2021 Fantasy Football - 2nd PPR Ranks - Running Backs

 We’re not doing extremely deep dives into each position as this is more about getting ranks out that I like before the second set of cuts and to make my life and updates easier over the next couple weeks as we get into the heart of draft season. These are my PPR rankings for running backs you’ll as with the QBs I have some stats and fantasy points projections but those are not the end all be all of my rankings so they will not match up precisely with the actual ranks. The last 3 columns are the ADP data for context about where I compare to the market at large.

 

Rank	Player	Tm	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TD	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TD	PPR FP	Tiers	ADP	Pos ADP	Diff
RB1	Christian McCaffrey	CAR	322	1447	14	137	888	6	461	1	1	1	0
RB2	Dalvin Cook	MIN	336	1599	14	68	500	2	364	2	2	2	0
RB3	Derrick Henry	TEN	373	1848	16	31	203	2	335	2	4	4	-1
RB4	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	265	1199	8	74	462	3	289	2	5	5	-1
RB5	Aaron Jones	GB	204	1054	10	80	539	4	300	2	10	7	-2
RB6	Alvin Kamara	NO	175	869	11	127	927	5	376	2	3	3	3
RB7	Jonathan Taylor	IND	268	1349	12	43	308	2	289	2	13	10	-3
RB8	Saquon Barkley	NYG	275	1299	10	77	481	2	308	2	8	6	2
RB9	Antonio Gibson	WAS	261	1222	14	78	490	3	337	2	20	13	-4
RB10	Nick Chubb	CLE	283	1483	12	31	209	1	266	2	11	8	2
RB11	Austin Ekeler	LAC	153	725	3	108	821	7	302	3	12	9	2
RB12	Josh Jacobs	LVR	277	1192	10	71	449	1	284	3	36	19	-7
RB13	Joe Mixon	CIN	278	1172	7	48	308	2	203	3	18	12	1
RB14	Najee Harris	PIT	258	1009	13	64	446	3	286	3	16	11	3
RB15	Clyde Edwards-Helaire	KC	215	952	6	64	446	3	237	3	22	14	1
RB16	Miles Sanders	PHI	262	1288	6	52	397	2	252	3	39	20	-4
RB17	D'Andre Swift	DET	214	977	9	69	475	3	273	3	30	16	1
RB18	Myles Gaskin	MIA	222	892	8	77	526	3	268	3	50	22	-4
RB19	Raheem Mostert	SF	220	1242	9	27	184	2	224	3	74	29	-10
RB20	Chris Carson	SEA	210	958	7	58	410	3	246	3	35	18	2
RB21	Chase Edmonds	ARI	184	803	6	86	539	4	259	4	62	26	-5
RB22	Mike Davis	ATL	213	790	9	61	386	3	239	4	56	24	-2
RB23	Kareem Hunt	CLE	143	653	5	47	345	4	189	4	58	25	-2
RB24	Darrell Henderson	LAR	206	896	6	50	347	3	211	4	47	21	3
RB25	David Montgomery	CHI	249	978	8	63	383	2	243	4	32	17	8
RB26	J.K. Dobbins	BAL	156	922	8	44	274	2	213	4	29	15	11
RB27	Damien Harris	NE	211	967	6	14	105	0	153	4	78	30	-3
RB28	Melvin Gordon	DEN	216	887	8	29	193	2	167	4	79	31	-3
RB29	Phillip Lindsay	HOU	151	719	7	64	401	1	202	6	150	49	-20
RB30	Nyheim Hines	IND	83	326	2	75	464	4	174	4	130	45	-15
RB31	James White	NE	37	149	1	85	589	3	162	4	157	50	-19
RB32	Travis Etienne	JAX	124	510	4	65	433	3	184	4	53	23	9
RB33	James Robinson	JAX	203	906	7	40	235	2	201	4	66	27	6
RB34	Ronald Jones II	TB	202	911	6	30	167	0	168	4	97	35	-1
RB35	Devin Singletary	BUF	156	728	2	47	295	2	161	5	112	41	-6
RB36	Trey Sermon	SF	117	465	7	27	172	1	129	5	86	34	2
RB37	Javonte Williams	DEN	178	703	5	21	152	1	123	5	69	28	9
RB38	Zack Moss	BUF	132	589	5	22	136	1	125	5	102	38	0
RB39	Jamaal Williams	DET	143	566	4	45	308	2	161	5	113	42	-3
RB40	Tony Pollard	DAL	101	480	4	42	210	2	135	5	122	43	-3
RB41	Kenyan Drake	LVR	104	468	4	34	211	1	122	5	103	39	2
RB42	Michael Carter	NYJ	75	303	3	54	276	3	133	5	84	33	9
RB43	Gus Edwards	BAL	122	694	4	16	126	1	125	5	126	44	-1
RB44	AJ Dillon	GB	118	622	5	16	146	1	130	5	105	40	4
RB45	Rashaad Penny	SEA	123	630	4	31	226	2	143	5	161	51	-6
RB46	Devontae Booker	NYG	87	348	4	37	228	1	115	5	207	59	-13
