10 Must-Have Running Backs | Fantasy Football Draft Picks to Target (2024)

Introduction welcome back to the fantasy pros YouTube channel my name is Derek Brown in today's video we're going to talk about 10 musthave running backs for the upcoming fantasy football season but before we get to those top 10 names I've got to talk to you about a beautiful giveaway courtesy of our good friends at trophy smack the number one destination for epic fantasy football trophies if you want a chance to win the ultimate symbol of fantasy football defeat the golden toilet trophy all you got to do is subscribe to the fantasy pros YouTube channel right now drop a comment below on any of our videos that's it we'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel so make sure you turn on notifications so you can be alerted when new videos are up and to claim your prize let's get to the 10 running backs Jaleel McLaughlin (Denver Broncos) all right first running back up here on the list number 10 has to be Jalia mlof and I've talked about him all off season you know the guy you know the player you know the name you know the talent what we saw at mofin and I get it was a smaller sample size last year was was amazing 14th and explosive run rate Fifth and Miss tackles Force per attempt we know the passing down role in a Shawn Payton offense is immaculate it's amazing last nine years this man has coordinated an NFL offense he has never ranked lower than fourth and targets the running back position Julia mofen look should be considered to be the favorite for that role and if he locks it down he is going to crush he's a must draft running back all right next guy up here on the list another running back that just crushed in every efficiency metric you could possibly look at from last Jaylen Warren (Pittsburgh Steelers) season and that's Jaylen Warren I understand he's going to share a backfield with Naji Harris but guess what running as much as the Pittsburgh Steelers are likely to do with Arthur Smith at the controls there is going to be plenty of volume and what did Jaylen Warren do last year he was top five in explosive run rate Miss tackles Force per attempt and yards of contact per attempt so even if the volume is not amazing it's not 15 to 17 touches per game we're talking about a player that can make the most out of that volume and quietly has awesome Standalone value and contingent upside to be an rb1 if anything happened to nii in 50% of his games last year Jaylen Warren finished the week in weekly scoring as an rb2 or better so a player that in a lot of different instances and again we're hoping more run volume a better offense for the Steelers this year but last year he was an rb2 in half of his games so as a player that you're going to be adding to a lot of your squads as your rb3 drafting him as your rb3 or rb4 the upside is there draft him now all right we've mentioned two young talented running backs that we got to draft now let's go a little bit the other way and get a veteran in here that I think you need be drafting as much as possible and that is Aaron Jones now I I get it I get Aaron Jones (Minnesota Vikings) it a little bit older there's some injury concerns but what did we see out of Aaron Jones last year that should give us hope when he was finally healthy he was amazing weeks 15 through 20 he averaged 21.6 touches per game a shade over 120 total yards per game in that stretch amongst 40 7 qualifying running backs Aaron Jones was eighth in explosive run rate and 10th in yards of to contact per attempt so while we're worried about the age and we're worried about the injury concerns those things are baked into where he goes and drafts this year look you're talking about an offense that we don't know if Jordan Addison is going to miss any time we know that TJ hackinson is going to miss time so outside of Justin Jefferson who's getting Targets in this offense Aaron Jones could Qui ly just gobble up gobble up all of the targets that he needs to be a wonderful running back in 2024 all right next player up on the Rhamondre Stevenson (New England Patriots) list 71.4 total yards per game but ra Andre Stevenson right now healthy walking in as the clear leader of this New England Patriots backfield and I mean look jacobe brette if he's under Center for most of the Season we we'll see what we get out of Drake may I think this offense is being severely underrated for what it can do as far as putting up points not telling you this offense going to be top five top 10 in scoring but bottom five bottom three offense I think they're better than that they have better players in this offense and R Andre Stevenson you're buying the dip as you should be again he's in this video so I want you to draft him early often and always last year when we saw him actually healthy before he was lost to injury last year weeks 9 through 13 amongst 48 qualifying backs we saw that tackle breaking ability that immense upside come back for ra Andre Stevenson he was 13th in Miss tackles Force per attempt third in yards of the contact per attempt as a player that just blew it out in efficiency metrics in previous Seasons I think we get that player in 2024 and that makes him a mus have running back all right from one disappointing back to another look again we're talking about guys that have Uber talents and hey Kenneth Walker fits the Kenneth Walker III (Seattle Seahawks) build as the number six player on this list Kenneth Walker the laundry list of injuries last year Bru shoulder strained oblique chest issue and a Tinder calf again we didn't see a full season of health for Kenneth Walker now I I know what you're saying well at this point can we really hope for that we can he's still young he's still super talented and I think this backfield is his Seattle's coaching staff is talking about Kenneth Walker as a possible three down running back that should make make everybody's ears tangle with excitement this is a player that on a per touch basis has been nothing but awesome fourth and