• Investing in running back upside early in drafts: With a deep pool of wide receivers and a growing pool of tight ends, targeting the elite running backs early could pay dividends if done correctly.

• Identify your favorite draft position for this strategy as some might work better than others: Based on ADP, Christian McCaffrey at 1.01 could be paired with the upside of De’Von Achane and the safety of Derrick Henry, making for a very desirable trio.

• Dominate your fantasy draft: Subscribe to PFF+ to get full access to PFF’s full suite of fantasy football tools, including the fantasy mock draft simulator, live draft assistant, fantasy rankings, cheat sheets and more! Click here to subscribe!

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

In the fantasy football world, you’ll often hear strategies discussed like “zero RB” or even “hero RB,” which refers to specific strategic approaches heading into a fantasy draft. While having a set strategy can help a fantasy football manager feel prepared, it’s important to be ready to pivot from the original game plan if things don’t go as planned, or if there’s significant value that falls to you.

With that being said, for those who do want to approach a 2024 fantasy draft by attacking the running back position early and often, there are several strong candidates to consider in each of the first three rounds. 

PPR SCORING TOP FINISHERS BY POSITION SINCE 2014

0.5 PPR SCORING TOP FINISHERS BY POSITION SINCE 2014

NON-PPR SCORING TOP FINISHERS BY POSITION SINCE 2014

As you can see in the charts above, the running back position (after QB) offers the most overall top-10 upside amongst the skill position players. That upside extends to even the top 25 overall in non-full PPR formats. Hitting on two or three of the running backs with top-10 overall potential gives fantasy managers a massive weekly advantage in-season, and increases the odds of bringing home that championship.

The running back position also carries risk, as not just a more injury-prone position, but the high dependency on volume as well, where if that goes away at any point, either due to inefficiency or unexpected shared workloads – which has become much more common in recent years – it makes the early investment in them less than ideal. 

This article will focus on PPR scoring since that is where the ADP is pulled from on Sleeper. 

Draft strategy context:

• League size: 12 teams
• Scoring settings are full PPR 
• ADP referenced is from Sleeper

RB archetypes to target

Looking at each of the top-five PPR RB finishers over the last five seasons, the chart below highlights the key metrics they hit to identify the criteria needed for each of the backs going in Rounds 2 and 3 to hit big.

Key metrics from past fantasy running backs who finished inside the top-five since 2019:

Round 1

With all three running backs going in the first round (Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, Bijan Robinson) having the strongest projection to hit that 20-plus PPR points per game total, as highlighted below, there isn’t a need to go into much detail. Instead, we’ll focus more on the options in the second and third rounds of drafts to get a better feel for who we’ll want to pair with these first-round backs for the optimal outcome of this strategy. Hitting on all three running back picks would, of course, deliver a massive advantage every week, but there is risk involved with some options, which we’ll look at as we work through the choices.

Round 2

Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

• Sleeper ADP: 13.0

Gibbs through 15 games last season:

• Gibbs is right on the fringe of being a first-round pick thanks to his outstanding rookie season, and if not for David Montgomery – who is also a good running back – being set to play relevant snaps, Gibbs would more than likely be locked into the first round of most drafts.
• It’s possible that fantasy managers drafting near the end of the first round could miss out on Bijan Robinson or Breece Hall, which — for those determined to start things off at running back — Gibbs makes the most sense to reach for near the end of Round 1.
• Last season, even while sharing time with Montgomery, Gibbs still managed close to the desired overall touch rate on the year and exceeded that once the offense got near the goal-line.
• With a larger expected snap share in Year 2, Gibbs offers all the rushing, receiving, and touchdown upside that we can ask for in our first, or more ideally, second running back off the board.

Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

• Sleeper ADP: 14.5

Taylor through 10 games last season:

• Taylor missed several games due to injury last season, but when he was in the lineup, his workhorse usage was everything fantasy managers could ask for from the 2021 overall RB1.
• Taylor’s high touch rate in goal-to-go situations led to five of his seven total rushing touchdowns last season.
• While we didn’t see both Taylor and quarterback Anthony Richardson on the field at the same time outside of a very small 10-snap sample last year, it’s unclear how much of that goal-line rushing work could be handled by Richardson himself, which would take away some of the touchdown upside for Taylor.
• When considering that Taylor is the very clear lead back, he should still have plenty of opportunities to score this season, even with Richardson under center, leaving little risk in investing in him early in the second round.

Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

• Sleeper ADP: 14.7

Barkley through 14 games last season:

• Speaking of running backs who could lose goal-line touches to their quarterback, there might not be a more at-risk back for that than Barkley with Jalen Hurts under center.
• Barkley saw an ideal touch rate in goal-to-go situations for the Giants last season, but now enters an offense where Hurts led all quarterbacks and ranked tied for fourth in the league in total goal-to-go carries (26) last regular season.
• While Barkley may have more punch-in touchdown competition to deal with, it won’t be gone entirely, and his ability to handle the large majority of the work out of the Eagles backfield is more important here, as he can play both early down and passing down work every week.
• Barkley has top-five running back potential, which he delivered in 2022, and being able to add him as our potential RB2 in the second round is an ideal start for a running back-heavy build.

Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

• Sleeper ADP: 15.9

Williams through 12 games last season:

• Williams offers a lot of upside for a potential RB2 in starting lineups, as he proved last season by delivering the second-best points per game total on the year, ranking behind only Christian McCaffrey.
• While Williams’ overall touch rate wasn’t as high as some of the backs going ahead of him, he dominated the running back touches when he was in the lineup, which included at the goal line and on passing downs.
• There’s some risk that newly-drafted third-round running back Blake Corum will eat into some of Williams’ touches this season to keep him fresh, but the positive outlook there is that Williams should still be the overall lead back in terms of touches on a good offense.
• As our second back drafted in this strategy, Williams fits all the potential criteria to help us deliver on the upside we’re looking for with a running back-heavy build.

Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

• Sleeper ADP: 19.5

Etienne through 17 games last season:

• Etienne, much like Williams last year, dominated the running back touches for his offense despite the ball being spread around a bit more to different players while he was on the field.
• Etienne managed an excellent 16.4 PPR points per game to finish as the overall RB3 thanks to heavy usage in the passing game and his opportunities on early downs.
• Both Etienne’s 404 routes run and his 267 carries were the fourth-most at the running back position last season, and there isn’t much reason to expect anything less from the Jaguars lead back in 2024.
• As the second running back for our roster, Etienne, and the others in Round 2, exemplify the potential upside we can capture with a running back-heavy build to start drafts, while still having room to attack a deeper wide receiver pool later.

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

• Sleeper ADP: 24.0

Henry through 17 games last season:

• Henry is right on the fringe of Rounds 2 and 3 right now, and for those who started their draft with the first three picks and were able to get McCaffrey as RB1, Henry – a top-12 PPR running back in four of the last five seasons – makes for a pretty solid start to the draft.
• Henry will be playing on a new team this season, with little concern about him being the lead back or losing touches to any of the running backs currently on the roster.
• Henry’s biggest competition for touches will be quarterback Lamar Jackson, which could open things up a bit more for Henry to be efficient in the latter stages of his career.
• Since Jackson has become a starter in the NFL, the Ravens running back position has been the league’s most efficient unit in terms of yards per carry (4.8), which should help a back like Henry, who has been on a decline in that category over the past few years.
• Henry’s ability to handle a full workload shouldn’t be questioned either way, and adding to his upside is his potential usage around the goal line – an area where Gus Edwards ranked tied for the fourth-most carries in that situation last year (26), leading to 12 of his 13 rushing touchdowns on the year.

