FantasyPros - Will Saquon Barkley Bust? | The Top 50 Running Backs for the 2025 Season (Ep. 1580)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – "FantasyPros - Will Saquon Barkley Bust? | The Top 50 Running Backs for the 2025 Season (Ep. 1580)"

Release Date: May 31, 2025
Host/Authors: Ryan Warmley, Andrew Erickson, Derek Brown
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
Duration: Approximately 72 minutes

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1. Introduction

The episode kicks off with brief advertisements before transitioning into an in-depth discussion on fantasy football running backs. Hosts Ryan Warmley, Andrew Erickson, and Derek Brown delve into the intricacies of drafting running backs for the 2025 fantasy football season, analyzing player performances, rankings, and strategies to maximize team potential.

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2. Overview of the Running Back Landscape

Ryan Warmley opens the discussion by highlighting the importance of running backs in fantasy drafts, likening their significance to pitching in fantasy baseball. He emphasizes the challenge of accurately ranking running backs during draft preparations.

Derek Brown provides a macro view of the running back position, noting that 2025 presents another strong year for zero-RB (0 RB) strategies due to a robust group of rookies and healthy veterans. He suggests that managers might often wait on drafting running backs, leveraging the depth available later in the draft.

Derek Brown [01:11]: "Honestly, it's another great year for 0rb. ... I'll be in drafts just kind of looking at this, probably waiting on running back."

Andrew Erickson counters with a preference for the "superhero RB" approach, advocating for investing in top-tier running backs in the early rounds to secure consistent high scorers.

Andrew Erickson [02:13]: "I still think that hero RB is the way to go because I think that it's smart to draft a running back with one of your high picks ... you lock him in as your RB1."

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3. Top Three Running Backs

The hosts collectively agree on a trio of elite running backs considered as the top three for the season: Saquon Barkley, Bijan Robinson, and Jameer Gibbs. However, there's some contention regarding their exact rankings within this group.

Ryan Warmley posits that Saquon Barkley is likely to be the first overall pick in standard drafts due to his outstanding performance in the previous season.

Ryan Warmley [06:04]: "I think Saquon will be the first overall pick, like 99% of the kind of standard drafts that you're in."

Derek Brown challenges this view, arguing that Saquon Barkley's performance metrics have declined and that Bijan Robinson should take the top spot instead.

Derek Brown [06:55]: "Saquon is not my RB1 this year. He's not even inside of my top three... Bijan Robinson is my RB1 this season."

Andrew Erickson aligns with Brown but also discusses the potential of other backs like Christian McCaffrey, emphasizing the importance of high-upside running backs in the early rounds.

Andrew Erickson [07:17]: "... I have Genti as three and then the other guy like I'm thinking about is. Is McCaffrey too, right?"

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4. Tier 2 Running Backs (RB4-RB10)

This tier encompasses solid, high-performing running backs who offer reliable fantasy points but may come with certain risks or limitations.

Ryan Warmley lists the players in this tier as:

• Ashton Gentry
• Derek Henry
• Devon Hn
• Christian McCaffrey
• Josh Jacobs
• Jonathan Taylor
• Bucky Irving

Andrew Erickson elaborates on players like Ashton Gentry, emphasizing his explosive potential and suitability for late-round drafts.

Andrew Erickson [14:18]: "I think that Ashton Genti is in that mix again... it's a great price."

Derek Brown discusses Derrick Henry, expressing high confidence in his stability and consistent performance, positioning him as a top-five running back if healthy.

Derek Brown [15:29]: "I think Derek Henry is a locked in RB1 straight up until he decides to hang up the cleats."

Ryan Warmley reinforces Henry's reliability, citing his high touchdown count and minimal involvement in the passing game as factors ensuring his top-tier status.

Ryan Warmley [16:36]: "If every running back in the league stayed healthy, I would be most confident in him finishing like inside the top five over everybody."

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5. Tier 3 Running Backs (RB11-RB17)

This tier includes running backs with potential upside but also notable concerns such as injury history, offensive line performance, or shared backfield duties.

Ryan Warmley introduces the Tier 3 list:

• Kyron Williams
• Chase Brown
• Breece Hall
• James Cook
• Joe Mixon
• Kenneth Walker
• Alvin Camara

Andrew Erickson focuses on Breece Hall, discussing his explosive talent but concerns over integration with the new Jets coaching staff and his tendency to force touchdowns, which may limit his utility.

Andrew Erickson [24:51]: "I think it's a great example of a guy that you don't draft but you try to buy low on in like week seven."

Derek Brown advocates for Kenneth Walker, arguing that his comprehensive skill set as a three-down back and improved offensive line should merit a higher ranking than consensus suggests.

Derek Brown [27:06]: "Why do we hate Kenneth Walker?... I have him in tier 2. He's my RB8 of the season."

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6. Tier 4 Running Backs (RB18-RB28)

This broader tier comprises a mix of veterans and rookies with varying degrees of appeal. The hosts discuss undervalued players, potential breakout stars, and those with questionable roles.

Ryan Warmley lists the players:

• Chuba Hubbard
• James Connor
• David Montgomery
• Omarion Hampton
• Aaron Jones
• RJ Harvey
• Travion Henderson
• Tony Pollard
• DeAndre Swift
• Quinn
• Sean Judkins
• Isaiah Pacheco

Derek Brown highlights RJ Harvey as a hidden gem, praising his role in the Chargers' offense and dismissing concerns about competition within the backfield.

Derek Brown [38:12]: "I have RJ Harvey as a locked in top 15 back this year... stop trying to bring up Audrey and Julia McLaughlin."

Andrew Erickson emphasizes the potential of second-year running backs, suggesting that players like Trey Benson and Ray Davis could emerge as reliable contributors.

Andrew Erickson [65:52]: "Those traditionally are one of the best bets to make especially when they don't do anything as rookies."

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7. Player-Specific Deep Dives

Saquon Barkley

The primary question of the episode revolves around whether Saquon Barkley will "bust" in the upcoming season. Despite concerns raised by Derek Brown regarding his tackle-breaking metrics and volume management, the general consensus leans towards his continued high performance, albeit not securing the RB1 spot.

Derek Brown [06:55]: "Saquon's another year older. Volume is piling up."

Bijan Robinson

Bijan Robinson is lauded as a league-winning talent, with Ryan Warmley predicting his potential to dominate fantasy leagues when selected in the top three picks.

Ryan Warmley [11:33]: "Bijan is going to be the number three pick in a lot of drafts and he's going to be like a league winner at that spot."

Jameer Gibbs

Gibbs is discussed as a strong contender for RB2 but faces competition from players like David Montgomery, whose health could cap his fantasy upside.

Derek Brown [09:48]: "If David Montgomery stays healthy the entire season, it will cap Gibbs's upside."

Kenneth Walker

Kenneth Walker's undervaluation is a significant talking point, with Derek Brown arguing for his inclusion in higher tiers based on his all-around game and efficiency.

Derek Brown [27:55]: "Kenneth Walker goes out last year and he's the RB12 in fantasy points per game."

Javante Williams

Javante Williams receives considerable attention, with the hosts debating his potential resurgence in Dallas. Derek Brown conducts a statistical analysis highlighting his missed tackle rates and the sudden improvement mid-season, suggesting that a similar pattern could unfold in 2025.

Derek Brown [58:38]: "From weeks one through eight, Javante Williams had a 20 missed tackle rate... nothing after that season."

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8. Conclusions and Final Thoughts

The episode wraps up with the hosts reiterating their rankings and strategies for drafting running backs in the 2025 season. Emphasis is placed on balancing early investments in high-upside running backs with the flexibility to capitalize on undervalued players later in the draft. The discussion underscores the importance of monitoring player health, offensive line performance, and evolving team dynamics to make informed drafting decisions.

Ryan Warmley encourages listeners to utilize the FantasyPros rankings and tiers available at fantasyprose.com to aid in their draft preparations. Additionally, listeners are reminded of an ongoing contest to win a signed Nico Collins Texans jersey by subscribing and engaging with the FantasyPros YouTube channel.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Derek Brown [01:11]: "Honestly, it's another great year for 0rb... probably waiting on running back."
• Andrew Erickson [02:13]: "... it's smart to draft a running back with one of your high picks... lock him in as your RB1."
• Derek Brown [06:55]: "Saquon's another year older. Volume is piling up... Bijan Robinson is my RB1 this season."
• Andrew Erickson [07:17]: "... Genti as three... is McCaffrey too, right?"
• Derek Brown [09:48]: "If David Montgomery stays healthy... caps Gibbs's upside."
• Ryan Warmley [11:33]: "Bijan is going to be the number three pick in a lot of drafts and he's going to be like a league winner at that spot."
• Derek Brown [15:29]: "Derek Henry is a locked in RB1 straight up until he decides to hang up the cleats."
• Derek Brown [27:55]: "Kenneth Walker goes out last year and he's the RB12 in fantasy points per game."
• Derek Brown [38:12]: "I have RJ Harvey as a locked in top 15 back this year... stop trying to bring up Audrey and Julia McLaughlin."
• Derek Brown [58:38]: "From weeks one through eight, Javante Williams had a 20 missed tackle rate... nothing after that season."

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Key Takeaways

1. Zero-RB Strategy Viability: With a strong pool of running backs available both in veterans and rookies, the 0 RB strategy remains viable, allowing managers to capitalize on depth and avoid early investment.

2. Top-Tier Focus: Securing a "hero" running back in the early rounds is recommended to ensure high performance and reliability in fantasy lineups.

3. Undervalued Players: Players like Kenneth Walker and RJ Harvey present significant undervalued opportunities that could yield high returns relative to their draft positions.

