My Dynasty Off-Season: Top Five Rookie Dynasty Running Back Rankings
Well, that was fun. Another year is in the books and hopefully you hoisted a dynasty league championship. While the games are great and results are obviously important, this is actually my favorite time of year. Yes, I actually enjoy the off-season more than actual fantasy football. I love breaking down the NFL Draft, evaluating rookies, re-establishing the veteran dynasty fantasy landscape and giving you all as much information as I can in order to be prepared for the beginning of the upcoming year.
This year, I’m going to be posting a regular series – My Dynasty Off-Season (yes, I changed it because I think this is better and because I tend to change my mind a lot). This series is intended for me to pull back the curtain a bit and share what I’m doing in terms of team building, roster evaluation, player assessments, trade possibilities, value changes or anything else I’m thinking of. My hope is this series helps guide you through your off-season and helps you be in position to win again next year.
In this installment, let’s take a look at my initial running back rankings for the 2024 version of our rookie drafts. I’ll state the obvious before we get going – this isn’t exactly the greatest crop of running backs we’ve ever seen. While we’re going to inevitably get some starters out of this group, there really isn’t a can’t-miss prospect like Bijan Robinson. The landing spots for these players is going to be critical this year and the NFL Draft Combine may actually be even more important to them this season as there’s no clear-cut top prospect on the board. Sounds like fun for the next few months!
1.) Trey Benson, Florida State
Most are going to have Jonathon Brooks as their top running back but I’m going with Benson based on his upside. There are injury concerns with him but he’s an explosive athlete who boasts solid long speed, serious burst and legitimate explosiveness. Again, the question is going to be durability as he only had 310 carries in his college career. On the plus side, there should also be a lot of tread on his tires and hsi 23 rushing touchdowns over the past two seasons show he has dynamic ability in the open field. He needs to get stronger and become a better pass blocker. He also needs to refine his pass catching ability but I like the potential I see in him.
2.) Jonathon Brooks, Texas
It seems like every year brings us a blue chip running back from Texas and Wisconson (more on the Badgers later). This year’s edition from the Longhorns is Brooks, who rushed for 1,139 yards and ten touchdowns on just 187 carries this past season after taking over for the departed Bijan Robinson, showing great agility and vision in the process. He’s going to need to prove he’s more than a one-hit wonder but he’s shown an element of fluidity, strong balance, good hands and the ability to break tackles consistently at the college level. He’s also solid at selling play action and looks the part of a true three-down back. Much like Trey Benson, he also should have a lot of room to grow and punishment to take at the next level based on his limited action in college.
3.) Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
If you’re looking for consistency in a running back, Allen’s your guy in this year’s draft. Over the past three years, he’s carried the ball right around 200 times, caught around 20 passes and scored double digit touchdowns in each season. Allen is a workout wonder, weight room fanatic, and violent runner at times. He’s also likely a better pass catcher than he showed in college. The only real question surrounding him revolves around a perceived lack of NFL explosiveness and elusiveness in the open field. In the end, Allen may have the highest floor of any running back in this class but his ceiling is also in question. Still, he could be the first running back taken in the NFL Draft and his landing spot will be important to accurately assess his value.
4) Blake Corum, Michigan
It’s going to be tough to find many running backs with the kind of production and big-time pedigree Corum brings. After all, this is a player who rushed for over 2,700 yards and 45 touchdowns the past two seasons alone at Michigan. He’s going to need to work on his pass catching ability and his pass blocking needs work. There are also some durability concerns with him and he doesn’t look like a true home run hitter. However, he looks like a safe running back prospect who may not be a total workhorse but a player who could also thrive if paired with a pass-catching partner in the backfield. While he may never be a truly dominant fantasy performer, it’s hard to look at him and think he couldn’t be a solid roster player in a dynasty league for a long time. Corum is the prototypical “high floor, low ceiling” type of prospect.
5.) Bucky Irving, Oregon
Irving is a lot different from the other running backs in this class as his home run potential can’t really be denied. He’s also been a productive pass catcher, increasing his reception number in each of the past three seasons, culminating in a 56/413/2 line this past season. He’s adept at eluding tacklers and can get up to his top-end speed very quickly. In addition, he has solid vision, shows creativity in his runs, and has the ability to take any carry to the house. The challenge with Irving is the fact he’s a poor pass blocker and comes from an offense that tends to produce some empty stats from players at times due to the unconventional nature of their system and level of competition. Still, Irving looks the part of an explosive back and if he hits on his potential, he could be a Devon Achane-like player, If he doesn’t we’re looking at a situational runner at best. Again, there’s a lot to like but also a lot to still evaluate.
I hope you enjoy my ramblings. I’ll be back next week to cover the next set of running backs. Again, this is going to be my off-season space to share what my plans entail all off-season long. Hope it helps!
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
