Fantasy football experts Chris Raybon and Sean Koerner are bringing their rankings to FantasyLabs this summer. Get a sneak peek of Raybon’s 2024 fantasy football running back rankings as he breaks down his top 10 RB values for Underdog Fantasy Best Ball drafts this week.
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2024 Best Ball Running Back Rankings, Early Values
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 graded out second-worst in the NFL at PFF. He still managed to finish as the RB3 overall and the RB7 in per-game scoring, and he’s a 25-year-old former first-round pick with back-to-back seasons of more than 1,400 scrimmage yards. Most importantly, the only addition the Jags made to the RB depth chart in the offseason was using a Day 3 pick on Texas RB Keilan Robinson, who profiles more as a returner, leaving D’Ernest Johnson and Tank Bigsby to back up Etienne – meaning he’s a good bet to approach the 19.1 touches per game he averaged last season.
Alvin Kamara, Saints (ADP RB17, My Rank RB11)
Kamara played only 13 games due to suspension but quietly finished as a top-10 RB in per-game scoring, finishing RB7 or better in 4-of-13 (31%), RB15 or better in 8-of-13 (62%), and RB25 or better in 11-of-13 (85%). The workload threat posed by oft-injured 2023 third-round pick Kendre Miller (8 games, 273 scrimmage yards in 2023) and 29-year-old plodder Jamaal Williams (2.9 YPC, 3.1 YPR) is overstated – especially with the arrival of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who fed Dalvin Cook 21.8 touches per game in his only other stint as an NFL OC and spent last year on a 49ers offensive coaching staff that oversaw a league-leading 339 touches (21.2 per game) for Christian McCaffrey.
Zamir White, Raiders (ADP RB30, My Rank RB19)
White piled up 457 scrimmage yards and a score on 93 touches over the season’s final four weeks as the starter in place of Josh Jacobs. His 3.21 yards after contact per carry ranked 11th of 59 qualified RBs and was nearly a full yard better than Jacobs (2.35, 53rd). With JAG Alexander Mattison representing his biggest challenger for carries, White is secure in his role and offers Jacobs-like upside at a discount.
Zack Moss, Bengals (ADP RB34, My Rank RB27)
Moss was brought in as a perfect scheme fit to replace Joe Mixon, who finished as a top-15 RB in per-game fantasy scoring in each of the past four years in Zack Taylor’s offense. Moss gave us a glimpse of what he would look like as a feature back in Weeks 2-5 with the Colts last season, averaging 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 man Chase Brown – a worthwhile best ball target in his own right – is already priced into his ADP.
Devin Singletary, Giants (ADP RB36, My Rank RB30)
Let’s play a game of Guess The Player based on their 2023 stat lines. 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 was Saquon Barkley, congratulations. But even if I told you Player A was Barkley, I bet you would have never guessed that the comparable stat line of Player B is none other than Devin Singletary over the final nine games of 2023. Giants GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll — who were both employed by the Bills when the franchise drafted Singletary with the 74th overall pick in 2019 — balked at paying big money to retain Barkley and instead opted to reunite with Singletary, doling out what is still a top-15 RB contract in terms of both total value ($16.5 million over three years) and guarantees ($9.5 million), according to OverTheCap.com. The Giants RB depth chart behind Singletary is barren, consisting of no player with a draft pedigree higher than 166th overall (rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr., who has some late-round flier appeal), and no player with more than 68 carries 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 rip off gains of 54, 31, and 27 despite the limited workload over that span. Even if Brown doesn’t push Moss for the starting role, he will still have boom weeks with defenses having to focus on Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase while getting worn down by Moss. If Burrow’s return gets the Bengals offense humming again, it’s possible Brown and Moss could develop into a poor man’s version of the De’Von Achane-Raheem Mostert dynamic in Miami, with Moss getting more carries and TDs and Brown making up the difference with big plays.
Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys (ADP RB62, My Rank RB38)
Just like old times, Elliott finds himself atop the Cowboys RB depth chart. While lacking his early-career explosiveness at age 29, Elliott can still be a productive fantasy asset on a Cowboys offense that was first in points scored and fifth in total yardage last season. He posted 12 TDs working in tandem with Tony Pollard in the 2022 season and has similar upside this season as part of a committee with one of Rico Dowdle/Deuce Vaughn/Royce Freeman, or whomever else the Cowboys end up bringing in. He also offers more receiving upside than your average plodder, as evidenced by his team-leading 51 grabs with the Patriots last year.
Ray Davis, Bills (ADP RB59, My Rank RB47)
To spell James Cook, the Bills gave a combined 170 touches to the likes of Latavius Murray (96), Ty Johnson (37), Damien Harris (25), and Leonard Fournette (13). Davis has a three-down skill set and should be considered the favorite to inherit most, if not all, of those touches after the Bills made him the 128th overall pick out of Kentucky.
Dameon Pierce, Texans (ADP RB64, My Rank RB52)
Pierce was slow to pick up the new run scheme last season and lost his job to Devin Singletary midway through the year, but he is still one season removed from putting up 1,104 scrimmage yards as a rookie. New Houston RB1 Joe Mixon has missed 14 games since 2020 and is in Year 8 with nearly 2,000 career touches of wear, so Pierce has a clearer path to the RB1 role in his offense than similar backs who go off the board earlier, such as Tyler Allgeier, Alexander Mattison, and Miles Sanders.
Kimani Vidal, Chargers (ADP RB70, My Rank RB60)
The odds are typically stacked against rookie sixth-round picks providing fantasy value, but Vidal is entering a run-heavy Greg Roman offense and is competing for touches with Gus Edwards, who just turned 29 and has missed 25 games over the past three seasons; and J.K. Dobbins, who has missed 43 of a possible 67 games in his four years as a pro.