4. Injury and Team Dynamics: Continuous monitoring of player health and team offensive strategies is crucial, as these factors heavily influence running back performance and fantasy value.

5. Rookie Potential: The influx of a strong rookie class provides ample opportunities for breakout performances, making late-round picks or deep-dive evaluations worthwhile.

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This comprehensive analysis equips fantasy football enthusiasts with the necessary insights to navigate the running back rankings for the 2025 season, balancing proven talent with emerging potential to optimize their fantasy squads.

Transcript

[Ryan Warmley]

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[Derek Brown]

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[Ryan Warmley]

Hello everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football Podcast. I'm Ryan Warmley, joined today by Andrew Erickson and by Derek Brown. Fellas, we just did top 50 wide receiver rankings where we ran through some of the tiers and our early thoughts on guys that were maybe too high, too low, etc. Etc. Or running it back, doing the exact same thing here with the running backs before we dive in. Debro we what were kind of your early thoughts on the running back landscape? Because it's it's such a key position to get right. I always equate it to in fantasy baseball it's like pitching where it's the most important thing to get right, but it is also sometimes the trickiest to actually get it right on draft day. So what were kind of your early thoughts and just the landscape of the.

[Derek Brown]

Position I think looking at it from 100 foot view this year, honestly it's another great year for 0rb. I guess I'll lead it off with that. I know that we saw running backs crush. I know all the veterans stay healthy. I know we're probably all in agreement that that doesn't usually replicate year over year. So it's a good year when everybody's going to possibly dive headfirst into running backs often and early to maybe we see a war of attrition and things go sideways for that. But all it is to say, man, like I think, I mean I'm going to be in drafts just kind of looking at this, probably waiting on running back. Either I'm going here running back or I'm waiting on a lot of the positions and the rookies later.

[Ryan Warmley]

Erickson, what do you think? I mean I personally historically tend to be a hero running back kind of guy. Are you a 0 RB truth or do you think that this year's landscape maybe would lean you towards one direction or another that would be either the same or different than you usually go? Because last year to D Rose Point we saw early running back Smash do You think we're going to see an overcorrection by drafters this year?

[Andrew Erickson]

Potentially maybe more of the superhero RB approach where you're double downing on some of these running backs in the first couple rounds. I still think that hero RB is the way to go because I think that it's smart to draft a running back with one of your high picks because that's where usually the highest scoring running backs come from. Saquon Barkley, yes. Was the highest scoring running back last year. He wasn't going in the top three, but he was also going at the top of the second round. It's not like he was a really cheap running back. You still had to invest high in draft capital. He was still part of. If you went hero RB last year, you probably had some Saquon Barkley here and there. So he was part of that strategy. So I think that you don't get it twisted. I think it's still about Hero RB. You stay out of the middle with these middling RB2. The thing that you want to prioritize least in your fantasy lineup every year is your RB2 slot. That is the worst. That's the position you should invest the least amount of draft capital because it's the easiest one to replace. So the fact that we're coming in with this great rookie class, you lock and load one of these top running backs, whether it's a Bijan, whether you're buying the dip on Christian McCaffrey, one of these guys in the first couple rounds, you lock him in as your RB1 and. And then you just late round running back, late round running back, late round running back and maybe you hit on this year's Bucky Irving or a Tyrone Tracy in the later rounds. So that's the strategy I'm going to go. It's strategy last year strategy I want to do this year. So yeah, here are B all the way.

[Derek Brown]

One last thing I want to add on here, Worm, is that going back to NFL draft season we kept talking about and it's. It's true, this is one of the best running back classes we've had. We've seen come out in a number of years that's leading. We're going to have all of these amazing options of youth and guys that if we want to play the variants and players that are getting a little bit older, like the Aaron Jones of the world, other players like Alvin Camara, like all these guys or Jonathan Taylor can't stay healthy for another year. All of these guys in this strong running back rookie crop that we got incoming again. That leads me to these final darts. You're taking in the last two to three rounds of your draft or you want to go 0 RB. It's a wonderful year for it. Going back to yeah, if we think it is a strong running back class then it should lend itself to yes those darts at the end of drafts or just going zero rb. It's a great year for it.

[Ryan Warmley]

We're not doing this today but we could have made this show an all rookie show. Like that's how many intriguing names spread out throughout the rankings. There's guy right there in the top five all the way down to guys that didn't make the cut in the top 50 relevant rookies that are going to impact fantasy season. So we will talk about some of them of course, but definitely somebody pay attention to just kind of in your early draft strategy when you're thinking about what you want your drafts to look like. Just a reminder for everybody, I know we're going to run through a lot of names today if you want to kind of follow along as best you can. All of our 2025 consensus rankings and tiers can be found at fantasyprose.com rankings. You can of course navigate to PPR rankings standard. We're doing half PPR today, running backs only of course. And then also another reminder, we've been talking about it all month. If you want a chance to win a signed Nico Collins Texans jersey for for free courtesy of our friends@pristine auction.com, all you have to do is subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now. Drop a comment below on any video and that is it. We will be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so make sure to turn on those notifications so you can know when new videos are up and to claim your prize. Guys, we'll start at the very top like we always do with these episodes. There's kind of a top three in terms of how the tiers break down. So that's what we're going to focus on right off the bat. And it's the names that nobody will be surprised to hear. Saquon Barkley, Bijan Robinson, Jameer Gibbs. Now you guys might quibble with the order. I think your mileage may vary on which one of those guys should be RB1. I think for the casual fan and fantasy manager, it'll be Saquon. Just because he's coming off this historic season. I think Saquon will be the first in every draft where Jamar Chase isn't the first overall pick. I think Saquon will be the first overall pick, like 99% of the kind of standard drafts that you're in. That doesn't mean we necessarily agree with that. Dbro, do you have Saquon number one or is one of these other two guys?

[Derek Brown]

Nope. Saquon is not my RB one this year. He's not even inside of my top three, to be honest. And this is not just tossing hot takes from the top, but guys, I'm old enough to remember when we talked about this last year with Christian McCaffrey and we worried about volume sneaking up and quietly. Dude, Saquon Barkley's tackle breaking metrics took a dip last year. Yes, he was fourth best in explosive run rate, but this dude was amongst 46 qualifying backs, was 28th in his tackle rate and 35th in yards of contact per attempt. The Philadelphia Eagles offensive line, and I'm not saying this isn't going to be top five again next or this year. Dude, they were generating almost 4 yards before contact for this guy, before he even got contacted. So, like, that's just an insane clip. So I. I'm going to lean on the side of like, look, Saquon's another year older. Volume is. Is piling up. Bijan Robinson is my RB1 this season.

[Ryan Warmley]

I am very unsurprised that you would have Bijan first. And I actually think by the time we get to August, I might feel the same way. I might even feel the same way now. Like, I. I'm very, very in on Bijan. I am much more surprised to hear that you don't have Saquon in your top three. I view this as somewhat of a consensus grouping of top three. Erickson, do you see it the same way or do you also have one of these guys not in your top three?

[Andrew Erickson]

Mark was not in my top three either. So I've. Dejan, let's go, Gibbs. Although I could see a situation where. Because I'm still not exactly sure where, I want to finalize Genti's ranking. Yeah, because he's a rookie running back, but I think that he's in that mix again. I try to think about these things a year ahead of time. Where are we drafting Ash and Genti next year? Like, who's more likely to be the number one overall pick next year? Barkley again or Genti? And if Genti's the. If Genti's the answer, then, well, why are we drafting Barkley ahead of him this year? Right. He's got to have at Least somewhat of a strong year, if not a strong finish. So for me, I right now have Genti as three and then the other guy like I'm thinking about is. Is McCaffrey too, right? McCaffrey again. He's one that's. Again comes with the injury and I still have him behind Barkley. But is anyone to be surprised if McCaffrey were to be the number one scoring running back? And if he plays his full allotment of games, if he stays healthy, we know that he can be really productive if not the number one scoring at his position. So the upside is that we're going to be talking about upside, upside and that you see McCaffrey fall in some of these drafts into round two where McCaffrey has a ton of upside and he's not coming off like Debro alluded to. And Saquon Barkley touched the ball almost 500 times last year. This is why we were trying to voice our concerns about McCaffrey and it's just not McCaffrey. Every running back that leads the NFL in touches the next year fade. Just following that process. Works out every single year. And I get that Barkley, maybe you think he's a special running back, but at the same time he's still an older running back who has dealt with a lot of injuries throughout his NFL career. And again, the thing that could have worked in his favor, they could have banned the tush push. They didn't. It's here to stay. So maybe those touchdowns that maybe could have gone to Barkley maybe saved him from potentially regressing and either rushing efficiency or something else.

[Ryan Warmley]

Like though Erickson, the touchdown equity is still higher for him than like a Genti though, right? Just given the offense he's in. Or do you disagree with that?

[Derek Brown]

Is it. I mean, well, the touchdown equity, you could say the raw touchdowns because.

[Ryan Warmley]

Yeah, that's what I mean.

[Derek Brown]

Ecosystem.

[Ryan Warmley]

But yeah, that's a. I don't.

[Derek Brown]

Jente's touchdown equity in that offense is. I think it's unequivocal.

[Ryan Warmley]

Yeah, I didn't mean percentage percentage wise. I mean total. So. So that's maybe the case against Saquon for you guys. Between Bijan and Gibbs though. Dbro, like, I wonder if Gibbs is almost getting a little bit of like. Not that he's forgotten, but I feel like the most common name I've heard, if it's not Saquon for number one, is Bijan. But Gibbs obviously was a beast to finish last year. He's a beast every time he touches the Ball. What for you separates Bijan from and Gibbs and has Bijan number one and Gibbs behind him.

