Even though there might not be fans at the games, the NFL season looks to be on it’s way for 2020-2021. Which means the fantasy football season is underway as well. Each month I will be updating you on trends through mock drafts, fantasy football relevant news, and which players to stay away from when drafting.
Now to the most important position in fantasy football, at least in my opinion, the running backs. If you can hit on a sleeper running back that can make your team from great to unstoppable. At the same time, if you miss on one of your top running backs, your team could be doomed from the jump. Here are a few names to keep in your queue during your fantasy football drafts.
(Having a player in the “Trending Down” section isn’t me calling them bad. Continue on!)
Trending Up
James Conner
If you missed out on a solid 1st round running back, and are looking to solidify the position in the 3rd-5th rounds, James Conner could be your guy. He is being selected around Devin Singletary, D’Andre Swift, and Mark Ingram. It was just two seasons ago when James Conner was the 7th best PPR running back in fantasy football. The Steelers were extremely banged up, Conner included, and I think 2020 should have a major offensive boost with Big Ben back in the picture.
Le’Veon Bell
If I were to tell you you could get Le’Veon Bell with your 5th pick in your fantasy draft, pretty much everyone I know would take that. His last year was definitely rough to watch, and go through if you were a fantasy owner, but I think the Jets offense improves this year. He is currently being taken after players like Miles Sanders and Cylde Edwards-Helaire, who have yet to put any Not too much worse can happen to the Jets this year, and hopefully Adam Gase realizes if he doesn’t use Bell his job will most likely be lost.
Sony Michel
I understand everyone wanting to jump ship from the Patriots in fantasy football, but Michel is currently going in the 10th round, after names like Zack Moss, and Derrius Guice. Michel did battle injury issues, but when healthy he is no question the Patriots best overall running back. His value is trendmous considering I have seen him drafted after players like Ronald Jones II, and D’Andre Swift. Whether it’s Tom Brady or Jarrett Stidham throwing the ball, I expect Michel will have plenty of plays made for him to touch the ball. Also depending on how comfortable they are with the new quarterback, we could see the Pats use their running backs more than they have in past seasons.
Trending Down
D’Andre Swift
In this week’s episode of Tyler hates on the Detroit Lions, we have D’ndre Swift. Swift is heading into an offense with very little will to succeed in 2020. In PPR leagues I do see why Swift could be enticing, but I am still going to keep him off my fantasy football teams.
All three of these running backs are on this list for pretty much the same reasons. Kerryon Johnson is a very good running back, but just struggles to keep healthy. Swift will help take the load off Johnson, which is great for the Lions, but ultimately probably won’t spell well for fantasy owners.
Cam Akers
Cam Akers is a very talented back, but so is Darrell Henderson, and so is Malcolm Brown. You see what I am saying? There are a lot of mouths to feed in this back field, and with what happened with Todd Gurley I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams try a more running back by committee type of a load share. With that being said, I think the Los Angeles Rams would much rather throw the ball around the field too. As it looks right now, Akers is going to be battling two other running backs that know the offense better, and I would rather take someone like Phillip Lindsey, Mark Ingram or a wide receiver at this point in the draft.
Ke’Shawn Vaughn
Ke’Shawn Vaughn is someone I believe is riding the hype wave of this Tampa Bay offense more than anyone. I personally don’t see him as someone that will make a huge impact in the offense, especially not one big enough to steal snaps from Ronald Jones II. He wasn’t anything special in the receiving game, and never even really carried a full workhorse type of load while at Vanderbilt. I would like to see some actual production from Vaughn before I invest fantasy football stock into him.