The first two weeks of training camp along with the first week of preseason games offers an evergreen reminder that whatever we thought in the offseason doesn't matter once August comes around. Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks was on his way to overtaking Chuba Hubbard -- he was already ranked ahead of him -- but a hamstring injury resulting in a weeks-long absence for Hubbard has catapulted Brooks into the top 70 picks in drafts. And he might not stop rising.
And in Pittsburgh, multiple credible reports offer Rico Dowdle as a primary runner for the Steelers slightly ahead of Jaylen Warren. We already knew Dowdle was a Mike McCarthy favorite going back to their Dallas days, but now it seems like Dowdle could become a Fantasy manager's favorite, also. Meanwhile, the Giants could be headed toward a multi-pronged rushing approach, Josh Jacobs' future remains up in the air, and the first impression of Jeremiyah Love was exciting.
The point is that this position, more than any other, will continue evolving all the way up until Week 1, which is somehow still about a month away from the time this story publishes. A smart Fantasy drafter will stay on top of the news and make draft plan changes accordingly. For now, all of the running back changes have deepened the position and made it a little bit easier to draft with confidence.
Is it enough to alter draft strategies? No, but at least you now know of more options once you get past the first few tiers. Pretty self-explanatory group of mega-stud running backs worth a first-round pick.
All of them have the potential for 18-plus half-PPR points per game. Maybe there's an argument that Chase Brown doesn't belong, but he has not only been solid in each of his past two seasons (at least 14 half-PPR points per game in each), but he has also shown flashes of being a monster close to the level of Robinson and Gibbs when the Bengals have given him a lot of work. That's in play this season, given the lack of running back improvements they made this offseason.
Don't be surprised to see Achane or Henry taken closer to the names in the first tier. However, both carry concerns that shouldn't be overlooked: Achane figures to see a decline in both targets and touchdowns given the changes around the Dolphins offense, and Henry isn't fighting age as much as a track record of declining numbers when the Ravens are trailing, plus the Ravens' new offensive system could mean changes to how much they actually run the ball. Walker III has disappointed us so many times before, and Chiefs running backs have disappointed us for much of this decade, but there's something about an explosive back like Walker getting schemed up in an Andy Reid offense that should get Fantasy managers pretty excited.
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