[Derek Brown]

David Montgomery. It's as simple as that. With David Montgomery, if he's healthy, if he's on the field, he is going to cut into Jameer Gibbs upside like Gibbs cannot. Unless he ends up with like some ridiculous stupid outlier season of like 24 touchdowns. Like he gets into like the low 20s or something. Like something crazy happens. If David Montgomery stays healthy the entire season, it will cap Gibbs's upside. Now I. I have Gibbs as my RB2 right now. That so again, I don't have him as my RB1 overall, but I think he should be firmly planted in the top three. And with Saquon falling out of that top three, somebody has to leap up and take the mantle. So that's why I've got Gibbs as high as I do. But I don't think he has a path to RB1 overall if David Montgomery stays healthy. But Bijan, guys, I mean I. It's easy. We've seen him already be the RB one last year like after the Atlanta Falcons stopped messing around with Tyler Alier and they leaned on the best player in their offense and Bijan Robinson. Week 6 through 18 Bijan Robinson was the RB1 in fantasy points per game. So me expecting him to do that again in 2025 is not crazy. And to Ericson's point, if you were to say every single year, the last year's RB1 in fantasy points per game, I'm going to auto fade them because it is a war of attrition and you do not see RBs repeat as the number one RB in fantasy. It doesn't happen. You have to go all the way back to like freaking priest homes and such to see a running back repeat that year after year. So you're automatically better as far as your rankings if you are not expecting last year's RB1 fantasy points per game to repeat the following season.

[Ryan Warmley]

Feels like Bijan is going to be the number three pick in a lot of drafts and he's going to be like a league winner at that spot. Like I really. Yes, I really kind of feel that way. I mean it's funny because I sometimes am guilty of this framing in Dynasty conversations. The conversation around Bijan is like all not a disappointment but almost like the hype was so immense that like he's really, really good but couldn't quite live up to the hype. Having said that, like he's top 10 finishes both years of his career. Even with the Lack of touchdowns in year one. Last year he had almost 1500 rushing yards, throw on another 400 receiving yards, 60 catches, 15 total touchdowns. Like, what could you possibly complain about? He's been amazing and I think anybody watching him would say there's even room for more growth from there. So I think Bijan is going to win leagues this year, especially if you're getting him like third or fourth pick in your drafts. So we all, we all love bijan. Tier 2 is bigger and this is again kind of in the consensus rankings tier with rankings from experts around the industry. And it runs from RB4 to RB10. Ashton Genty, Derek Henry, Devon HN, Christian McCaffrey, Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor, Bucky Irving. I'll read those again. It's genti, Henry, Achan, McCaffrey, Jacobs, Taylor and Bucky Irving. So Genti is the guy for both of you, right, Erickson, that is currently kicking Saquon out of the top three.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yes, that's all I have in there right now. Because look, Ken, going to the historical trends, right, you want to fade the guy that leads the NFL in touches the next year. We've seen a lot of rookie running backs drafted with similar draft capital to Ashton Genti, and they end up firing in year one. It's not a slow burn. They hit the ground running. And given where the Raiders took Genti, given the backfield competition or their lack of. I mean, it's really easy to paint the picture of him delivering. I mean, they have a competent quarterback in Geno Smith. Maybe it'd be a different if. A different discussion if it was Aiden o' Connell or somebody a different, a more unproven quarterback. But they have offensive weapons. I get the offensive line is a bit of a concern. I think it's a little bit underrated. I don't think it's the worst offensive line in the NFL. And again, it's new coaching staff too, coming in. So what does that mean? Can they improve the run blocking up front? And we know what does Genti do best? Breaks tackles. Right. So when he. They get him out in space, if he's making plays, it doesn't necessarily matter what the run blocking is doing if Genti's getting the ball 300 times and you know, is able to stay healthy with that type of workload. So, um, I think that the upside is immense with Ashton Genty. And it's funny actually where you can get him. So we have him ranked inside the top six, top seven on fast draft. He's a guy you can get in the second round of those fast draft best ball drafts and it's like if you like drafted, you don't want to reach on Ashton Jetty. You feel like you're reaching. If you take him in the top five then just go on fast draft and draft him there and he's a great price.

[Ryan Warmley]

So Derek Henry is RB5. D row you and actually Erickson also both have him as RB7. He was RB3 a year ago. It really had like a historic rushing season. It was just overshadowed by Saquon. I'm not sure what's changed. If anything I think the offensive line is going to be better now that there was a lot of question marks going into the Baltimore's offensive line a year ago. We've now seen most of this group together already. There will be a new left guard but it's going to largely have a lot more continuity than they did a year ago. We you know Lamar is still amazing. He's going to help open up rushing lanes here. Like Derek Henry has talked openly this offseason about how Baltimore did more for him than he did for them. Or at least in his opinion he felt that way in terms of his great rushing season. And he is a freak of nature who age the rules of of aging seemingly doesn't apply to I I feel like five is maybe fair. It's really hard for me to wrap my head around having him outside the top five because I I don't he was amazing last year and if he's healthy this year he's scoring another 12 touchdowns. He's getting 1500 rushing yards in a healthy season. I just don't see in this offense anywhere around it. And it's not like they went out and drafted one of these hot shot young rookies coming in like he has all the Runway to himself. D bro.

[Derek Brown]

Yeah man. I mean I what it comes down to with for Derrick Henry it just kind like I have CMC as Mar B5 it comes down to the pass catching and I love Derrick Henry. Like again he is inside my top seven running backs on the daily like I bounce him between RB6 and RB7 with Bucky Irving only because the pass catching like I don't think there's any fall off coming from Derrick Henry. My question only is like what does this season look like if Baltimore's passing attack is is any better with and the touchdowns go in because I mean dude he ran for almost 2,000 yards last year so is he going to run for any more than that? He had 18 total touchdowns. Is he going to really score more than that and that only pumped him up to the RB4 and fantasy points per game. So like I think he's going to have an amazing season. Like but like if he drops to 16, 1700 rushing yards and the touchdowns go to 15 or 16, like that's where I kind of split the difference between the pass catching upside of somebody like McCaffrey, which dude, I got him as my RB5. I think the bounce back is coming and this is not shade against Derek Henry again. Like I think Derek Henry is a locked in RB1 straight up until he decides to hang up the cleats.

[Ryan Warmley]

I just think that he setting aside the possibility for injury which applies to everybody setting aside injury related floor, I think he has the highest floor of any running back. Like if, if every running back in the league stayed healthy, I would be most confident in him finishing like inside the top five over everybody. And I want to toss to Erickson too because he also has him ranked 7. But I will just also quickly say on Henry, I don't see any scenario where those short touchdowns turn into passing touchdowns. It's just not the way the Ravens operate. Like when they are inside the like seven yard line. Henry's getting two carries every drive and he's going to score more often than not. I think like they in close, they're never going to run Lamar in close and they're not that big on passing in close. They are going to smash it in with Henry the way they did with Gus Edwards before him, the way they did with Henry last year. So I'm really again injury aside, I'm so confident that he's going to get close to 15 touchdowns this year. Erickson, you also have him seventh.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I think I agree with you bro where it's kind of you're splitting hairs based on some of the guys around him just project a little bit better in the passing game. So Christian McCaffrey, I have Achan ahead of Derrick Henry because when two I was healthy last year, who was the number one scoring running back is the one HN he was the highest scoring running back in fantasy points per game. So that matters to me because we talked about how great Derek Henry was last year and he was RB3 so still not RB1. So I think I agree with you where you're talking about. Okay, he's probably not gonna finish as the number one overall running back but is he the has the highest probability of finishing inside the top five? Yes. So. So I think that's kind of where you're making your decision based on, hey, I just want to lock in top five production. I don't really care about chasing someone that could be the number one running back overall. You know, trying to dabble, especially in your format. I mean, obviously in a full ppr, it's hard for him to get there and separate himself from the pack with just again, he's going to be, he's going to make it tough because he scores so many touchdowns and rushes for so many yards. But it's just, it's just tougher for him just because he doesn't catch as many passes. Some of the other guys up at the top and to add another element to the Ravens were the healthiest offense last year. Like that, that was a fact. So we're already seeing they already had one of their safeties go down with a potential season ending injury. So that was on the defensive side of the ball. But if a couple guys get banged up here and there, what if Lamar misses a couple games? Like we've seen that before. He's missed a couple games here and there. Cooper Rush is not going to have the same impact on the defense as.

[Derek Brown]

Sure, sure.

[Ryan Warmley]

But if we're taking the case for a Chan, like I, I would trust Lamar to stay healthy more than Tua at this point.

[Andrew Erickson]

Tour was fine in 2023. He didn't miss any games and Lamar did. So, so that's what I mean. Like, like it just, just based on what happened last. Like this matters so much because injury regression is a real thing. The Ravens were the healthiest team last year. Like they're going to Ravens with healthiest.

[Ryan Warmley]

Team two years in a row actually. So they're, you know, overdue.

[Derek Brown]

You're actually building the case against yourself. Word.

[Andrew Erickson]

That's, that's not good.

[Ryan Warmley]

I think it's like full ppr. Yeah. Like I'd rather have these guys, but in half I don't think the difference is enough. I, I want, I, I would much rather take the floor of Henry over a Chan or McAffrey frankly. But at full PPR, I feel differently.