RB47	Xavier Jones	LAR	103	387	5	31	183	2	121	6	174	54	-7
RB48	Leonard Fournette	TB	107	420	3	50	281	1	134	6	80	32	16
RB49	JD McKissic	WAS	55	245	1	72	446	2	137	6	132	47	2
RB50	Rhamondre Stevenson	NE	62	292	3	43	257	1	109	6	218	62	-12
RB51	Latavius Murray	NO	127	531	5	32	211	0	129	6	131	46	5
RB52	James Conner	ARI	115	477	5	22	143	1	111	6	101	37	15
RB53	David Johnson	HOU	74	306	2	57	440	3	142	4	99	36	17
RB54	Justin Jackson	LAC	120	589	3	41	276	0	137	6	226	65	-11
RB55	La'Mical Perine	NYJ	134	485	4	27	139	1	112	6	252	71	-16
RB56	Boston Scott	PHI	87	384	3	17	137	0	86	6	229	66	-10
RB57	Tarik Cohen	CHI	32	128	1	53	317	2	99	5	175	55	2
RB58	Alexander Mattison	MIN	91	415	2	14	105	1	78	6	147	48	10
RB59	Gio Bernard	TB	36	146	2	37	230	2	89	6	169	53	6
RB60	Marlon Mack	IND	70	310	3	14	85	0	67	6	212	60	0
RB61	Damien Williams	CHI	58	234	3	31	195	2	96	6	199	57	4
RB62	Anthony Mcfarland Jr	PIT	54	214	3	13	83	1	60	6	291	84	-22
RB63	Darrynton Evans	TEN	52	202	2	20	138	2	68	6	233	67	-4
RB64	Kenneth Gainwell	PHI	12	50	1	29	235	1	59	6	220	63	1
RB65	Elijah Mitchell	SF	70	275	5	19	133	1	94	6	291	84	-19
RB66	Salvon Ahmed	MIA	44	188	1	18	104	1	56	6	242	70	-4
RB67	Malcolm Brown	MIA	89	353	4	9	54	0	72	6	216	61	6
RB68	Eno Benjamin	ARI	28	103	1	19	113	2	54	6	291	84	-16
RB69	Qadree Ollison	ATL	85	196	3	24	134	2	75	6	264	76	-7
RB70	Chuba Hubbard	CAR	32	121	2	28	171	2	72	7	179	56	14
RB71	Tevin Coleman	NYJ	86	366	3	18	120	1	86	7	165	52	19
RB72	Raymond Calais	LAR	64	270	2	13	80	0	59	7	291	84	-12
RB73	Darwin Thompson	KC	43	151	2	32	217	2	83	7	291	84	-11
RB74	Jermar Jefferson	DET	48	183	2	15	90	0	55	7	291	84	-10
RB75	Mark Ingram	HOU	70	323	2	23	166	2	92	7	238	68	7
RB76	Larry Rountree III	LAC	66	244	3	19	107	0	66	7	291	84	-8
RB77	Kylin Hill	GB	41	156	1	45	310	2	99	7	291	84	-7
RB78	Justice Hill	BAL	60	299	2	11	67	0	54	7	291	84	-6
RB79	Sony Michel	NE	92	394	3	14	98	0	79	7	225	64	15
RB80	Darrel Williams	KC	64	245	2	16	119	1	65	7	202	58	22
RB81	Benny Snell Jr	PIT	73	274	4	3	20	0	56	7	274	79	2
RB82	Royce Freeman	DEN	38	152	1	27	162	0	40	7	291	84	-2
RB83	Jeffery Wilson	SF	23	103	1	3	16	0	22	7	257	74	9
RB84	Peyton Barber	WAS	55	193	2	3	17	0	33	7	291	84	0
RB85	Samaje Perine	CIN	43	168	2	16	103	0	42	7	260	75	10
RB86	Khalil Herbert	CHI	21	84	1	16	93	0	36	7	291	84	2
RB87	Jake Funk	LAR	41	169	2	6	35	0	37	7	291	84	3
RB88	Kyle Juszczyk	SF	8	29	1	21	140	1	42	7	291	84	4
RB89	Travis Homer	SEA	30	139	1	15	109	1	48	8	291	84	5
RB90	Jalen Richard	LVR	16	82	1	19	129	0	42	8	291	84	6
RB91	Patrick Ricard	BAL	3	9	0	16	97	1	29	8	291	84	7
RB92	Jeremy McNichols	TEN	39	167	1	18	58	1	46	8	291	84	8
RB93	Trayveon Williams	CIN	21	85	1	6	39	0	20	8	291	84	9
RB94	DeeJay Dallas	SEA	17	55	1	9	62	0	28	8	287	84	10
RB95	Ty Montgomery	NO	-	-	-	32	217	1	48	9	291	84	11
RB96	Trey Ragas	LVR	12	45	0	15	98	1	31	8	291	84	12
RB97	Gerrid Doaks	MIA	11	42	0	9	63	0	20	8	291	84	13
RB98	CJ Ham	MIN	2	5	0	11	77	0	18	8	291	84	14
RB99	Reggie Bonnafon	CAR	11	36	0	6	42	1	18	8	291	84	15
RB100	Jaylen Samuels	PIT	9	30	1	10	63	0	25	8	291	84	16
RB101	Joshua Kelley	LAC	26	84	0	9	65	0	27	8	254	72	29
RB102	Carlos Hyde	JAX	21	88	2	14	69	0	39	8	284	83	19
RB103	Javian Hawkins	ATL	43	165	1	2	10	0	25	6	291	84	19
RB104	Ameer Abdullah	MIN	10	39	0	11	70	1	23	8	291	84	20
RB105	Ty Johnson	NYJ	32	146	1	9	45	0	33	8	278	80	25
RB106	Ty'Son Williams	BAL	13	62	0	8	51	0	21	8	291	84	22
RB107	Jerick McKinnon	KC	32	130	1	10	66	0	32	8	239	69	38
RB108	Jordan Howard	PHI	25	106	2	9	62	0	36	8	291	84	24

