Oh, fantasy running backs. Ever the consistent point producers, you can never have enough good ones on your team. But the best ones are as good as gone in the first couple of rounds, which makes searching for potential sleepers – whether at the end of the draft or in free agency – all the more important.
So who are some of the running backs that fantasy owners should be keeping tabs on this season? We’ve listed down the 10 best potential running back sleepers, who are sleepers not only in a sense that they’re almost completely under the radar, but also because they’re a tad undervalued in terms of draft stock.
Top 10 NFL Fantasy Running Back Sleepers for 2015-16
10. Ameer Abdullah (Detroit Lions)
Unlike the other three rookie running backs on the list, it doesn’t seem like Abdullah has much of a shot to get the start over Detroit Lions incumbent, Joique Bell, in Week 1. But don’t discount the rookie out of Nebraska’s ability to work his way into a bigger part of the offense as the season goes along.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Abdullah was very productive during his four-year collegiate career. In his junior and senior years, he posted back-to-back 1,600-plus-yard rushing seasons coupled with 230-plus-yards receiving, which highlights his overall versatility. He also totaled 22 touchdowns last season (19 rushing, three receiving).
Abdullah looks like the perfect fit to step into Reggie Bush’s role last season as the pass-catching, change-of-pace back in that Lions offense, and a nice fit for a fantasy owner looking for a stealth pickup.
9. TJ Yeldon (Jacksonville Jaguars)
With a running back depth chart in Jacksonville that includes Toby Gerhart, Denard Robinson and Bernard Pierce, the Jaguars’ starting gig is very much TJ Yeldon’s for the taking.
The rookie from Alabama produced around 1,000-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns in all three of his seasons at Tuscaloosa and finished with the fourth-most career rushing yards in school history.
It remains to be seen whether Jacksonville’s offensive line can improve upon last year’s poor showing, but Yeldon has the terrific balance and lateral agility to make yards on his own.
8. Tevin Coleman (Atlanta Falcons)
Competition for the starting running back job in Atlanta is a two-horse race. After the release of Steven Jackson, only second-year back Devonta Freeman stands in Tevin Coleman’s way in the Falcons depth chart.
Coleman was undoubtedly one of the best backs in all of college football last season. He was second in the nation (behind only Melvin Gordon) with 2,036 yards but averaged just as many yards per carry (7.54) as the more highly-touted Gordon.
Coleman had four 200-plus-yard games last season, including his 228-yard, three-touchdown effort against eventual champs Ohio State. A couple of weeks later, Gordon managed only 76 against the Buckeyes.
Despite that kind of production, Coleman fell all the way to the third round. He could turn out to be a steal for the Falcons, as well as any savvy fantasy owner who buys in on Tevin.
7. Charles Sims (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Sims had a rough rookie season in 2014. He missed significant time due to a preseason ankle injury, and eventually played in just eight games with 185 total yards and a touchdown.
However, he showed glimpses of the ability that made him a highly-touted running back prospect coming out of college in the season finale against New Orleans. He had 69 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown.
Despite those setbacks, Sims still seems to have the Bucs’ backing as signs point to him being a featured part of the offense this year. Doug Martin – his main rival for touches in the backfield – is on a contract year, so it makes sense for the Bucs to see what they actually have with Sims. With playing time and a clean bill of health, Sims should deliver some fantasy points along the way.
6. Andre Ellington (Arizona Cardinals)
Ellington was having quite a productive season in 2014 before missing the last four weeks due to hernia surgery. Ellington had actually been banged up for the entire season, but still produced 660 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as 395 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 12 weeks. That production was good for 20th in fantasy points among all running backs.
With a full offseason to heal up, there’s every reason to be optimistic that Ellington will be even better this season. For one, he’s still the undisputed lead back despite suggestions that the Cards would draft either Todd Gurley or Melvin Gordon in the first round (neither of them eventually fell to Arizona at 24, but still).
Instead, the Cards took offensive lineman DJ Humphries to strengthen an already improved Arizona O-line that will have Pro Bowler Mike Iupati and former top-10 pick Jonathan Cooper at the guard positions. That should only help Ellington’s gains on the ground, as he averaged just 3.3 yards per carry last season.
Create a betting account now and get some huge gains this season by wagering on these up-and-coming running backs.