[Derek Brown]

The only other thing I'd like to add about Baltimore too is, and I'm not again, I'm not saying that he takes over a huge part of this offense, but we're talking about, I mean we're splitting hairs between RB3, 4 versus RB5, 6, 7. The other part of this is Keaton Mitchell is healthy coming into this year. If he, and I'm not saying that he plays a huge monster role, but if he chips away at even some of the touchdown production. Like he, he gets three, four touchdowns this year that don't go to Henry. He gets a few carries that don't go to Henry. He gets some of the passing work that doesn't go to Henry. This is how Henry is not RB4, but he's RB6 or 7. He's still freaking awesome. But again, this is how all these parts or pieces add up to. Okay, maybe he doesn't repeat, which, I mean, dude, if Lamar wasn't in the MVP conversation last year, as good as he was last year, Derek Henry should have been in the conversation right next to Saquon. Like their numbers are not that different last year. Yeah.

[Ryan Warmley]

Erickson, do you feel like there's maybe a tear break even within this tier? Because we obviously have already talked a bit about Genti Henry, H.N. mcCaffrey. The back three names in this tier, Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor, Bucky Irving. I know DBRA mentioned that he has Irving kind of up in that group. But Erickson, for you, do you see a bit of a tear break here or do you think Jacobs, Taylor and Irving should be in conversation with these other names?

[Andrew Erickson]

I think that you could make a mini tier break here, I think, I mean this is how I have them ranked. So the guys we just talked about, I have all of them ranked above the guys that are at the bottom of this tier. So I think if you can make a case, I think with Bucky Irving, for example, I mean he's a second year running back that smashed in his rookie year. These guys are usually just good bets to make on entering year two. So I'm not going to push against anyone that thinks, oh, Bucky Irving should be in conversation with the McCaffreys with the Derrick Henry's because of what he can do and what he showed at the end of last year. So I think it's fine to have him ranked behind those guys just because I think he has a little bit more to still, you know, show that he can do and overcome. You know, if Tampa Bay is going to use multiple running backs, Rashad White is still there. For me, the guy that I think is really polarizing is Jonathan Taylor because I think from a talent perspective, I don't think anyone's going to, you know, debate how great Jonathan Taylor is. But he's had trouble staying healthy over the last couple seasons and similar to Derrick Henry where he has issues overcoming how is his past game usage. But the thing with him is the infrastructure in Indianapolis, half of their offensive line is now in Minnesota. So that's a big problem. We don't know what the quarterback play is going to be like, but we know that these quarterbacks aren't going to dump down the ball to the running back because both guys can use their legs and run around. So Jonathan Taylor, again, guy rushed for, I believe, over 1400 rushing yards last year, and yet he wasn't a difference maker a until he got healthy at the end of the season. So I feel like him, it's, you're kind of paying up for his floor at this price and I can't knock where he's ranked. But at the same time, I'm not excited to pay it because I'm like, man, there's so many other ways I could see this going south for Jonathan Taylor. And then what's the upside? You got Jonathan Taylor, RB10, right where you drafted him. It's like, oh, I don't, I don't love, I don't like, like going in just like, hey, it's not going to get better than this. And it goes back to even that year where he was RB1. A lot of the other running backs weren't good that year and he scored a boatload of touchdowns. Is that going to be the case in 2025 when we have this loaded rookie running back that's coming in? We have good veteran running backs and we don't love the touchdown upside of this Colts offense. Potentially.

[Ryan Warmley]

Bucky Irving is the guy for you here, dbro.

[Derek Brown]

I mean, dude, I don't understand why we hate Bucky Irving. We talk about, you know, investing in second year players, whether it's wide receiver or running back. Bucky Irving, once he got the job away from Rashad White, this dude was RB6 and fantasy points per game. Yet there's a few guys that we're going to get to as we kind of move down the ranks where it's like, I mean, we not project that Bucky Irving, like can take a step forward. The Buccaneers, like, look, we talk about and Erickson has brought this up on other shows, okay? Baker Mayfield takes a step back in the passing touchdown department. If the Buccaneers offense is still really freaking good. Touchdowns gotta go somewhere, dude. What if they go to Bucky Irving? What if he's this year's guy, that he's the James Cook of this year? He ends up with 16, 18 touchdowns in this offense. Mike Evans can't stay healthy. Chris Godwin is, is not fully healthy for most of the year. We're looking at an offense that has K, Dot and Jalen McMillan. They're running the ball through Bucky Irving and he's blown it up in the passing game. Dude, it's like Rashad White was really good. But if Irving gets more of this backfield this year or he reproduces the numbers that he had last year or the touchdowns, go elsewhere. I mean, Bucky Irving's the guy that I want to be above consensus. I have him at RB6 and again like right above Derrick Henry. But he's the guy that we're. Could he have the run out this year where he scores just a ton of freaking touchdowns and he crushes expectation.

[Ryan Warmley]

Let's go to the next tier. Here it goes. From RB11 to RB17. This is Kyron Williams, Chase Brown, Breeze Hall, James Cook, Joe Mixon, Kenneth Walker, Alvin Camara. Again, that's Kyron, Chase Brown, Breeze Hall, James Cook, Joe Mixon, Kenneth Walker and Camara. I want to ask you, Erickson, about Breeze Hall. Cause this was the guy last year for you, like, you know, a running back who could finish his RB1 and be the number one pick a year from now. And you're very excited about. And I, I'm not blaming you for your process that led you to that point, but obviously it didn't end up panning out that way. Do you see him as a bounce back candidate given how high you were on him a year ago, or do you think this is an appropriate range? If not, maybe even a little too high?

[Andrew Erickson]

I think it's the appropriate range for Breeze Hall. I think that there's so much to like about and there's still things I really like about Breeze hall because I think that he's a super young explosive running back that can catch passes. Just betting on that archetype of player is usually a good bet to make. But then you have to layer in the circumstances that he's in. He's in a contract year with a brand new coaching staff that has no allegiance to him as the clear cut RB1. Now, I think it's no debate who the most talented running back is in that backfield, but I don't know what Aaron Glenn is going to necessarily do. Like the minute he gets there, he's talking about, right, we want to use all three running backs. It's like, okay, I guess Isaiah Davis is a thing now after he showed out a little bit at the end of last year. Raylon Allen, you know, very efficient on like 3rd and 1 last year. And the thing with Breece hall that always frustrates me is he's a guy that constantly tries to hit the home run and that pisses his coaches off sometimes where they do just get the third and one, just get the first down, you don't need to get an ADR touchdown. And Breece hall, again, when you play in the jets and you're one of their best players, you feel this obligation like I have to score on every play or else we're never going to score any points. So that's my concern with hall and the fact that yes, with Justin Fields you're excited about. Okay, he's going to open up these wide lanes because the mobile quarterback. But in a case where they compared to Derek Henry, it's great for Derek because well, he's not going to catch passes anyway. So I don't really, we don't really care. But Reece hall, one of his best traits is as a pass catcher. And now if you're taking those out, he was third in targets per game last year with Aaron Rodgers. There's no way he's gonna be anywhere near that this year with field. So there's a couple knocks on him that I do have concerns about and that's why he's ranked I think below, not where he nearly has high as he was last year where he was talking about basically in tier one. So I like to bet on the players when it comes down to it. But I think that this situation, yes, even in a run heavy offense, could he get a lot of carries? Yeah, but how, like how many points is that actually going to translate into fantasy where we're talking about Jonathan Taylor, he's not gonna catch a lot of pass. Derek Henry, he may not catch a lot of passes. So when you're banking okay, he's got to get rushing touchdowns and rushing yards. Playing for the jets to be an RB one, I'm like, like I don't love that. So I'm probably just going to be in line with consensus with him. I don't think he'll be a, a flat out fade for me, but it's tough for me to be like overly confident just based on some of the optics of the situation with Breeze Hall.

[Ryan Warmley]

Deborah, who's the guy for you here? That's too low.

[Derek Brown]

Why do we hate Kenneth Walker? Can somebody explain this to me? Like what? Kenneth Walker goes out last year and he's the RB12 in fantasy points per game. He crushes in efficiency metrics. Like this guy was third and first downs per route run, sixth in targets per route run, sixth in receiving yards per game. Proves he's a true Three down running back. Because I was. I'm old enough to. Again, I'm old. So I remember when people said Kenneth Walker couldn't catch passes. He proves last year he's not only an RB one, but he is a true three down running back. This is his backfield. When he is healthy, they go out, make improvements to offensive line. They're going to run the ball more this year and. And yet Kenneth Walker isn't even ranked where he finished last year.

[Ryan Warmley]

Why?

[Derek Brown]

I. I don't understand that guys. I really don't.

[Ryan Warmley]

Isn't it funny? Three years ago you guys had a cage match, Breeze hall versus Kenneth Walker. Here we are three years later, Erickson's talking about Breeze hall and deeper is talking about Kenneth Walker. Time is a flat circle. The more things change and where they stay the same. So for you dbro, because I, I like Walker a lot too. Is this a scenario where you think he should be like at the top of this tier replacing Kyron Williams? Or do you think he's more like in a different tier and not only shouldn't be at the bottom of this tier, but should be a tier ahead?

[Derek Brown]

I have him in tier 2. He's my RB8 of the season. So all I'm projecting is that he takes a small step for everybody that thinks that's crazy. He was the RB12 last year in fantasy points per game. I'm just projecting that he takes a small step forward, man. Like he stays healthy. This offense is any better. He gets more rushing volume, he breaks explosive runs. Because the offensive line is better this year because good lord, it can't be any worse than it was last year, really. So I. He is way too low in ranks, man. Like this all leads to. I'm going to be drafting a ton of Kenneth Walker and I am, I'm totally out. Like, I'm, I'm not full fade. I'm not drafting Kyron Williams this year.

[Ryan Warmley]

It's funny, I was very heavily fading Kyron a year ago and it didn't play out well for me. So I see a lot of the cases to do it again this year. But I also got burned by fading him a year ago. So I'm like, emotionally, can I go down that path again? What's. What's the case for fading him D, bro. Because I think I do agree with you.

