This guy is better in Best Ball.

The phrase gets used so often that it has lost all meaning.

But the most tired cliches are always rooted in truth, and the truth is Better in Best Ball could mean lots of things. It’s why fantasy analysts say it so often, and fantasy footballers rarely know what they’re talking about.

Most times, better in Best Ball describes players whose scoring potential is high but hard to predict from week to week (think any New England running back in the Bill Belichick era after Corey Dillon). These players are more appealing in Best Ball leagues, where the format eliminates tough start-sit decisions from the equation. 

While it’s true that inconsistent scorers with weekly high ceilings can be part of a winning Best Ball plan, the true meaning of Better in Best Ball is more nuanced. Let's focus on the running back position and the players who fit one of several Better in Best Ball archetypes.

Just Plain Better

Surprise! The best running backs in fantasy football are also great picks in Best Ball leagues. While most drafts skew wide receiver-heavy early, especially on Underdog Fantasy, any of these three make fine first-round picks to anchor your running back position.

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco

The case for taking McCaffrey with the 1.01 got a tad dicey last week when the 49ers star got ruled out for the preseason with a calf injury. Fortunately, McCaffrey says his absence is “very cautionary” and the injury wouldn’t have kept him out of regular season games. Your team will likely tank if McCaffrey misses significant time, but it seems safe to draft him with confidence. He outscored the RB2 in half-PPR leagues by nearly 104 fantasy points last year.

Bijan Robinson, Atlanta

Don’t get thrown off Robinson’s scent because Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said what most coaches would say about one of their players when asked about Tyler Allgeier. If there is one running back capable of producing on par with McCaffrey, it’s Robinson.

Breece Hall, NY Jets

Of the three fantasy superstars in this cohort, it’s fair to worry the most about Hall. It’s not a knock on Hall’s skills, but the more we hear about and see from Braelon Allen (and even fellow rookie Isaiah Davis) in training camp, it’s fair to wonder if the Jets plan on keeping Hall’s touches in check. It’s worth noting that despite finishing the 2023 season as the overall RB3, Hall eclipsed 20 carries in exactly three games. Still, he’s so dynamic in the passing game that it probably won’t matter much if the rookies spell Hall more often than we’d like. Let’s hope Aaron Rodgers has one more healthy season left in him.

Unsettled Depth Charts

The best value picks at the running back position will probably come from this group. There are plenty of projectable fantasy points to spread around in the backfields of the Cowboys, Broncos, and Chargers. We just don’t know which players, if any, will separate from their competition.

The Best Ball format does not reward approaching these backfields with caution. Season-long strategies like making the safer pick based on median projections, or getting the better perceived value by drafting the player with a lower ADP than his platoon-mate, will result in a middle-of-the-pack finish. Instead, favor the player with the most talent and athleticism in their backfields. These guys could emerge as every-week RB1s if and when they take over the lead role.

Rico Dowdle, Dallas

There is only one running back currently on the Cowboys roster who is below the age-apex for the position and has any chance at producing big plays. It is not Ezekiel Elliott. As I mentioned in our recent Running Back Sleepers article, the effectiveness of these two players in 2023 was a no-contest in Dowdle’s favor.

Javonte Williams, Denver

Williams falling on his face from an efficiency perspective in 2023 should have been obvious. It’s just as clear that 2024 is the year to target Williams at a depressed value. He was never going to be right 10 months after tearing his ACL, LCL, and posterolateral corner. But now that he’s two years removed from the devastating injury, it’s no shock Sean Payton says Williams looks like a “completely different player”. Rookie Audric Estime is an early-down bruiser, and Jaleel McLaughlin is a scat-back. McLaughlin should have weeks where he’ll pop into your starting lineup, but Williams is the only one capable of playing on all three downs and emerging as a fantasy RB1.

J.K. Dobbins, LA Chargers

Dobbins has as many catastrophic leg injuries (ACL, ACL again, Achilles) as years in the NFL. Putting him on your do-not-draft list in all formats is defensible, but having any confidence in Gus Edwards as the Chargers lead back is not. Edwards is 29 years old, doesn't catch passes, has his own long history of lower-body injuries, and may or may not have undergone offseason surgery for an undisclosed injury. By contrast, Dobbins is still only 25 years old, feels 100% healthy, and is a former SPARQ-score freak. We know from Jason Wood’s article on play-caller changes that there is a high likelihood the Chargers will field a successful running game under head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman. If Dobbins is finally healthy, he’s a potential league-winner at an ADP of about 150 on Underdog.

Upside Committee Backs

The Bengals and Titans also have unsettled depth charts. But unlike the situations in Dallas, Denver, and LA, the running backs vying for playing time in Cincinnati and Tennessee each possess the upside to help separate your Best Ball teams from the pack while splitting carries. You can even draft them both on the same team.