5. CJ Spiller (New Orleans Saints)
2014 was Spiller’s worst season since his rookie year in 2010. A shoulder injury limited him to just nine games, as he totaled only 300 rushing yards and 185 receiving yards. But when healthy, he’s proven to be quite a weapon both on the ground and in the air. It was just three years ago that he rushed for 1,200 yards with six rushing touchdowns, and caught 43 balls for 459 yards and two receiving TDs in the same season.
Stick him in Sean Payton’s Saints offense that has a great history with versatile backs (think Darren Sproles, Reggie Bush, and Pierre Thomas) and Spiller suddenly becomes one of the more intriguing fantasy sleepers of the season.
He’s not completely injury-prone – last season was the first where he’d failed to play at least 14 games – but he does seem to get banged up a bit, which is a big reason he’s not more highly regarded in this list.
4. Joseph Randle (Dallas Cowboys)
There’s been a lot of debate about who was more responsible for the Cowboys’ overwhelming success running the ball last season: DeMarco Murray or their incredible offensive line? Well, the Cowboys believe that it’s more on the O-line, which Joseph Randle will be running behind now that Murray’s out of town.
Randle didn’t get many touches last season as Murray racked up record-setting rushing attempts, but he did finish with 343 yards on just 51 carries (an impressive 6.7 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. He’ll surely get his share of the ball this time around, especially if/when Darren McFadden succumbs to his annual injury.
Anyone expecting Randle to match or even surpass Murray’s incredible season of 1,800-plus yards and 13 touchdowns would obviously be foolish. A 1,000-plus-yard season with 6-8 TDs – which could put him among the top-10 running backs – is more than realistic, though.
3. Jeremy Hill (Cincinnati Bengals)
“Who in the world is sleeping on Jeremy Hill?!”, you’re probably wondering aloud right about now. Yeah, everyone knows he’s good. Despite only getting a significant bump in his workload halfway into the season, Hill still finished eighth in rushing yards (1,124 yards at 5.1 yards per carry!), tied for third in touchdowns (nine) and 10th in fantasy points for running backs.
No one’s sleeping on Hill as a good fantasy player this season, but most are sleeping on him as a great player. ESPN currently has Hill at No. 11 in their 2015 running back rankings behind the likes of Eddie Lacy, Arian Foster, Matt Forte, DeMarco Murray and LeSean McCoy. Honestly, he might be as good as or better than all of them.
Foster, Forte and Murray all have significant miles on them and could break down at any time, while McCoy’s going to play in an entirely new system with a downgraded O-line. Heck, Hill and Lacy – a possible No. 1 pick in some mocks – had virtually the exact same stats in 2014 despite Lacy getting an eight-week head start as a starter. Think about that for a second and find a good reason why you shouldn’t take Hill with your first pick.
2. Latavius Murray (Oakland Raiders)
Murray played all 16 games last season, but only six of them were of any substance. In those six games, though, Murray gave a glimpse of what could be. It all started with his 112-yard, two-touchdown explosion in Week 12 against Kansas City to help the Raiders get their first win of the year. You may remember he only had four carries in that game before leaving early with a concussion.
Murray had 413 yards on 76 carries in those six games, which, if extrapolated to an entire season, would make him a 1,000-yard rusher. With Darren McFadden finally out of town and Trent Richardson (!!) the only legit competition in the depth chart, the touches will be there for Murray to make that 1,000-yard season possible.
A bunch of people are bound to forget or disregard Murray just because he’s a Raider; don’t be one of those people.
1. Melvin Gordon (San Diego Chargers)
Most draftniks had Todd Gurley as the best running back in this year’s rookie draft. But in this list, Gordon gets the love as the best sleeper and should have a really big year.
MelGor was downright unstoppable in his senior year at Wisconsin. He famously set the FBS record for most rushing yards in a single game (which lasted all of one week) with his incredible 408-yard performance against Nebraska. He finished with 2,587 rushing yards (second all-time behind only the great Barry Sanders) and 29 touchdowns (most in the nation) on the season.
But the rookie is a real “sleeper” to put up some big numbers this season, in large part because of the team he ended up in: the San Diego Chargers. With Philip Rivers still around, no team is loading eight in the box against the Chargers. Furthermore, San Diego shored up one of its big weaknesses last season – offensive line – by signing Orlando Franklin and re-signing King Dunlap.
With all due respect to Branden Oliver and Danny Woodhead, Gordon’s the guy for the Bolts, and should be the guy for fantasy owners once the big names are off the board.