[Derek Brown]

I mean right now, Erickson, Marty brought this up. If your best case scenario is you're just hoping that the player does what they did last year in their rankings and stuff, then what are we doing here. You're. You're not betting on upside. You're just saying please don't lose value. Please get all the carries. You're not catching passes because that narrative just needs to. Needs to just go away all the. Kyron Williams is a good pass. Dude. We have not seen Kyron Williams catch passes in the NFL for the last two years when he's been a freaking RB1. It does not happen. Matthew Stafford does not check down and Kyron Williams, I mean the reason I'm fading him is I think there is a legitimate serious thing threat to him in this backfield. No, it is not Blake Corum. It is Jarquez Hunter. I was not worried about Blake Corum last year. I, I wasn't in on Blake Corm as a prospect. Man. He had tons of red flags as a player that if you looked at his 2022 tape to 2024. Yes there were injuries but his tackle breaking metrics dropped in every single season he was in college outside of the freaking counting stats. And so this year the Rams go back to the well they added an explosive player in Jarquez Hunter to this backfield. And, and I hate to tell everybody that loves Kyron Williams. I don't hate the player. I hate the adp. I hate the rank on him. I have him as a RB2. I think there is a possibility he still leads this backfield and overall touches. But Jarquez Hunter is going to make noise. He is the guy in this backfield that is different than Blake Corum than Kyron Williams. You cannot expect either one of those guys to break an explosive run. That is the name of the game for Jar Quest Hunter. And I mean Kyron, dude, like it's just, it's too much leaning on. He has to repeat this Rashad White stranglehold on all of the volume for a player that was first in snap share, second in opportunity share and freaking first in red zone touches. So pick your poison here. The Rams pass more in the red zone. Jarquez Hunter eats into his his volume. He's still not getting past gamework. So what's the out for Kyron Williams? Man, he's just basically Jonathan Taylor on a different team.

[Ryan Warmley]

Nah.

[Derek Brown]

No thank you.

[Ryan Warmley]

Ericson, quickly pick one more name that you want to talk about here. It can be a follow up on Kyron or Walker. It can be a name we haven't mentioned. One more quick thought on this tier.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, I don't want to. I don't think the, the grave can be dug any deeper on Kyron I.

[Derek Brown]

Got an extra shovel for you. Ericson, Come on.

[Andrew Erickson]

No, I think, I think you did enough. I think, I think the. Because I, I'm also lower on Kyron for the, the reason I feel like it's Groundhog Day. Just like another year, another year I'm gonna fade Garrett Williams. See, it works out like we don't know. But I, I do think the extra backfield competition again I, I like so I still like Blake Corum, but the fact that now you have two running backs like it's Corum and Druckers, he's to be better than both those guys. And if you look at his advanced rushing metrics last year they looked exactly like Naji Harris. And people do not rave about Naji Harris in any way, shape or form as a rusher. So that's just my point on Kyron. The guy I want to talk about who I also have in a tier above is Chase Brown. Because we're talking about ceiling, we're talking about potential role. I don't expect Chase Brown to get the same type of workload he got in the second half of last year. Obviously the Bengals had a bunch of injuries, but the fact that the Bengals trusted him enough to this guy can be our 80 snapshare running back. He's still going to play 65 plus of the snaps you have smash AP Ryan sprinkling or some of the other running backs. And he also plays on the Bengals, arguably the best offense in the NFL. We're talking about who could score 15 plus touchdowns if it's not T. Higgins who also gets hurt all the time. Oh, Chase Brown could be the guy that's scoring a bunch of touchdowns both as a receiver out of the backfield getting reps at the goal line. So you know, I, I just love Chase Brown. Like that's the guy I am circling as the person that I want to get because I think that he has again, things break his way. I mean he was the RB one in terms of usage last year. So if he scores more touchdowns, is efficient and we know he's explosive, he's a three down back. So I, yeah, Chase Brown for me is someone I want to highlight and someone that I'm going to be drafting a lot of.

[Ryan Warmley]

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[Derek Brown]

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[Ryan Warmley]

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[Derek Brown]

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[Ryan Warmley]

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[Derek Brown]

So the next time you need a.

[Ryan Warmley]

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[Derek Brown]

I have to say I'm leading off with RJ Harvey.

[Ryan Warmley]

Yes.

[Derek Brown]

I mean dude I've got RJ Harvey as a locked in top 15 back this year and everybody that wants to even bring up Audrey estimate or Julia McLaughlin into the conversation. Dude, like did you not see last year they couldn't even carve out definitive roles next to Javante, the ghost of Javante Williams. You think they're doing that with the running back that the Denver Broncos drafted in the second round of the NFL draft and Sean Payton has continually praised in the process and say what you want, man, but like kids got talent, kick and play. Pyton's going to target the running backs. I'm. I'm sorry. Like anybody touting Audre Estimate and Jal M as a true threat to RJ Harvey's workload, it just comes down to you're just trying to confirm that you had RJ Harvey too low in your pre draft ranks. That's all it is. But outside of RJ Harvey, Trayon is going to be definitely one of my big targets this year. I am. I've moved further and further closer to Erickson in not that I'm fading Amor on Hampton, but I have moved him down my rankings. Like I've got him moved down to RB25 because I do think that there's probably a very realistic possibility that Najee Harris is not going to go away for many, many weeks and he is going to play into this backfield. So I've moved more of my rankings in that direction. But Treveon Henderson, man, it's. I mean, pick. Pick whichever narrative you want to go with. Pick whichever lane that you feel like is going to explain his role in this offense the best. Like pass game upside with McDaniels. Okay, check. Radre Stevenson has not been efficient. He's had fumbling problems. Okay, check. They don't have a lot of pass game options. We, I mean, we're hearing Stefon Diggs might not be ready to go week one. Okay, well, who you feel good in that passing game is a Kyle Williams. Well, it's not Jalen Polk, it's not Javon Baker. Hunter Henry. Is your wide receiver one of this offense. Oh, okay. Trayvon's getting a crap ton of checkdowns. Got it. Okay, good. Let's go. So I think it's Trayon if it's not RJ Harvey in this tier. And I'm going to also make one shout, although we're going to get to him in a little bit. Somebody explain to me why Caleb Johnson is not in this tier. Because I that dude ranking Isaiah Pacheco, Quinton Judkins DeAndre Swift, even freaking Tony Pollard and Aaron Jones above. Caleb Johnson is. It's close to insanity to me.

[Ryan Warmley]

Caleb Johnson for the record is the number one name atop the next tier. So he is the guy. He's RB 29. We only went through RB 2028, but yes, he is in a separate tier from these other guys. In thinking about the rookies, Erickson, looking at the rookies, how do you break it down in terms of who you want to be targeting? I feel like Hampton is somebody that is going to be a frustrating player to play early, but if and when he takes over the backfield around Halloween, I'm like, I don't know when that will be. It might not even be this year if they just really trust Najee Harris. But if it happens, there's incredible upside here. So I feel like he's somebody that I will want to be targeting as long as I have crafted a roster such that I don't need him to be a star in September because I don't think he will be. But I think he could be in the fantasy playoffs.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, but that makes it a tough selling at the draft in round four. Yeah, that's a starter. That's the concern that you have where you got. You're going to start Omar and Hampton.

[Derek Brown]

Week one already ranked as a top 24 back.

[Ryan Warmley]

Is he top 24 back? Is he going around four?

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean if he's a top 20.

[Derek Brown]

I mean it's top 24 running back. He's going what at what's the base like round five? Like even if he did something, I mean.

[Ryan Warmley]

Yeah, so his ADP is even higher than ECR by the way, his 80. So you're definitely right.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah. So I feel similar to D. RO with o' Marin Hampton, where again I want his exposure to many of these rookie running backs because there's going to be a lot of big hits within this group. But again, you can't draft them all and when you're considering the prices, well, you just take all the guys that weren't first round picks. Yes, we love the fact that Mary Hampton was a first round pick. We love the fact that he's on the Chargers and to run heavy offense. But you don't love the fact that Najee Harris doesn't miss games, doesn't fumble and coaches trust him. Like that's like the worst thing. That's like the worst thing to have if you're a rookie running back because this, the path is like Ramandre.

[Derek Brown]

It's easy.

[Andrew Erickson]

Like he's Going to fumble the job away like Jerry Anderson slated. You have RJ Harvey with the guy McLaughlin estimate like non established guys, they're paying Najee Harris more money in free agency than any other running back. Like I get that he didn't make that much money but relative to every other veteran running back, Naji Harris had the best contract in free agency and he made more money than J.K. dobbins did last year who was their RB1. And there's still a chance that J.K. dobbins comes back to the Chargers. So what happens if it's a three headed monster now with o' Marian Hampton? So that becomes a concern for me. So I would rather just wait a little bit longer, get some of these other rookie running backs and warm to your point. I know that when you first opened up this tier you talked about I really like this term we're drafting a lot from this tier. But then you correct yourself by saying the rookies because usually this is like the dead zone tier where you don't want to draft a lot of running backs. I just wanted to add that layer because you have a lot of guys where projected volume, you're looking at early season success where you could see them, James Conner, Chuba Hubbard, where okay, week one, you feel good about them, but how does it go down the stretch? We know James Conner has dealt with a ton of injuries. I love Trey Benson as a second year running back to buy because I think he could have a bigger role especially if James Conner gets banged up. So just some thoughts on the other running backs that are not rookies in this tier because I agree you want to be targeting the young guys in this particular range, not necessarily the veterans because I think that when you go down the list you're going to find okay, I think I could probably make do with some of these other running backs that really aren't that much different from the ones that are up in this tier.