Zack Moss and Chase Brown, Cincinnati

We didn’t learn much about their workload split from the Bengals' first preseason game. Brown took every snap with the Joe Burrow-led first-team offense, but Moss sat out due to illness. Underdog drafters are beginning to favor Brown, whose ADP could flip Moss’s soon, but we shouldn’t bet against either player in Cincinnati's explosive offense. Brown has a workhorse profile dating back to his time at Illinois, as well as eye-popping speed (he hit the fastest speed of any running back in 2023 on a 54-yard touchdown reception in Week 14). Moss was a revelation in all phases while filling in for an injured Jonathan Taylor last year and is a great stylistic fit with the Bengals. He averaged 8.1 yards-per-carry on rushes outside the tackles in 2023, which jives with Cincinnati's 66% shotgun formation rate on first downs. Brown and Moss have the makings of a classic thunder-and-lightning backfield where both players can win in different ways for fantasy gamers.

Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, Tennessee

If Moss and Brown are a thunder-and-lightning backfield, Pollard and Moss are lightning and lightning. The Titans’ preseason debut against the 49ers might end up the perfect microcosm of what we can expect from Tennessee’s backfield this season. Pollard started and played on eight snaps with the starting unit but rotated with Spears, who played on the other six snaps with the Will Levis group. Pollard looked back to his pre-injury explosiveness on this 24-yard gain. Spears later scored a touchdown on a nifty four-yard run. Both of these backs will appear in your starting lineup frequently enough while playing as a tandem, but if either one inherits a workhorse role, the rest of your league is in trouble.

It’s Not How You Start, It’s How You Finish

Rookies with uncertain roles to start the year offer unknown upside from mid-to-late-round draft positions. Don’t overrate their low standing on the depth chart in the preseason. Attrition at the running back position is inevitable, and these players have the talent to force their coaching staff’s hand without the starter ahead of them getting injured.

Tyrone Tracy Jr., NY Giants

The scariest low-ankle sprain in NFL history almost made it impossible, but thankfully Tracy is still the poster child for this category. The Giants are starved for playmakers outside of Malik Nabers. Devin Singletary is a consummate pro and will open the season as New York’s starter, but he lacks Tracy’s explosive athleticism and ability to create mismatches in the passing game. The Giants may soon realize they can’t afford to take Tracy off the field. He has early-career David Johnson upside. 

MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay

Lloyd’s hamstring strain will push him further down draft boards, even though the injury is not considered serious. The rookie has zero chance of overtaking Josh Jacobs for lead back duties, and the soft tissue injury is less than ideal. But Lloyd has a top gear that Jacobs can’t reach. It’s conceivable he can force a timeshare similar to the Mark Ingram II-Alvin Kamara-era Saints, where both backs were top fantasy performers. Green Bay’s offense is good enough to support it.

Jaylen Wright, Miami

Wright is Raheem Mostert, except 11 years younger and with a sturdier frame. How well he fits in Mike McDaniels’ offense is almost uncanny. If the 32-year-old Mostert shows signs of a dropoff, Wright proved in Miami’s first preseason game that he’s waiting to pick up the slack. And between Mostert’s injury history and De’Von Achane’s slight stature, Wright has more injury-away upside than any running back in this category.

Ray Davis, Buffalo

The Bills will score at least 25 points per game this season. Their starting running back has ball security issues dating back to last season, and 34-year-old Latavius Murray out-carried him 12-5 on the goal line in 2023. Davis has reliable hands, and a low center of gravity, strong legs, and finishing skills to excel at the goal line. We don’t want to glean too much from the rotation in one preseason game, but Davis put some nice plays on film and might already be breathing down James Cook’s neck.

Pure Handcuffs

These guys aren’t helping you unless the starter in front of them gets injured. But if they find themselves in a lead role in any given week, you’ve lucked your way into out-of-nowhere RB1 numbers in your starting lineup. 

Dameon Pierce, Houston

Joe Mixon has nursed a hamstring injury all summer while Pierce hogged first-team reps in Texans’ camp. Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans sounds convinced Pierce has regained the form that propelled him to an RB20 finish as a rookie in 2022. It won't be surprising if this is the year Mixon's body crumbles under the weight of 1,571 career rush attempts. Pierce may never be a great fit in Bobby Slowik's zone running scheme, but whoever runs as the lead back in Houston's offense will have weekly multi-touchdown upside.

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta

Allgeier is probably the best pure handcuff in any season-long format, including Best Ball. But let’s not put any bad vibes on Robinson by calling attention to it.

Braelon Allen, NY Jets

Take it from Morgan Moses.

Morgan Moses on 235-pound RB Braelon Allen: “You see people trying to tackle him and they realize, ‘This shit hurts.’” #Jets pic.twitter.com/qCldQPP0Xo

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 12, 2024

Blake Corum, LA Rams

It is tempting to list Corum and Kyren Williams in the Upside Committee Backs category, but that would be irresponsible. Williams is LA’s clear starter until proven otherwise. Corum, however, is a better overall athlete than Williams and fits Sean McVay's gap scheme running game just as well. If the foot injury Williams dealt with during OTAs resurfaces, Corum will take this job and run with it (awful pun intended).

Trey Benson, Arizona

The Cardinals ranked second in rushing yard percentage in their first year under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. James Conner misses three-to-five games each year, as a rule. Benson is hyper-athletic and relentless as a runner. He’s got top-5 weekly potential in any game Conner misses.

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