In the NFL, there are plenty of talented running backs who are carrying their teams, but who stands out from a fantasy perspective?
That will be today’s focus — who are the best fantasy football running back picks in 2024?
Who Are the Best Fantasy Football Running Back Picks in 2024?
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
By no means is a Zach Charbonnet takeover imminent or even likely, but it’s possible. The price disparity between Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III doesn’t accurately capture the likelihood of it occurring.
Walker is going as the RB14, 30 running back spots ahead of Charbonnet. That’s awfully high for a backfield that was close to a 50/50 timeshare last season.
Although Walker is the clear starter, there’s an entirely new coaching staff in town. They didn’t draft either of these backs. That means they have no allegiances. Whoever plays the best will touch the ball more. The mere potential for it to be Charbonnet makes him a great value at his ADP.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Given Blake Corum’s upside, he has to be the best value pick on the Rams. Although he likely won’t possess standalone value, he is one injury away from an every-week RB1.
Under Sean McVay, the Rams always have utilized one running back. Outside of Todd Gurley, they have never been a highly-drafted player.
Williams was a Day 3 pick. As great as he was last season, the Rams have no allegiance to him. If he goes down for an extended period and Corum plays well, Williams may not return to his job. That possibility alone makes Corum a great player to target at his RB39 ADP.
Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
I really don’t know who will be the more valuable fantasy back. The Cowboys are probably going to throw a low. If Ezekiel Elliott can get back to his elite pass-blocking ways, he’ll be the guy on the field in those situations.
Per TruMedia, the Patriots had a 41.2% success rate on plays when Zeke was pass-blocking, 29th in the league. Given that Pollard was fourth in the league with the Cowboys at 59.6%, the team will probably notice if Elliott’s pass-blocking isn’t up to snuff.
I know I’m cheating a bit by listing both Elliott and Rico Dowdle, but this is as ambiguous of a backfield as we can get. We have no idea who the most valuable back will be. As a result of Dowdle’s lack of track record and Elliott’s age/declining ability, both backs are going outside of the top 36.
The Cowboys are always one of the highest-scoring offenses in football. One of these guys is going to be a value.
Breece Hall, New York Jets
The Jets have two players that typically go in the first round. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Garrett Wilson wound up being the top fantasy option on this team. However, Wilson has yet to live up to the hype, whereas Breece Hall exceeded all expectations last season.
Given that Hall goes in the top half of the first round, it is a bit strange to call him the best value on the Jets. Unfortunately, there just aren’t any players I want on this team beyond Hall and Wilson.
Coming off a torn ACL, Hall averaged 17.1 fantasy ppg, finishing as the overall RB6. This was after he was trapped in a timeshare for the first month of the season.
Now another year removed from the injury, Hall is a legitimate threat to unseat Christian McCaffrey as the overall RB1.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Do I like endorsing 29-year-old running backs who have shown obvious signs of decline? Not really. But in Alvin Kamara’s case, he’s the best value on the Saints due to the lack of alternatives.
The only interesting fantasy options on this team are Chris Olave, Kamara, and Rashid Shaheed. While Shaheed is fun (and really fast), he is far from a complete receiver. He has the potential to outperform his ADP, but a top-30ish upside seems like a stretch.
Kamara is coming off an overall RB3 finish predicated almost entirely on empty receptions. That’s a dangerous gambit to make, but he seems destined to do it again.
The Saints have one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Derek Carr is not mobile and loves to check down. Additionally, the Saints lack capable pass-catchers beyond Olave and Shaheed. Given where Kamara finished last year and the similar circumstances this season, he’s probably a value at his RB17 price tag.
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
McCaffrey is the consensus No. 1 overall pick in fantasy this year. He’s still the best value on the 49ers.
McCaffrey has stayed healthy each of the past two seasons. Last year, he was the overall RB1, averaging 24.5 fantasy ppg.
At 28 years old, McCaffrey has shown no signs of decline. He is the consensus top pick in all fantasy drafts this season, and rightfully so. Despite the abundance of talent on the 49ers, CMC stands out. Brandon Aiyuk is being drafted at his ceiling. Deebo Samuel Sr. misses too much time. George Kittle is asked to block too much to be an effective fantasy asset with all the target competition. McCaffrey is a cheat code.
Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
The best value isn’t necessarily the cheapest fantasy-relevant option. Mixon always goes before Tank Dell and occasionally goes ahead of Stefon Diggs. Yet, Mixon is the player on this team I want the most.
There’s value in being a running back who can handle a heavy workload. That’s been Mixon every year of his career. He’s not going to blow anyone away with efficiency, but he’s incredibly reliable.
Mixon’s career yards per carry is 4.1; last year, he was at 4.0 and saw a solid 10.8% target share. His 15.7 fantasy ppg is right in line with what he’s done his entire career.
Now, he joins an offense led by C.J. Stroud with no shortage of weapons. They are going to score a lot. If Mixon is simply the same guy we saw last year, he will go down as a tremendous value at his fourth-round price tag.
David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
The Lions have three really awesome fantasy assets: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Sam LaPorta. But we can’t call any of them values as they are all valued as the elite fantasy options they are.
Last year, LaPorta wound up being the best value on this team. The next-best value was David Montgomery. He’s shaping up to be the same guy this year.
Montgomery is obviously nowhere near as talented as Gibbs, but Montgomery is not a bad player. He averaged 14.8 fantasy ppg last season, finishing as the overall RB15.
At just 27 years old, Montgomery is not at risk of declining. The Lions possess one of the league’s best offenses, and they are very aggressive near the goal line.
Montgomery scored a touchdown in all but three games last season. He’s still going to be the goal-line back. In the fifth or sixth round, especially in Zero or Hero RB builds, Montgomery is a great option.
Zack Moss, Cincinnati Bengals
This is the first value pick I need to put an asterisk on. This article was written in early August. At this time, I still believe Zack Moss will be the lead back and primary goal-line rusher. But there have been reports out of training camp that Chase Brown is running with the first team as well. I reserve the right to change my mind.
For now, though, I am sticking with Moss, as I expect him to essentially be what Mixon was last year.
We got a glimpse of Moss in a lead-back role last season. He averaged a very respectable 4.7 yards per touch and proved capable of handling significant volume when necessary. In six games with Jonathan Taylor out, Moss averaged 14.0 fantasy ppg. And that doesn’t include his 33.5-point effort in Taylor’s first game back in Week 5 when Moss was still the primary back.
Last season, Mixon averaged 4.0 yards per carry, saw a 10.8% target share, and was outside the top 30-35 in most efficiency metrics. He was pretty much just a guy who ate volume. Efficiency-wise, Moss doesn’t look much different.
My theory on Moss is we’re getting about 80% of 2023 Mixon at a four-round discount.
Devin Singletary, New York Giants
Fantasy managers love their Day 3 rookie darlings. I’m not trying to completely dismiss the notion that Tyrone Tracy Jr. can push for a meaningful role. However, the most likely outcome for every Day 3 pick is they won’t matter.
Devin Singletary is a proven, capable back. He has a history with head coach Brian Daboll from their time in Buffalo.
Singletary is capable of handling a heavy workload. Last year, he played over 70% of the snaps six times. He did it eight times the year before in Buffalo.
Despite opening the season as a clear backup to Dameon Pierce, Singletary was able to completely take the RB1 job by the second half of the season.
From Week 9 through the end of last season, Singletary averaged 13.4 fantasy ppg — those are rock-solid RB2 numbers. I’ve got Singletary up at RB27, and even that feels low. If Singletary can merely replicate that level of production this season on the Giants, he will be well worth his cost in fantasy drafts.
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
Initially, this was going to be DeAndre Hopkins. Unfortunately, a knee sprain that will sideline him for anywhere from 4-6 weeks forced me to reconsider. As much as I still believe in Hopkins, a 32-year-old WR entering the season injured is not a profile we want to invest in. That brings me to Tyjae Spears.
I am a big fan of Spears and have him ever so slightly ahead of Tony Pollard. Titans coaches themselves have said that both backs have similar skill sets (which is true) and neither has a defined role. They are both going to play. So, why is Spears going two full rounds after Pollard?
The bet here is that these are similar fantasy assets. Since Spears goes later, he’s the better value.
