The RB position is a savage one for fantasy, with injuries always giving opportunity to sleepers to pop up- and that shouldn’t be any different for 2024. You never have to think that far back to find a back that became a ‘league winner’. Examples from last season would be Raheem Mostert, who was available in the mid-late rounds, who ended up finishing as an RB1 & Kyren Williams who was most likely went undrafted in your league, and finished as another RB1.
Zack Moss (CIN, RB30)
Moss has struggled to cement a starting back role in his time in the league, but was given the opportunity last season with the Colts when he was cover for Jonathan Taylor to start the season. He held that role, and performed well enough, so that the Colts ended up putting him into a timeshare with Taylor. Ultimately, the team let him move on and the Bengals quickly snapped him up on a two-year $8m deal.
The Bengals offense should be able to perform a lot better this season, as Joe Burrow should be healthy to start the year. There has been some buzz around Chase Brown after his performances at the end of last season, and with him taking snaps with the first team at camp. However, I think that is far more likely the team looking to assess where Brown is, rather than handing him the role. At minimum, I think Moss could end up being the red zone back for a team that should make plenty of trips there this season. Being taken as a RB3 or flex option in drafts, he should be able to be a mid-low end RB2, with some spike weeks with the volume he will get in the offense.
Devin Singletary (NYG, RB34)
Singletary was part of a committee with Moss before betting on himself to lead a backfield with the Texans. That gamble paid off, as by mid-season Singletary was the lead back for the Texans and was handling plenty of volume. Ultimately, those performances led him to signing a three-year $16.5m deal with the New York Giants, in what should be his backfield for the coming season.
Singletary doesn’t really have any competition for touches, so there really shouldn’t be an issue with volume here. Instead, the concern is that the Giants offense overall isn’t likely to be a great one. But, Singletary has shown that he can be a pass-catcher too, meaning that he should be on the field plenty. You could potentially have him on your team as an RB4, and he could provide massive appeal once injuries and bye weeks hit. If the Giants rely on Singletary to help out Daniel Jones’ lack of mobility after his ACL recovery, he could have a solid floor week to week.
Ezekiel Elliott (DAL, RB37)
This Dallas backfield. Elliott struggled for performance, Tony Pollard stepped up. Then he struggled, and has been replaced by Elliott. Should you expect the fantasy force that Elliott used to be? No, clearly age has started to catch up with him. But, he wasn’t completely washed last season when playing for a struggling Patriots offense and there should be volume here for him.
At a minimum, at an extreme where Rico Dowdle takes a huge split of the backfield work (which is very unlikely) Elliott should see the goal-line work, and get some carries and receptions mixed in too. If that were to happen, he should be able to surpass this draft cost. But, if he is able to return to anything like he used to be, he could be a league winner at his ADP.
Gus Edwards (LAC, RB38)
The Chargers changed house this offseason, and one of the first moves they made was to bring Edwards into their backfield. His 2 year, $6.5m contract isn’t a hugely significant one, but the speed at which they signed him reflects their need at the position. Edwards has been restricted to an early-down and goal-line role in his time with the Ravens.
The Chargers don’t have that role filled, since they cleared house with their personnel during the offseason too. Edwards should be able to fulfill his normal role for the team this season and could end up being an important part of what is likely to be a run-first offense. If you aren’t convinced with Edwards role, you could take a shot on Kimani Vidal who performed well in his college career, or take JK Dobbins and hope that he is (finally) going to be healthy.
Some that could pan out, but more risky
- Blake Corum– could the next sleeper be from the same team as one from last season? If Williams were to struggle with injury at all, Corum has shown that he can be an effective runner.
- MarShawn Lloyd– If Josh Jacobs does start to break down, Lloyd was drafted to be his replacement. Could have some flex appeal week-to-week otherwise (similar to A.J. Dillon when he first played in Green Bay)
- Ray Davis– looks like he has been signed to be the goal-line back for the Bills. If Cook were to struggle with injury at all, he would be the next man up.
- Alexander Mattison– Zamir White could be the guy, but we haven’t seen it. Could he struggle with that workload? Potentially and as we have seen Mattison can be an effective fantasy option (albeit not very dynamic)
- D’Onta Foreman– I’ll take him at the end of drafts in a few places. If Chubb isn’t able to go to start the season, he should be rotated into the fold and be able to have some viability to open the season. EDIT: This was written before he was carted off during practice- but he has returned to the team
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