[Derek Brown]

Also something I wanted to hit on real fast going back to just with Amaran Hampton real fast. Erickson and I have talked about as we've kind of gone through the running backs and stuff, what's the past game outlet for Amari and Hampton too or any running back in this backfield. So like if Najee does stay as a thorn in the side like say even amarion gets the 65%. We're discussing an offense the last year like dude, outside of Lad Bikonki, who the heck are you throwing the ball to? And they still didn't target the running backs. The only team that had a lower run running back target share was the freaking Los Angeles Rams. So even if you're talking about for Marian Hampton, like his absolute pure runout is as Jonathan, as a Jonathan Taylor, Kyron Williams type of clone for the Chargers where he gets all the, all the volume, all the touches, hardly any past game usage and all the touchdowns.

[Ryan Warmley]

You know, it's really like this. I'm, I'm really fascinated by this Chargers offense this year because I think there's a lot of assumptions about like Greg Roman, but they threw the ball a lot more in the second half last season. You know there's assumptions about running backs in the passing game, but like Dobbins and Gus Edwards have never really been pass catchers in the NFL. I know Dobbins did it more in college, but like I'm just really fascinated. Like I don't have a lot of strong opinions on this offense this year other than that. I think it'll be pretty good. I'm really curious to see the shape that it takes. The last thing I'll say on Hampton is to me, this is a great example of a guy that you don't draft but you try to buy low on in like week seven. I want to be trading for him for the stretch run and taking that upside swing if he has a slow start because of Najee Harris deeper. Just last thoughts on this tier. Any veterans that stand out as too high or too low?

[Derek Brown]

Just quickly Aaron Jones I dude career high in touches. He stayed healthy. Adding Jordan Mason who's going to play in this backfield because Ty Chandler sucks and was never a part of the backfield. I mean freaking Cam Acres beat him out last year as the RV2. So Aaron Jones I can't draft at RB22 right now. I just, I can't do it. Tony Pollard, I feel like in this tier he's the undervalued guy. I know there's been a little bit of talk coming out of the Tennessee Titans camp about Tajie Spears playing more into this backfield. That's fine. I think Tony Pollard is still going to be the quick, clear, workhorse 60 to 65% snap guy. He's going to get the red zone touches and look Tennessee, can he get much worse than being the Mason Rudolph and Will Levis show last year. If Cam Ward is like any semblance of good this year, Tony Pollard who was an RB2 last year could vault up the ranking. So out of the veteran guys in this tier, yeah, I think Tony Pollard is, is definitely a Little bit undervalued.

[Ryan Warmley]

Erickson, any last thoughts on this tier?

[Andrew Erickson]

I just wanted to quickly mention. So the last veteran in this tier is Isaiah Pacheco, and I'm just curious to where do you think that he would be ranked if he never came back last season? And all we had was him getting a monster workload to start the year. Breaks his leg, doesn't come back because I think that his current ranking is so heavily influenced on how he looked so bad because he was coming off a broken leg. And we saw this with Tony Pollard. He came off a broken leg and then looked terrible. So I think it's almost like an overcorrection where the first couple weeks, Isaiah Pacheco was looking like he was going to be a league winner. I know we were talking about Rashi Rice as a potential league winner and then he got hurt. But Pacheco was seeing like there was no cream hunt. Like he wasn't part of the equation whatsoever. So that's something I'm trying to keep in mind. Now. Will Pacheco ever get back to his form? I mean, it's more likely that he's back to his form now than he was at the end of last year when they were trying to make a Super bowl run. So I'm trying to. I'm keeping the light on for Pacheco. He's still a young running back and more time removed from the injury. I just want to be open to. I don't know how you guys feel about. And like me presenting that question to you. Like, I think that he probably.

[Ryan Warmley]

I think it's a great point, honestly. Like, I. I think. I think you are making. Pacheco is somebody that I feel down on. And I think it's a very fair. Not. It's not even like a critique by you. It's just a. It's an important question to ask, right? Like, how would we be framing this if we didn't have that comeback last year, which might have been rushed because of the, you know, the. The super bowl aspirations. So, like, I don't know where I will come down. I think Pacheco is somebody that I could see myself ranking very differently now versus the end of August. But I think it's a good question to ask dbra.

[Derek Brown]

I think he'd be around the same spot, like, because. And I'll say this like, I'm. My Pacheco ranking. I have an RB31, so I'm almost like in lockstep with ECR here. My Pacheco ranking is not related to how he looked last year. It's the muddiness of this backfield. It's the dream hunt show that he can be a volume guy. It's the fact that they did add Elijah Mitchell. It's the fact that a guy that we're gonna maybe talk about, maybe not in this episode, but we've already discussed like in the NFL draft process. I think Rashard Smith is going to make noise in this backfield as the new Jerick McKinnon. So I don't think we see Pacheco go back into what we saw before the injury last year. It's a possibility, but I think with all the bodies in this backfield, I think that it's more likely this is a two or three way possible committee and I think that's what is affecting his ranking and why I have him ranked where I do more. So over ineffectiveness, injury, all that kind of stuff.

[Ryan Warmley]

We are definitely not talking about Rashard Smith on our top 50 running backs episode. He's, he's RB91. I like him.

[Derek Brown]

Well, that's way too low.

[Ryan Warmley]

He's currently an ECR for redraft behind such names as Alexander Madison, that is Kimani Videl, Sincere McCormick, Sean Tucker.

[Andrew Erickson]

My lock in every single fifth round.

[Derek Brown]

Richard Smith is my RB50. Put, put some respect on his name ECR. Get with it.

[Ryan Warmley]

Next tier here, another big one. So I'll run through the names quickly from RB29 to RB41. Caleb Johnson, Brian Robinson Jr. Tyrone Tracy Jr. Jalen Warren, Naji Harris, Ramadre Stevenson, Travis Etn, Zach Charbonnet, Javante Williams, Tank Bigsby, Cam Scatterboo, Tajie Spears and Jordan Mason. Again you can follow along fantasyprose.com rankings to kind of be looking at those rankings since I know that's a lot of names. We know DBRA has Caleb Johnson not only at the top but should be a tier ahead. There's a lot of names here that I just like. Maybe they fit under the category of like boring veterans that are going to provide value at the end of the day but I just don't want a lot of these names. I will say and Erickson, I'm curious your opinion. I know he has not looked good since the injury. There is a lot, a lot of touches to be had in the Dallas backfield and I wonder if Javante Williams is a screaming value at RB 37 even if it feels gross to draft him.

[Andrew Erickson]

I think I'm there. I think I'm there with you Worm. I'm interested in Javante Williams.

[Derek Brown]

I'm there.

[Andrew Erickson]

You know, it's interesting. I was actually doing some deep diving on Javante Williams specifically. And it reminded me so much of this time last year when I was doing the same deep diving on J.K. dobbins. Like who did the surgery, like what?

[Ryan Warmley]

Very Dobbins esque. That's a great call.

[Andrew Erickson]

Just, just trying to figure out what's going on with this guy. And I even came to the conclusion. So last year it was Sean Payton that was saying that he looked back to his old self, not Javante Williams. This year it's Javante Williams saying, I feel like my old self. So maybe that means absolutely nothing. I just thought it was not where I just wanted to bring it up, but I, I, the opportunity is there in Dallas. He's still only 25 years old, so he's still a relatively young running back. It can't get worse than it was last year. And, and remember last year we were talking about him getting cut from the Denver Broncos. Him and Sean Payton never saw eye to eye. So even if Javante had been fully healthy, was looking explosive, I don't know if it ever was going to fit again. Sean Payton inherited Javante Williams. He didn't go out and go, this is my, he's not RJ Harvey. Like Sean Payton went out and got RJ Harvey. He did not. He inherited Javante Williams. So again, it was the best of a overall lackluster group of running backs. He still caught a bunch of passes. They trust him as a blocker. He's going to be used on passing downs, catching passes from Dak Prescott, catching dump off passes from Dak Prescott. And it's Miles Sanders and Jaden Blue, who, yes, is a very exciting rookie that can make big plays, but not someone that is viewed as, oh, this guy can operate on all three downs. So yeah, I think that if we're trying to figure out who could be this year's J.K. dobbins, I think Devonte Williams checks off a lot of boxes. And as I dove deeper into my research for him, I actually found out the reason why he signed with Dallas was the Dallas Cowboys new running back coach Derek Foster actually called Javante Williams and was like, hey, I've been watching you since college, since North Carolina, like I want you to be on the Dallas Cowboys. And I was like, John, just like, sign me up like someone that believes in me. Which I don't think ever was the case with Sean Payton. Again, we saw it like he was constantly in the doghouse and you don't get rumored to be a cut candidate as a lead running back on your team if you're not seeing eye to eye with your head coach. So yeah, Javante, I am. Consider me in at RB 37.

[Ryan Warmley]

I, I will be ranking him ahead of RB 37, I guarantee it. De Bro, go ahead.

[Derek Brown]

You want to talk about the deep dive on Javante Williams? I haven't tweeted, I haven't tweeted this out. I haven't put this out anywhere, man. I, I went down, bro, I went down a rabbit hole the other night about stats on Javante Williams. This, this will blow some people's minds here. Okay, so last year with Javante Williams, he hit a wall. And if you look at his week by week stats, it's insane. Dude, from weeks one through eight, his tack, his missed tackle rate was actually good, man. Like so in that sample. So weeks one through eight, amongst 43 qualifying running backs, Javante Williams had a 20 missed tackle rate which was 13th amongst 43 qualifying running backs. Now after week eight, Bro hit a cliff. He did not force a missed tackle for the rest of the season. The rest of the season. So you're talking about a guy that was coming off injury, still wasn't himself in the first eight games of the season. A 20% missed tackle rate the rest of the season. Boof0. Goose egg. Nothing. If another year past the injury. If he looks like the guy from weeks one through eight. Yeah, this is this year's JK Dobbins. I'm in it. I'm in it.

