Pre-Season Risers and Fallers: Running Backs

Everything in fantasy football is speculation, until the pre-season starts. Teams signal their intent in who they sit, when starters stop playing, and how they line up receivers. Throw in injuries and you get a heap of movement in fantasy football value in just three weeks. So let’s make sure you’re up to date with the biggest risers and fallers of the pre-season. All rankings listed are in half-PPR, though you can find my PPR rankings here.

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Risers:

Marshawn Lloyd (GB-RB32), Chris Brooks (GB-RB51) and Kaleb Johnson (GB-RB83): The news of Josh Jacobs being placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List has everyone scrambling for Packers running backs. Lloyd is the only one of value and he’s more exciting than most RB3s, but how exciting and for how long? I expect a committee with Brooks getting the passing downs and COP work for however long Jacobs is out. Given that’s unlikely to last until the fantasy playoffs, I can’t rank Lloyd any higher.

Quinshon Judkins (CLE-RB16): Judkins saw eight of the first ten snaps of the pre-season, then he was done. He was used in every situation except clear passing third downs and will be the workhorse back this season. This was the best case scenario entering the pre-season and means he should be valued far higher than backs like Cam Skattebo, Bucky Irving and D’Andre Swift, who have significant threats to their playing time.

Tyjae Spears (TEN-RB41): The drafting of Nicholas Singleton had me very nervous for Spears but it appears I was totally wrong. Singleton is purely a long-term stash while Spears has turned the Titans running back room into a true committee. The new coaching staff has no allegiance to the aging Pollard and it seems Spears is the upside pick who could emerge as the workhorse back later in the season if things go downhill for the Titans.

Travis Etienne (NO-RB17): Alvin Kamara and Devin Neal’s injuries clear up this backfield very nicely. Etienne will get the most valuable touches early and while Kamara my eventually steal a lot of the receiving work, Etienne’s role remains clearer than most in this range, jumping him towards the top of this tier.

Jonathon Brooks (CAR-RB29): I was always very high on Brooks entering the season but Chuba Hubbard’s injury and Brooks’s health and clear role have me significantly more bullish on him entering the season. He’s the only running back I’m excited to take in the middle rounds.

Mike Washington (LV-RB44): Ashton Jeanty’s injury had everybody scrambling for his backup Washington, but even before the injury, Washington was starting to earn a role. This might be more of a committee than most Jeanty owners expect, with Washington shining throughout training camp and the pre-season. He’s one of the league’s best stashes and might even be the week one starter.

Kaelon Black (SF-RB52): The 49ers backup is always one of the best stashes in fantasy football, as Kyle Shanahan tends to use one back in a workhorse role, no matter where he sat on the depth chart the week before. That means a CMC injury will give one back a near-RB1 role immediately. The pre-season suggests this will probably be Black, as Jordan James and Isaac Guerendo have both been handcuffed by injuries, with Black clearly ahead of James once he returned.

Keaton Mitchell (LAC-RB55): The Chargers were spouting three-man-committee nonsense throughout training camp but once the rubber hit the road, it was very clear that Omarion Hampton is the starter (to nobody’s shock) and Keaton Mitchell is the very clear backup. He may have a flex-worthy role in the Mike McDaniel offense but even if he doesn’t, he’s one of football’s most valuable backups to stash in case of a Hampton injury.

Seth McGowan (IND-RB58): The Colts backup is one of fantasy football’s most valuable (see Zack Moss a couple of years ago) and this year, it seems this will be Seth McGowan. The seventh round rookie surprisingly beat out DJ Giddens and will be an immediate RB2 if again JT goes down.

Fallers:

Josh Jacobs (GB-RB30): It’s now unclear how much of the season Josh Jacobs will be available for. He might play the majority, but he could equally miss the whole thing. That has him falling well down my rankings into the RB3 ranges. Yes, he’ll be a stud in the playoffs if he’s playing, but getting there will be a challenge if you draft Jacobs too early. Hopefully we have more information before your draft (and you may after I write this) but for now, he’s a very scary pick.

Tony Pollard (TEN-RB34): The new coaching staff in Tennessee have signalled a significant change throughout the pre-season, with Pollard and Tyjae Spears splitting touches almost equally. I still believe Pollard will be the main man, but in a mediocre Titans offense with Nicholas Singleton waiting in the wings if things go downhill late in the season, Pollard feels like the guy most likely to bust.

Ashton Jeanty (LV-RB7): His serious knee injury turned out to be a minor ankle injury, but I still have concerns about Jeanty. Mike Washington has been incredible all pre-season and the coaching staff are talking a lot about a two-headed attack, which is very different to what we were hearing previously. Admittedly, we heard that around Raheem Mostert last season and that didn’t hurt Jeanty much, but it did lead to Mostert having 16 rushes through three weeks. There’s enough to make me just a little nervous here.

Chuba Hubbard (CAR-RB39): I’ve been low on Hubbard all pre-season, but the severity of his injury and the health of Jonathon Brooks has me even lower now. I’m avoiding him in all leagues and selling him in dynasty as I feel like his value will get even lower once the season starts.

JK Dobbins (DEN-RB33) and RJ Harvey (DEN-RB46): Denver’s 2025 starters looked set for an awkward committee when training camp started. But I expected Dobbins to give some value due to his dominance of the early down work and Harvey to be a PPR option with Bo Nix’s proclivity for checking down. But Jonah Coleman has been fantastic this pre-season, getting removed early in games due to the excellence of his play. I doubt he has a fantasy-winning role this season, but he’s done enough to get touches already and that makes me very nervous for Dobbins and Harvey.

Rachaad White (WAS-RB42): I’m probably on an island here, but I believe in Rachaad White’s talent. He was fantastic at ASU and clearly out-performed Bucky Irving last season. Tampa wasn’t an easy place to run the ball in his time there, but PFF always rated him favorably and last season, he had the 4^th-highest running back ranking in the league. But he has battled a hamstring injury all pre-season and, while I expect he’ll play week one, he’s missed the opportunity to establish himself at the top of the depth chart. He will start the season as the receiving back and I hope he’ll show, once he’s healthy, that he’s a significantly better player than Jacory Croskey-Merritt. I just don’t see that happening early enough to take him as high as I was.

Tyrone Tracy (NYG-RB90): The arrival of Najee Harris was a concern, but Tracy falling behind Devin Singletary, then getting a concussion (that actually wasn’t a concussion) and missing multiple blocking assignments was about as bad as a pre-season can get. He’s totally undraftable and droppable in most dynasty leagues too.

Isiah Pacheco (DET-RB56): One of my favorite stashes this pre-season, Pacheco has battled injuries and mediocre play to an extent that the Lions are considering signing Kareem Hunt. This seems less like a Gibbs and Montgomery situation and more like a Gibbs and Gibbs situation, with Pacheco just a backup. He still has some stash value, but he’s no longer the first guy I’m targeting in the late rounds.

Alvin Kamara (NO-RB71): I wasn’t excited about Kamara at any point, but the play of Kendre Miller and Kamara’s injury has me no longer considering him an upside stash, but rather a bad Ty Johnson-style bye week filler.

Adam Randall (BAL-RB86): Rasheen Ali returned from injury and immediately played ahead of Randall. Admittedly, Ali is more of a receiving back and the rookie is built more like Henry, so he may still be the true backup if The King goes down. But I’m not banking on it in redraft.

If you have any questions or thoughts, hit me up in the comments below or message me on my socials @hashtagwasley. You should also check out my rankings here, to ensure you’re making the right picks every round. Good luck this season!