing yards in 2021
- 10 (2021) and 11 (2020) touchdown seasons
- 11.1 Fantasy PPG ranked 28th in 2022, 14.2 Fantasy PPG ranked 17th in 2021, and 14.4 Fantasy PPG ranked 16th in 2020
In March, Gibson signed a three-year, $11,250,000 contract with the Patriots. Gibson enters a situation with Rhamondre Stevenson, who I think he can create a committee with. This could turn into a 2024 version of how Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren operated in Pittsburgh, with Gibson taking on the pass-catching (Warren) role. I believe that the Patriots are going to be one of the worst teams in football, especially with their questionable receiving room. This could mean overemphasizing the running backs, and chasing games which would mean the pass-catching running back is on the field. Aka Antonio Gibson, who has a history of receiving upside and touchdown scoring.
Which late-round running backs are you targeting? Drop some names in the comments below and then make sure to check out our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit for more great rankings and analysis.