[Ryan Warmley]

I mean it's, it's so easy to just sit here and say the, the Dallas Cowboys, who are an offense that we think are, is going to be good on some level, they have one running back inside the top 50. They only have two inside the top 70. Miles Sanders is like in the RV 70s. He, if you like, if you think Javonte Williams is fantasy value is dead. Miles Sanders dead, dead. He's completely cooked. And then the only other guy Inside the top 70 is Blue, who's not even inside the top 50 and doesn't appear to be a full time player. I think Blue is a good player but like there is just like Javante would have to be the worst running back in the sport to not take advantage of this. And maybe he is that. If he really doesn't break any tackles for the second half of the season, not a single one, but he will have so much of a Runway, it's insane. And there is no way that, and I say healthy with air quotes but that a healthy Javante Williams is not a top 36 running back there.

[Derek Brown]

I there's no way I don't disagree. And one of the things that I think that people are missing about Jaden Blue, yes, you can categorize him as a passing down back based off of okay, he was a really good receiving option. To Erickson's point, I think we are missing the boat on who is going to play actually on passing downs in the sense that Jaden Blue, like for. For the instance that people talk about him as a passing down back just because of the receiving stuff and running routes. Dude, Texas did never trusted him in pass protection. This guy had 44 across all of college, 44 career pass blocking snaps and in that small sample he allowed four pressures and two sacks. You're telling me that Schottenheimer and company are going to allow him or trust this guy in pass protection? From the word go. Heck, if not the rest of the season, Javante is going to be that guy. So our characterization of Jaden Blue is probably even wrong in the sense that if he's doing anything out the gate, it's probably as a change of pace guy on early downs and not playing on passing downs.

[Ryan Warmley]

I think I'm looking right. So right now he's RB37. The names ahead of him, Charbonnet ETN, Ramandre, Najee Harris, Jalen Warren, Tyrone Tracy Jr. Brian Robinson Jr.

[Derek Brown]

He's in the hand.

[Ryan Warmley]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna be ranking Javante ahead of like five or six. Those names like easy.

[Derek Brown]

I just bumped him up to RB32.

[Ryan Warmley]

I was gonna say I I think I might have him at the Inside the top 30 by the end of draft season. Y just I don't see a path to him. Not if he plays all 17 games. I don't see a path to him not being a top 30 running back in this offense. Yeah, screw it.

[Derek Brown]

I just bumped him up to RB30. Let's go.

[Ryan Warmley]

I think that's.

[Andrew Erickson]

Let's not get carried away boy. Like he's RB.

[Derek Brown]

It's an RB3 price tag. I didn't say I made him RB2.

[Ryan Warmley]

Would you rather have him or Charbonnet who is a backup or Travis ETN who was terrible last year year or Radre Stevenson who I think is his job's going to get taken by Henderson.

[Andrew Erickson]

You can't make the argument that ATM was horrible last year when someone Javante was also horrible.

[Derek Brown]

All right. Would you rather him or Tyrone Tracy?

[Andrew Erickson]

Oh no, I'd rather have him than Tyrone.

[Derek Brown]

Well, there you go. There you go.

[Ryan Warmley]

I wanted to ask, actually, because you mentioned Tracy. There's a lot of pairs in the same backfield in this tier. We have Tracy and Scaboo are both in this tier. We have ETN and Bigsby are both in this tier. There's a lot of, you know, Jalen Warren and Najee Harris, former pair, not anymore in the same backfield. A lot of. A lot of players who are the. The 1A or the 2 in their backfield or they're both in this. In this tier. How are you guys parsing through some of these pairs? DBRO between like a Scatter Boo and a Tracy or between an ETN and a Bigsby.

[Derek Brown]

So the entire Jacksonville backfield is basically inside of my top, like 40 to 45 players because before camp we have no fricking clue. I think ETN will be the lowest guy out of all that. Bashal Tootin will be the top guy. But he's like, they're right next to each other. Like him and Tank. I've got Scatterboo. Like, there is a chasm. Like, I've got RB. I got Tyrone Tracy at RB44. I got Scatter Boo at RB32 for. So for everybody in the draft process. That said, I hated Scatter Boo. Like, dude, I had a lot of questions about his draft capital, where he went. I think it is incredibly telling, not only that he goes to the Giants, but. But. But that he got better draft capital than freaking Tyrone Tracy did last year. And the in the fumbles were a problem with Tyrone Tracy. I think Scatter Boo can be their volume guys. So looking at all these different backfields, man, like, yeah, I want to be above consensus on Scatter Boo. And again, like, going back to Caleb Johnson, he shouldn't be in this tier. He is the clear guy. Like Najee Harris got 299 touches last year. Caleb Johnson. What's the floor, guys? 250, 240. Like, I mean, honestly, I think the floor is probably 250, but am I, am I wrong here?

[Ryan Warmley]

You're preaching to the choir. I love Caleb Johnson.

[Andrew Erickson]

I think that the. I mean, he's in the perfect offense for his skill set. Like, he was so landing spot dependent because if he went to a different. Not like the wide zone type of scheme, he would have been terrible. It would have been like, oh, my God, what is this team doing? This team. Because he has to build up his speed again. When we first did the running back rookie episode that I was on I was like Caleb Johnson looks like Derek Henry. Like that's who I compared him to because his running style is so similar to that where he's got to build up speed and that fits so well in Arthur Smith's offense. Who knows a thing or two about Derrick Henry.

[Ryan Warmley]

So yeah, we've referenced it before on this. I've referenced it before but it's Nate Tice is the one who said honey, I shrunk Derrick Henry. It was his cop for for Caleb Johnson and it's just so easy to see the stylistic match. Erickson, any other thoughts on some of these pairs like Tyrone Tracy versus Scatterboo Bigsby versus etn.

[Andrew Erickson]

So I also have Scatterboo over Tyrone Tracy because Tracy to me so he really fell off at the end of last year. So it was after the bye week he was PFF's 4th, 4th worst graded running back. So we didn't see as much of the explosiveness at the end of the season. He kind of fell off and he has fumble issues again. Going back to how easy is the path for this other running back to take over? The Giants current coaching staff and regime are playing for their jobs every single week. The minute that Tyrone Tracy puts the ball on the ground, you're concerned about do we trust this guy? Devin Singletary is also lingering around. So those types of like they're gonna put whoever they trust the most with the ball to get it done. And if there's any doubt about Tyrone Tracy, well, they're going to find other ways to try to have a different running back on the field. So that's my concern about Tyrone Tracy. So I think that he is is overvalued. I think that the better bet is just to take that cheaper running back. Again with these ambiguous backfields. Don't be overconfident that you immediately know what's going to happen in a lot of the cases. Yes, me and D Ro have Scatterboo over Tyrone Tracy, but we're also telling you Tyrone Tracy is probably going to get drafted first. But we're telling you with our rankings just wait to take the value when it comes to you. And if you're wrong, okay, well that's how it was drafted. So you, you, you it's not as big of a hit on your draft capital when you're actually constructing your team. So again I think value is still the name of the game. That's kind of why I pushed back with Javante. It's like the reason J.K. dobbins was great last year is because he was cheap. If he had been like a 5th round pick and yes he would have been really good at the beginning of the year. But there was a reason why we're like sell J.K. dobbins. Like that was the reason we were talking about it. So like Javante starts out really hot. Sell Javante Williams for Omarion Hampton. Like that's going to be a trade that we're going to try to convince people to make. So that's something to keep in mind when you're looking at when these prices fluctuate as we get closer to August, how you're going to approach these players again, because most likely we're not going to see like any absolute studs unless they're rookie running backs. So you want to flip the veterans, get some of this rookie upside. As for Jacksonville's backfield again, I don't think anybody has the Da Vinci Code of exactly how this is going to shake out. I always have a soft spot for ETN and Tank Bigsby is someone that I continuously fade. I think I might just do the same thing again and just fade. Tank Bigsby Year 3 the thing with ETN that I can't just get out of my mind is he has Trevor Lawrence's trust. And I think that still matters from a real life perspective where if Trevor Lawrence wasn't there, I would have really no hope about etn. But he's been a running back that's been a top five fantasy running back before. Neither Tank Bigsby has done that. As much as I love Shaw Tootin, he has not done that either. And he also has fumbling. I mean etn, the two guys behind him both have fumbling issues. So I just don't think we can just, just completely write off ETN because what if he does open the he stays on the team. He's the day one starter in a Liam Cohen offense that can catch passes. Like, okay, maybe we're too low on etn. And again, how many years ago was Josh Jacobs right playing in a contract year? Fade him, fade him, fade him. And then he smashed. Why would they hey, let's run ETN into the ground. So I'm just trying to play through the different scenarios. I think Jacksonville's backfield is worth taking shots on, but for me it's mostly on ETN and Tutin as the two guys I'm gravitating towards. But I'll admit, like it's not something I'm like, oh, I'm super confident. I think that we're going to get more news about and if he didn't gets traded then that obviously opens up things for big speed and too and.

[Ryan Warmley]

We got to move to the next tier because we're running long. But I do just want to quickly point out I like Jordan Mason a lot if he's going outside the top 40 running backs. And I don't think, I don't think either of you two are going to quibble with the ranking for Brian Robinson Jr. But if he really is, I mean they didn't draft a running back till round seven. They are, you know, entering year two with this elite young quarterback, you know, theoretically taking a step forward. If Brian Robinson is the lead back in this offense, like I could see a real path to like 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns this season and looking like a, like I'm not saying he should be ranked too much higher than he is, but RB30 is fair and I think there's real ceiling that you're getting with that ranking.

