Lance's 2022 Fantasy Sleepers: Running Backs
I’m including this explanation for everyone that likes to pick and choose which articles of these they want to check out, if you’re someone that reads all them you can probably skip this area and jump down to my sleepers. The rules for my “top” pick and my “3 others” remain the same, they have to actually be sleepers. But I would like to elaborate on the rules behind my rookie and dark horse pick, for better understanding. For the rookie it has to be someone that wasn’t taken in the first round, and isn’t actively being hyped up by analysts. For the dark horse it has to be someone so far down most people's boards that they forgot that player even exists, or at least that’s the case for RBs, WRs and TEs. For QBs, Kickers and Defenses it just has to be someone you’ll typically find in the 20-32 range, and if they’re name isn’t being talked about, or if they are being talked about it negatively then that’s a bonus!
I’d consider it a successful pick if my “top” pick finishes top 20, my 3 others finish top 30, and my rookie and dark horse finish top 48. Last year I hit on my Damien Harris pick, and believe it or not Kenny Gainwell, my rookie pick, finished 42nd overall. Alright, enough of that, here are my RB sleepers:
Top: Javonte Williams (Denver)
Yes, they brought back Melvin Gordon, but the way they brought him back screams it is Williams' starting role this year. Last year they split carries almost evenly each finishing slightly over the 200 mark. This year I'd expect Williams to push for 250 to 280. And now that Wilson is in town throwing the ball, teams will have to respect the pass.
3 Others: Travis Etienne (Jacksonville), Ronald Jones (Kansas City), Marlon Mack (Houston)
He finished with a whopping 0 points last year (injury caused or not), so I'm putting him here! Nobody knows how long James Robinson is going to be out, but even if he returns he'll be coming off a torn achilles. Etienne has had plenty of time to recover and he was an explosive playmaker at Clemson.
After seeing what happened with Clyde Edwards-Helaire last season I won't be surprised if Ronald Jones takes over as the predominant ball carrier in that backfield. There's going to be plenty of room for him to run with defenses respecting the pass, and he's got pretty fresh legs after carrying the ball just 101 times last year. He'll be a solid mid-late round pick at the position.
Mack is the most talented back in Houston this season. I don't care what they gave Burkhead to keep him around, I don't care that Mack is coming off a torn Achilles (which happened in September of 2020 by the way), and I don't care that the Texans drafted Dameon Pierce. The main thing that will stand in Mack's way is Houston's O-Line. Don't forget, Mack had over 1,000 total yards and 10 touchdowns in 2018 and over 1,100 total yards with 8 touchdowns in 2019 (and that one was without Andrew Luck).
Rookie: Zamir White (Las Vegas)
I was going to put James Cook here cause technically it's not cheating since he wasn't a first round pick, but he was one of three backs selected in the second round, which felt wrong. So, I'm listing Zamir White. White was the #3 back on my draft board and I think he landed in a sneaky good situation. Vegas has a new Head Coach and GM, and neither should feel any obligation toward making sure Josh Jacobs gets as many carries as they can give him. Josh McDaniels is coming from an offense that loved to use multiple back. And Jacobs hasn't finished a full 16-17 game season yet in his young career. If I was right in my evaluation of White's talent and ability, he should get some opportunities this season to showcase it.
Dark Horse: Eno Benjamin (Arizona)
I was really high on Benjamin last year because I see the talent that he has to offer and I thought Edmonds and Conner were good for missing at least a few games. While Edmonds did miss five games, Conner ended up playing 15 games, and was a touchdown machine. Here's the thing though, Conner only carried the ball 202 times (that's likely why he managed to stay so healthy) and he averaged just 3.7 yards/carry. Edmonds' 116 carries (and 43 receptions) are up for grabs, and the only competition the Cards really brought in is Darrel Williams and Keaontay Ingram, neither of which I believe are as talented as Benjamin.
