7 Juicy RB Landing Spots

Draft Capital is king when it comes to identifying stud Dynasty Runningbacks. Bijan and Jahmyr Gibbs snagged 1st round draft capital 2 years back and they have ascended to the top of the dynasty RB ranks. Without question, Ashton Jeanty will get 1st round draft capital and be a top 5 dynasty RB from the get-go. But what about the other runningbacks? Most of the loaded class will go round 2 or 3… how do we know which ones will explode? The long term answer is the most talented backs will win out… but the short term answer is the backs who find themselves with the best landing spots will put up dominant rookie years.

The ideal landing spot for a Runningback is to land in a potent offense where he will be a 3 down workhorse. Other factors can help too. A barren depth chart behind him can provide security for high usage rates and an elite offensive line can create holes to spring the back on long rushes down the field.

With that in mind let’s checkout a few promising teams who might be looking to add some help in the RB room in a few short weeks at the NFL Draft.

Las Vegas Raiders

Geno Smith’s arrival in Las Vegas with Pete Carroll makes this situation a lot more interesting. The competent QB should buoy a middling offense that ran exclusively through all world tight end Brock Bowers. The RB depth chart boasts only Raheem Mostert, Sincere McCormick and Dylan Laube. Mostert was signed to be a backup according to the team and McCormick and Laube don’t have the draft capital to pose a meaningful threat to a rookie RB’s workload. Early mocks have the Raiders taking superstart prospect Ashton Jeanty with the 6th overall pick. This is a dream landing spot that puts Jeanty in the top 5 of RBs for redraft as well as dynasty. He’ll get all the work he can handle on a decent offense lead by Geno. I’d also expect them to bring in a WR weapon to pair with Bowers to solidify a young offense on the rise.

I’ll double down and say my RB prediction is Ashton Jeanty.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys made two puzzling additions to their backfield this season in signing Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to near minimum deals. These two veterans have not have had much success on the ground as of late so it stands to reason that the Cowboys will add someone to the RB room int he draft. The Cowboys offense will allow a starting RB to shine if they are productive and can fend off competition for carries … see Rico Dowdle last year. The fear is that it will end up being a three headed monster committee where all RBs are unstartable and that is certainly in the realm of possiblities. But with Dak back and CeeDee Lamb in the fold the Cowboys offense should return to some degree of prominence. I think the Cowboys wait until round 3 or 4 and then take a swing on one of the lesser hyped backs in the class.

My RB prediction is Dylan Sampson.

Chicago Bears

The arrival of Ben Johnson in Chicago spells doom for D’Andre Swift’s fantasy prospects. As the Lions OC he shipped Swift out and took Jahmyr Gibbs to be the Sonic to David Montgomery’s Knuckles. Given Johnson’s appreciation for dynamic RB’s I think he takes a swing on one in the first round of this years draft. That runningback would be entering a team with one of the game’s best offensive minds at the helm, a highly touted second year QB in Caleb Williams who has the talent to make a leap and another highly touted WR in Rome Odunze who could emerge as an alpha. The situation is tremendous on paper but it needs to materialize in reality. A runningback on a young team like this is an exciting prospect for fantasy managers.

My RB prediction is Omarion Hampton.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers brought in Najee Harris to solidify their RB room and they have for now let JK Dobbins walk. Kimani Vidal remains as depth as well. This situation has the potential to be attractive because of Justin Herbert’s talent and lack of weapons outside of Ladd McConkey. Najee is not very dynamic or explosive at this stage so it stands to reason that the Chargers take a shot on a more athletic back who could potentially become an offensive focal point. Jim Harbaugh is famous for running the football and I doubt he trusts Najee enough to be the sole RB running between the tackles. A runningback drafted here has a good opportunity for fantasy relevance.

My RB prediction is DJ Giddens.

New England Patriots

Rhamondre Stevenson and his fumbling problem might inspire the Patriots to invest an early round pick in a new lead back. New coach Mike Vrabel likes to run the football and play defense and this seems like an ideal draft to grab an elite runningback to help rebuild a pedestrian offense devoid of weapons. Drake Maye flashed his rookie year and with Stefon Diggs he may take a leap that will help the Pats to score more points this year. A rookie runningback landing here would likely split a backfield with Rhamondre and be a part of an ascending young core with a chance to earn the lead role.

My RB prediction is Quinshon Judkins.

Kansas City Chiefs

Isaiah Pacheco’s fibula injury is a tough blow for any young back. Unfortunately, Pacheco’s 7th round draft capital is indicative of low team investment and it seems more probable than not that the Chiefs will add some more competition. Kareem Hunt also may siphon some carries away but his NFL tenure may be nearing its conclusion. Any back joining Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid is an immediate fantasy difference maker. I can see the Chiefs adding one of the more athletic backs in the class in an attempt to rejuvenate an offense who’s playmakers have either been injured or in legal trouble.

My RB prediction is Bhayshul Tuten

Denver Broncos

Bo Nix has the AFC West on notice and he did it with very little help in the running game. Javonte Williams is now a cowboy and Audric Estime & Jaleel McLaughlin do not scream difference making runnningback. Nix has receiving weapons in Sutton, Mims and newly acquired TE Evan Engram. The RB hole is an obvious need that Sean Payton will need to address. An electric runninngback would make this team an elite offense with the ability to threaten all 3 levels of the field with an ascending signal caller.

My RB prediction is TreVeyon Henderson

Rookie Tool Update

I’ll be closing early access/ testing list this weekend. Signup if you want a chance to impact the Rookie Ranking Tool currently in development. It will be a game change for Dynasty managers and I can’t wait to release it. Here’s a screengrab of the dynamic tiers the tool will feature.

Stay Amped,

The Fantasy Amp Team

fantasyamp.com