Miss tackles Force per attempt last year he gets all the work or say 65 70% of the work this season and he can stay healthy he will be amazing for Fantasy all right before we break into the top five players on this musthave running back list we got to sit here and talk about this remember when you first started playing fantasy football and it was all fun right all amazing it was great but now when you draft do you feel like you're studying for a math test this year you can reclaim that same enjoyment that you had all those years previously with the draft assistant draft assistant simplifies the entire draft process making it the easy way to dominate your fantasy drafts it connects to your draft keeps track of everything that's going on and tells you who the best pick is when you're on the clock all you have to do is focus on the excitement of making your perfect picks so this season work less and win more with the draft assistant at fantasypros.com SL draft Wizard or download the fantasy football draft Wizard app right now all right Isiah Pacheco (Kansas City Chiefs) break it into the top five here people number five on the list is Isaiah Pacho what could happen for him in 2024 is amazing we got a small snippet of that upside last year now I know he was he was solid he was good he could be a wondrous rb1 as the rb4 and fantasy points per game last year in those four games we saw him play without Jerick McKinnon on the field he was awesome average 20.2 touches per game a shade over 100 total yards per game buto could be the every down back in one of the best offenses if not the best offense in the NFL don't be surprised if he is a wondrous high-end rb1 in 2024 you need to draft him all right we just talked about a beautiful offense to invest in in the running back position let's get De’Von Achane (Miami Dolphins) to another one here with Devon aan yes I get the risk I understand that but if you want to swing from the heels and select a player in your drafts that could be a League winner a guy that could be a top three running back in fantasy and don't tell me that it's not possible you saw what Raheem moer did in this offense last year that could be a Chan in 20124 for a player that look we have an eight game sample last year when he played at least 41% of the snaps in those eight games he averaged 113.8k single efficiency metric you could possibly pull up I'm not telling you that he needs or will get 20 touches per game 15 15 total touches per game good that's great in one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL I want to invest and take the home run swing as much as possible with Devon aan for this upcoming fantasy season all right moving over from an explosive young back that we don't know what to do with let's go a little bit to the veteran aspect here my Derrick Henry (Baltimore Ravens) number three player for this running back list has to be King Henry himself Derrik Henry draft him as much as possible he's a unicorn so I'm not going to back off of him just because of the age because on a per touch basis last year Henry showed no falloff among 68 qualifying backs he was top 12 in both explosive run rate and yards at a contact per attempt I understand we have some concerns about the Baltimore offensive line I think they're going to be fine plus you have the Dual threat of Lamar Jackson with his running ability it's going to create running lanes for derck Henry and we've seen the big man just Crush people in the open field I'm not going to bet against him doing it again this season all right this number two player on this list might surprise some people well maybe surprise some people if you're just now tuning back into the redraft season but I've been talking about him all off season and I'm not going to stop talking about him here Brian Robinson Jr (Washington Commanders) Brian Robinson Jr is being slept on and his upside is awesome he can be that goal line that early down hammer for Cliff Kingsbury offense we've already seen this play out previously for Kenyan Drake James Connor I want you to draft as much Brian Robinson Jr as you possibly can that's why he is this high on this list for a player that hey how many of you out there watching this video right now know that Brian Robinson Jr was rb22 in fantasy points per game ah uh I could feel the AL raising collectively do you also know that he was 13th in yards after contact per attempt oh and guess what for all the past game worries with Austin Eckler this is also a player that was fifth in yards per route run Brian Robinson Jr could be a three- down Workhorse this year at bare minimum he should be the goal Lineback for the Washington commanders offense that is still being slept on and yes people he should be ranked as a top 24 running back enjoy the value and draft him in all of your teams all right last guy I Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) got to bring up here and if I'm taking the swing on a running back in the first round you better believe his name is going to be Bean Robinson and I look it's it it's gone those horrible days of yester year dealing with Arthur Smith and his usage of this player who is one of the most talented running backs in the entire NFL we get the fully unlocked Unleashed version of bejan Robinson in 2024 that happens he can be a Difference Maker a League winner for all the talk about him possibly being used as Christian mcaffrey in Atlanta I'm buying into that and for a player that is immensely talented he is in the prime of his career and we have not seen the best to Bean Robinson draft him as much as Closing you can all right everyone before I get up out of here again you have to get iner to win that golden toilet trophy from our friends at trophy smack follow those details get in it today as well as make your drafts easier win more of your leagues and just have fun in your drafts with the draft Wizard app or visit fantasypros.com draft wizard right now redraft season is back enjoy it get these running backs on your teams now