[Derek Brown]

I love that you brought up B. Rob. Real fast worm because he. How we kind of frame the, the conversation around Isaiah Pacheco is how I feel about Brian Robinson Jr. Except he has less competition. Like if he is the goal line back, like in the 10 games that he played, 40% or more of the snaps this dude was near the top and like 10 zone carries and stuff like that. So the touchdown upside is, is massive there for Washington.

[Ryan Warmley]

Yeah, he, I, I really enjoyed, I, I had him a lot last year and it paid off well in the first season with Jay Daniels when he was on the field, when Robinson was on the field. So I'll probably be doing it again if that price stays where it is.

[Andrew Erickson]

Don't love DeAndre Swift.

[Ryan Warmley]

No, no, no.

[Derek Brown]

You want to talk about guys, I'll continue to fade and happily do so. DeAndre Swift, come on down, baby.

[Ryan Warmley]

Let's go last here, here. We'll go quickly on this one. Rashad White, Rico Dowdle, Ray Davis, Trey Benson, Austin Eckler, Tyler Algier, Isaac Grundo, Bashal Tutin and Jalen Wright. The second year running backs are kind of the ones that stand out to me here. Erickson, I know you mentioned Trey Benson as a guy. I mean Ray Davis is a backup. But I love the idea of him. If you know, James Cook ever ends up missing any time he seems like a good investment. You know Garendo, we know what's happened with CMC in the past. So I think the second year running backs, to me, Erickson stand Out.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, those traditionally are one of the best bets to make especially when they don't do anything as rookies. So it's not the same thing with receiver. Rookie receivers that don't hit are usually really bad investment. Sophomores, that's the opposite with running backs. I think that they're all going at like it's worth it to go after it. Trey Benson, it's explosive. James Conner, I just don't think that he's going to be able to stay healthy like he did last year and I think he's one of these veteran running backs where he's going to get hurt by yes, very injury fortunate last year, maybe not so much this season. I think Trey Betts is going to take advantage and he had good coach speak. You know Jonathan Cannon was talking about, they know who he is on the roster. Like that's always a positive that this third round rookie running back that they still remember who he is and he's not like oh yeah, that guy. No, he's like someone that's actually top of mind. So I like him and Ray Davis too because James Cook's holding out. Right. So does he hold out into off season? We've seen all these holdouts last couple years and it's been disastrous for the most part for a lot of these guys missing time they get hurt and James Cook last year again just blew up with the touchdowns. So we'll see. Again it's probably going, it's going to come down like he's not going to score 18 plus touchdowns again but again the year before he scored like two. So I think we'll probably be around those low like 8 to 10 touchdowns assuming that he's still the RB1. But Ray Davis did flash when he had his opportunities last year. I think that shouldn't go unnoticed. So yeah, give me the young guys here.

[Ryan Warmley]

Debra, I'll trade you a 2028 rookie 4th rounder for Trey Benson in our dynasty league.

[Derek Brown]

I keep trying to give him to you Worm and you just don't want him. I mean I, I keep trying to trade him to you and you, you don't want, you don't love Trey Benson enough.

[Ryan Warmley]

If you're trying to give him to me, I would take him. Trading is harder trying to get him to you. Who says that to you here, D row or if none of these names stand out to you, who outside the top 50 should be in here?

[Derek Brown]

So I think the second year running backs all stand out for all the reasons that Erickson kind of highlighted. I think the Guys in this tier that stand out to me the most. Grindo, because we know who he is. Like, if CMC is out, he's a plug and play. RB1 facial tootin if we want to go the rookie path. But Jalen Wright also stands out. So does Ray Davis. Man. The guys I'll bring up real fast that I think should be in. Well, two or three guys that I think should be inside the top 50. 1. We've already talked about Rashard Smith. I think he is the new Jerick McKinnon in Kansas City. He should be inside the top 50. Like he is in my ranks. Jarquez Hunter, I'm going to bring up yet again because he is going to play a role in this backfield. And the guy that he's not inside the top 50. The. The. The Green Bay packers didn't do anything to add to their backfield. Marshawn Lloyd can't hurt his hip, his ankle.

[Ryan Warmley]

I was gonna bring up Lloyd, Debra, you know that.

[Andrew Erickson]

He did. He did get hurt already. He was. He was. He was rehabbing today.

[Derek Brown]

Don't start with me. And I didn't see that because I.

[Andrew Erickson]

Posted my sleepers and Marsha Lloyd was one of my sleepers. I was gonna bring him up, too. He's in my top 50. And somebody commented on X like, well, I'm assuming this is going to change with the injury news. I'm like, what?

[Ryan Warmley]

I didn't see that. Wow.

[Derek Brown]

I didn't see it either.

[Andrew Erickson]

Apparently he was re. He was rehabbing something.

[Derek Brown]

Oh, it says he's in the rehab group.

[Ryan Warmley]

That.

[Derek Brown]

Yeah, but that's.

[Andrew Erickson]

That's not a good sign, man.

[Ryan Warmley]

It's.

[Andrew Erickson]

It's.

[Derek Brown]

What is it? It's May.

[Andrew Erickson]

It's August. I don't know what month it is, but it's. It's very far from the season and he shouldn't already be injured. It's me.

[Derek Brown]

It's August.

[Andrew Erickson]

I don't know what month it is.

[Ryan Warmley]

Fitz, by the way, we were talk doing a Dynasty sleepers episode with me, Bogman and Fitz last week. He shouted out Chris Brooks in the Green Bay backfield as like a very, very deep dynasty sleeper. So just to talk about the Green Bay backfield there. We'll hope for health. Deep, bro.

[Andrew Erickson]

Oh, man.

[Ryan Warmley]

For Marshawn Lloyd.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm in if he's healthy. I mean, if he's healthy.

[Ryan Warmley]

Yeah, totally. Easily. What about you, Ericsson? Anybody outside the top 50 that fits for you? And then we'll get out of here.

[Andrew Erickson]

So I don't Hate Blake Orm. So I think that he's still. Again, I think one of these Rams is going to pop behind Kyron, so it's Coram or Hunter. I'm gonna drop both guys and you know, only one of them needs a hit. So I like Corm still. Braylon Allen again. We talked about the jets again. If they're going to really run heavy, does Braylon Allen, is he a better fit? You know, as a more traditional early down grinder running back? I think the lanes opening up for him with Justin Fields might actually help him a lot more than necessarily Breece hall, who I think, I mean, does he need to be more explosive? I don't necessarily know that. So I think Braylon out is kind of interesting and just another guy to mention just because it kind of ties into like the Saquon Barkley. If, if Barkley gets hurt, Will Shipley again. Like, if everything comes to fruition with Barkley not returning from the. The touches in the workload and he misses games. Well, the situation is still really good and by all accounts, Will Shipley, the guy they drafted last year, is the next guy. And I'm going to be so sad if somehow AJ Dillon finds his way into the lineup. But for right now, I'm in the Will Shipley, Will Shipley bandwagon. So he's another sleeper I wanted to highlight.

[Derek Brown]

If AJ Dillon finds his way into that rotation, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. Just gonna throw that out there.

[Ryan Warmley]

I just want to say outside the top 50, like, I want to just take as many of the rookies as I can. Like, I want DJ Giddens on teams. I want, I want Dylan Sampson, I want Taj Brooks, I want Kyle Menangai, I want Damian Martinez. Like, just. I just want these Flyers on, these guys on teams. Once you get into this range anyway.

[Andrew Erickson]

Jakori Crosby married. Yes. Come on, man. Dang it. Jcm.

[Ryan Warmley]

Dude, I thought you guys were gonna bring him up. When I brought up Brian Robinson. Well, we had to wait.

[Derek Brown]

You know, I mean, players that are not.

[Ryan Warmley]

I mean, like even like getting further down the list, like Jordan James, Woody Marks, like, I just, I. I just want to take swings on this rookie class. The, the non rookie. I will, I will say too, Justice Hill, RB 66, he's been inside the top.

[Derek Brown]

Oh, here we go. Raven had to get a Raven in.

[Ryan Warmley]

No.

[Derek Brown]

Why didn't you just bring up Keaton Mitchell instead? Come on.

[Ryan Warmley]

Because I think Hill has the trust of the team more than, more than Mitchell, especially in pass protection. Like, even with Derrick Henry staying healthy and getting all the touches. He was Inside the top 40 running backs last year and that was with missing a couple of games too. Like I just think he's gonna be. He's like the boring veteran type of value in this range. But mo, for the most part I want rookies here.

[Derek Brown]

The over one and a half Ravens just hit Erickson.

[Ryan Warmley]

Sasha, I am just giving people good advice because Justice Hill is going. He is going to outperform RB66 if he's healthy. I guarantee it. All right, we'll wrap up there because we went long but good episode. We got through a ton of a ton of running backs there for for Devrow and Erickson. All right, Warmley, thanks everybody for tuning in. We'll see you again next time.

[Derek Brown]

Go Ravens.

[Ryan Warmley]

Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple [e-mail] review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok at Fantasy Pros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros AI is redefining what's possible for your business with more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever, Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further, faster, unlocking up to 150% improved output. Whatever challenge comes next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers you don't want vacation to end, but with Amex Platinum, you earn 5 times Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels and more booked through amextravel.com, so you're already planning the next one. Book your room with fine hotels and resorts through Amex Travel and get an upgrade when available. Plus guaranteed 4pm checkout so you have time to check out the pool before flying off to what's next. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn [e-mail] withamxcst1022318 okay, have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant. Their fans rebelled and wanted the old SIM back.

[Derek Brown]

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[Ryan Warmley]

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[Ryan Warmley]

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