The running back position has slowly become underappreciated in today’s NFL. Most fantasy football leagues are full PPR therefore, receivers are a priority to most managers. Although receivers have become more important, a running back can change your season’s trajectory.
That said, people think you need to attack the running back position early to avoid not having great options in the later rounds. Based on ADP, a handful of running backs can produce at RB1 levels with constant RB2 weeks. I have found six running backs that are grouped in two’s. The pairs are close to one another’s ADP.
Fantasy Football ADP Running Back Battles
Battle I
Aaron Jones (RB19), ADP 58.6
Aaron Jones from 2019-2022 was a running back that everyone wanted to roster. Four consecutive RB1 seasons with a ton of touchdowns and receptions. This past season Jones dealt with injuries. In turn, he finished as the RB26 on a ppg basis in 11 games with just three total touchdowns. Jones started 2023 on fire with the overall RB1 finish in Week 1 with less than a 50% snap share.
After that, Jones dealt with injuries throughout the season, missing games here and there. Now, he finds himself a Minnesota Viking. This causes concern for me as Sam Darnold will be the team’s starting quarterback this season. Darnold is one of the quarterbacks that checks down the least to running backs. With 57 attempts last season, Darnold saw just ONE check-down. Going back to when Darnold played a healthy amount of games, he was fifth from 2018-2019 in check-down rate with 37 check-downs with over 900 pass attempts. Jones needs receptions to be fantasy-relevant as he has never been a heavy workload running back.
With the Vikings set to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, I fear the offense will not be able to sustain drives to keep Aaron Jones on the field to be worth drafting in fantasy football this season.
James Conner (RB18), ADP 57.6
James Conner has not played a full season in his entire NFL career. That is concerning, but he still produces at a high level in the games he plays. In 13 games in 2023, Conner averaged 15.5 ppg (RB13) with a career-high 5 YPC (yards per carry). Drafting his backup Trey Benson is a great idea due to Conner’s history, but at his RB18 price tag, I am all in.
James Conner got hurt in 2023 and missed Week 6-9. When he returned, from Week 10 till the end of the season, he was the RB6 on a ppg basis with five consecutive RB1 weeks to end the 2023 season. Now, with a fully healthy Arizona Cardinals offense, Conner is set for another great season. Conner is one of my favorite running backs to reach double-digit touchdowns this year. Since 2018, Conner has had the third most rushing touchdowns and the second most among all running backs behind only Derrick Henry.
Winner: James Conner
Battle II
Derrick Henry (RB8), ADP 17.8
When Derrick Henry became a Baltimore Raven my initial reaction was that he was a top-five running back for 2024. Since then, I have only moved Henry down in my rankings. Henry has had just ONE game in his entire NFL career with five receptions (career high). Even in his legendary 2020 season with 2027 yards and 17 total touchdowns, he finished as just the RB3 on a ppg basis. In that season he saw 19 receptions for 114 yards.
There is a better shot for me to regain hair on my head than Derrick Henry producing another legendary season. The Ravens have had one of the better rushing attacks since 2019 and with Lamar Jackson’s rushing ability, Henry is halted a bit. King Henry would have to see another 300 touches and another 15 or more touchdowns which is unlikely. At the RB8 price tag, Henry is priced for what he has done in the past and not what his new situation looks like in 2024.
Travis Etienne (RB9), ADP 18.0
Travis Etienne is the opposite of Derrick Henry. Etienne finished as the RB7 on a ppg basis and the RB3 in total points. Yet, he is being drafted as the RB9. He has as much upside as the running backs in round one and should be considered at the end of the first round.
Trevor Lawrence had the lowest check-down rate among all quarterbacks in 2024. With over 1200 dropbacks, Lawrence checked it to his running backs at a 3.74% rate. With that being said, it did not stop Etienne from seeing 58 receptions for 476 yards which was the fourth most for a running back. Despite having the second “hardest” schedule according to Fantasypros, Etienne is one of the better picks in the second round and I will take him over Derrick Henry in every draft.
Winner: Travis Etiene
Battle III
Zamir White (RB23), ADP 66.0
Zamir White is the product of having an amazing last month of the NFL regular season. White finished as the RB12. RB16, RB16, and the RB20 in that span. The issue I have is that in three of those games, he had over 100 total yards. In a small sample size, it looks amazing, but how sustainable is that for 17 games? In his last four games, he averaged 2.25 receptions per game. Over a 17-game season, that equates to 38 receptions. That would have had him ranked 19th among all running backs.
With that being said, that is a best-case scenario for White basing it off the stretch he played the best football in his career. With a gunslinger in Gardner Minshew as the quarterback, I fear White would have to be extremely efficient as a rusher to live up to his RB23 ADP and find the endzone in the double-digit range. For those reasons, I am out on Zamir White in 2024.
Rhamondre Stevenson (RB22), ADP 65.4
Three things happened to Rhamondre Stevenson in 2023. For starters, he missed five games due to injury, number two, he had to deal with Ezekiel Elliot and finally, the Patriots were HORRIBLE. Now, it is a new era with new head coach Jarod Mayo. Drake Maye, a good quarterback is set to take over. Also, Stevenson has minimal competition in the running back room.
Antonio Gibson might be a threat to take away some receptions from Stevenson, but Stevenson is by far the better running back. A fully healthy Stevenson in 2022, saw over 80 ypg (yards per game) with the 12th most rushing yards and a flat 5.0 ypc (yards per carry). With the Patriots set to begin their rebuild, people are hesitant to draft Stevenson, but I see a potential RB1 being drafted in the fifth round. After the first four rounds, you can very well have a strong three-headed beast going wide receiver in the first three rounds. Then, you can take James Conner and Rhamondre Stevenson as your running backs in the following rounds. My pick between White and Stevenson is Stevenson yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Winner: Rhamondre Stevenson
Did Brandon make the right calls in these ADP battles? Let him know in the comments below and then make sure to check out our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit for more great rankings and analysis.