ROUND 3

De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins

• Sleeper ADP: 25.5

Achane through 11 games last season:

• Achane is another borderline second-round player, much like Henry, but for the sake of remaining consistent with the ADP, we’ll call him a third-rounder here.
• Achane has arguably the most upside of any back going outside of the first round based on what he was able to accomplish last season on limited touches and still average 17.6 PPR points per game.
• With the potential to see a larger snap share this season, Achane would have an increased chance for his week-winning upside to come to fruition on a more consistent basis.
• He also had four games with top-five finishes at the position, which is the kind of upside we should be taking advantage of here in drafts, especially if we’re able to land him as our third running back in an RB-RB-RB build.

Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

• Sleeper ADP: 27.8

Jacobs through 13 games last season:

• Jacobs' greatest asset over the past few seasons has been his overall snap share and potential to touch the ball, and that has the chance to continue into this season with a new team in Green Bay.
• It’s not a guarantee that he will see that high 76% snap share that he did last season, but there shouldn’t be much reason to believe that he won’t lead the way in terms of snaps/touches out of this backfield.
• The Packers offense figures to be a significant upgrade for Jacobs this season compared to the Raiders last year, which should help open things up for him and deliver more scoring opportunities to boot.
• These two things will be crucial to help Jacobs deliver on his ADP, as Jacobs delivered a career-low six rushing touchdowns last season, as well as a career-low rushing grade (70.1) and yards per carry average (3.5).
• On a potentially smaller snap share, Jacobs capitalizing on the offense he’s in should help those numbers bounce back in 2024.

Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

• Sleeper ADP: 28.7

Pacheco through 14 games last season:

• Pacheco has a lot going for him to deliver on a top-10 or even top-five finish at the position, including a strong snap share, which could increase in 2024 with the team letting Jerick McKinnon’s contract expire.
• McKinnon handled the large majority of passing down snaps for the Chiefs in 2022, and when active last season, he handled a decent workload there, just with Pacheco eating into the work a lot more.
• With McKinnon gone and Pacheco proving himself capable of handling passing down duties, he has the opportunity to absorb an even larger role in that regard and raise his production ceiling to that top-five potential that we’re aiming for here with this strategy.
• Landing this type of usage and upside from a player who already finished as RB13 last year and having him as our RB3 (Weeks 1-17) is a dream scenario for this build.

Navigating the rest of the draft

Continuing to use Sleeper’s average draft position (ADP), we can get a better idea of how these strategies play out using the early, middle, and late picks in order to better visualize your favorite outcome.

PICKS 1-4 BUILD

• R1 – RB Christian McCaffrey/Breece Hall
• R2 – RB Derrick Henry
• R3 – RB De’Von Achane
• R4 – TE Trey McBride/Mark Andrews
• R5 – WR Tank Dell/George Pickens
• R6 – WR Rome Odunze
• R7 – WR Chris Godwin/Xavier Worthy
• R8 – WR Diontae Johnson/DeAndre Hopkins
• R9 – QB Caleb Williams/Jayden Daniels

PICKS 5-8 BUILD

• R1 – RB Breece Hall/Bijan Robinson
• R2 – RB Travis Etienne
• R3 – RB Isiah Pacheco
• R4 – WR Malik Nabers/D.K. Metcalf
• R5 – TE Kyle Pitts/George Kittle
• R6 – WR Christian Kirk/Terry McLaurin
• R7 – QB Kyler Murray
• R8 – WR Ladd McConkey
• R9 – WR Christian Watson/Brian Thomas Jr.

PICKS 9-12 BUILD

• R1 – RB Bijan Robinson/Saquon Barkley
• R2 – RB Saquon Barkley/Kyren Williams
• R3 – RB Isiah Pacheco/Rachaad White
• R4 – QB Lamar Jackson/C.J. Stroud
• R5 – WR Amari Cooper/Tee Higgins
• R6 – TE Evan Engram
• R7 – WR Calvin Ridley
• R8 – WR Marquise Brown
• R9 – WR Courtland Sutton