2024 Underdog Fantasy Best Ball RB Rankings and Top Values

Fantasy Football Experts Chris Raybon and Sean Koerner are bringing their rankings to FantasyLabs this summer. Get a taste of Raybon’s fantasy for 2024 Ranking football running backs as he breaks down his top 10 RB values ​​for the underdog fantasy best ball drafts this week.

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Best Ball Running Back Rankings 2024, Early Rankings

Travis Etienne, Jaguars (ADP RB11, my rank RB8)

Etienne’s yards per carry dropped from 5.1 in 2022 to 3.8 last year, but that was mostly due to a run-blocking unit that earned the second-worst grade in the NFL at PFF. He still managed to finish as the RB3 overall and RB7 in points per game, and he’s a 25-year-old former first-round pick with two consecutive seasons with 1,400+ scrimmage yards. Most importantly, the only addition the Jags made to the RB depth chart in the offseason was a Day 3 pick for Texas RB Keilan Robinson, who profiles more as a returner, leaving D’Ernest Johnson and Tank Bigsby to back up Etienne — meaning he’ll almost certainly come close to the 19.1 touches per game he averaged last season.

Alvin Kamara, Saints (ADP RB17, my rank RB11)

Due to a suspension, Kamara only played 13 games, but finished quietly among the top 10 running backs in points per game: 4 of 13 (31%) were RB7 or better, 8 of 13 (62%) were RB15 or better, and 11 of 13 (85%) were RB25 or better. The workload of oft-injured 2023 third-round pick Kendre Miller (8 games, 273 scrimmage yards in 2023) and 29-year-old workboy Jamaal Williams (2.9 YPC, 3.1 YPR) is overblown – especially with the arrival of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who gave Dalvin Cook 21.8 touches per game in his only other stint as NFL OC and was part of a 49ers offensive coaching staff last year that oversaw a league-leading 339 touches (21.2 per game) for Christian McCaffrey.

Zamir White, Raiders (ADP RB30, my rank RB19)

White accumulated 457 scrimmage yards and scored on 93 touches over the final four weeks of the season as a starter in place of Josh Jacobs. His 3.21 yards after contact per carry ranked him 11th out of 59 qualified RBs and was almost a full yard better than Jacobs (2.35, 53rd). With JAG Alexander Mattison his biggest challenger in touches, White is secure in his role and offers Jacobs-like potential at a cheaper price.

Zack Moss, Bengals (ADP RB34, my rank RB27)

Moss was brought in as the perfect replacement for Joe Mixon, who was a top-15 RB in fantasy scoring per game in Zack Taylor’s offense over the past four years. Moss gave us a taste of what he would look like as a mainstay in Weeks 2-5 with the Colts last season, when he averaged 24.3 touches for 129.3 scrimmage yards and 1.0 TDs per game on an 83% snap rate. The risk of Moss losing work to explosive second-year player Chase Brown – himself a worthwhile target for top ball – is already priced into his ADP.

Devin Singletary, Giants (ADP RB36, my rank RB30)

Let’s play a round of Guess the Player based on his stats for 2023. Player A: 20.5 touches, 88.7 scrimmage yards, 0.71 TDs. Player B: 19.4 touches, 93.3 scrimmage yards, 0.44 TDs. If you guessed that Player A is Saquon Barkley, congratulations. But even if I told you that Player A is Barkley, I bet you would never have guessed that Player B’s comparable stat line is none other than Devin Singletary over the final nine games of 2023. Giants GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll — both of whom were employed by the Bills when the franchise drafted Singletary with the 74th overall pick in 2019 — shied away from paying big money to keep Barkley, opting instead to reunite with Singletary, dealing him a contract that still ranks among the top 15 RBs in both total value ($16.5 million over three years) and guarantees ($9.5 million), according to OverTheCap.com. The Giants RB lineup behind Singletary is poor: There is no player with a draft pedigree higher than 166th place (rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr., who is quite attractive as a late-round candidate) and no player with more than 68 appearances in a season (Deon Jackson).

Chase Brown, Bengals (ADP RB37, my rank RB36)

Brown averaged 8.8 touches for 53.8 scrimmage yards over the final six weeks of the season, using his 4.43 speed to rush for 54, 31 and 27 yards despite the limited workload during that span. Even if Brown doesn’t push Moss into the starting lineup, he’ll still have good weeks as the defense will have to focus on Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase while being worn down by Moss. If Burrow’s return gets the Bengals’ offense back on track, it’s possible Brown and Moss could develop into a cheap version of the De’Von Achane-Raheem Mostert dynamic in Miami, with Moss getting more touches and touchdowns and Brown making up the difference with big plays.

Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys (ADP RB62, my rank RB38)

Like old times, Elliott sits atop the Cowboys RB depth chart. While at 29 years old he lacks the explosiveness he displayed earlier in his career, Elliott can still be a productive fantasy player in the Cowboys offense that ranked first in points scored and fifth in total yardage last season. He scored 12 TDs in tandem with Tony Pollard in the 2022 season and has similar potential this season as part of a team with Rico Dowdle/Deuce Vaughn/Royce Freeman or whoever the Cowboys ultimately land. He also offers more potential than the average Buffalo, as evidenced by his 51 catches with the Patriots last year, which tied him for the most balls on the team.

Ray Davis, Bills (ADP RB59, my rank RB47)

To replace James Cook, the Bills gave a total of 170 touches to Latavius ​​Murray (96), Ty Johnson (37), Damien Harris (25) and Leonard Fournette (13). Davis has a three-down skillset and should be considered the favorite to take most, if not all, of those touches after the Bills selected him with the 128th overall pick out of Kentucky.

Dameon Pierce, Texans (ADP RB64, my rank RB52)

Pierce was slow to adjust to the new running scheme last season, losing his job to Devin Singletary midway through the year, but he still hasn’t posted a season-long 1,104 scrimmage yards as a rookie. New Houston RB1 Joe Mixon has missed 14 games since 2020 and is in his eighth year with nearly 2,000 career appearances, so Pierce has a clearer path to the RB1 role in his offense than similar backs who come off the board earlier, like Tyler Allgeier, Alexander Mattison and Miles Sanders.

Kimani Vidal, Chargers (ADP RB70, my rank RB60)

Typically, sixth-round rookies are unlikely to provide fantasy value, but Vidal enters a run-heavy offense led by Greg Roman and competes for touches with Gus Edwards, who just turned 29 and has missed 25 games over the past three seasons, and JK Dobbins, who has missed 43 of a possible 67 games in his four years as a pro.

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