 

Top Five I’m Lower On (Top 6 Tiers)

1)     David Johnson | My Rank (53) | ADP (36) | I’ll cover both Johnson and Lindsay (Below) here. Houston put out a new depth chart, that depth chart lists the RBs in order as Lindsay, Ingram, Johnson. Now normally just a preseason week 2 depth chart would mix up a backfield this much but combined with Johnson’s comments on being frustrated with his workload in camp and the preseason it seems logical to suggest that Lindsay will have a larger role than expected and that Ingram and Johnson are going to be backups and spell backs in the Texans offense.

2)     Leonard Fournette | My Rank (48) | ADP (32) | Fournette is, in my opinion, the most talented back in Tampa Bay but the continued dilution of RB snaps in for the Bucs with the addition of Bernard and Vaughn being in his second season means unless the early down work greatly shifts from last season Fournette is at best a late bestball draft pick and someone I’m not willing to bet too much on this season.

3)     James Conner | My Rank (52) | ADP (37) | Conner should fill into something of Drake’s rolefrom last season I just think it’s more of a secondary role to Chase Edmonds than a true committee situation and considering that I’m just lower on conner than the consensus.

4)     J.K. Dobbins | My Rank (26) | ADP (15) | Dobbins will probably be my most controversial rank and it has to do with his backfield mates. I think Dobbins is a very good player, but Lamar Jackson is going to take up triple digit carries, but the real problem for dobbins is that Gus Edwards has been incredibly efficient with his touches so far in his career (5.2 Yds/Att). Last year Edwards punched in 6 TDs and increased his workload slightly. Dobbins will be a good player and have peak weeks but the pure upside due to usage will most likely not be there.

5)     Alexander Mattison | My Rank (58) | ADP (48) | I’m a big fan of Madison and I’m with tier range at the position from ADP but we know Cook is going to dominate this backfield meaning Mattison, as good as he is, is a pure handcuff and there are players with greater individual upside than him at running back.

 

Top Five I’m Higher On (Top 6 Tiers)

1)     Anthony McFarland Jr | My Rank (62) | ADP (84) | McFarland and Mitchell (#3) are towards the end of the tier (RB47-69) and they both are going undrafted. McFarland is the backup in Pittsburgh and is in line to be the spell back for Najee Harris and his handcuff. Mitchell is probably the fourth option in San Francisco but I think he’s the third and we know that Shanahan isn’t afraid to utilize multiple backs and the hot hand Mitchell should provide value in that offense as a rookie even if it’s likely as a waiver wire pickup later in the year.

2)     Phillip Lindsay | My Rank (29) | ADP (49) | See: David Johnson Above

3)     Elijah Mitchell | My Rank (65) | ADP (84) | See: McFarland

4)     James White | My Rank (31) | ADP (50) | James White back where he belongs, way too low in ADP with a statuesque QB mostly likely taking over during the season if not at the start in a McDaniel’s offense. He averaged just shy of 8 yards a catch last year on about 25ish less targets than the Brady years so a more traditional offense than last season should boost his PPR value.

5)     La’Mical Perine | My Rank (55) | ADP (71) | Tevin Coleman leads the depth chart but at this point I think we know who he is as a player. Serviceable but unspectacular. This isn’t me pounding the table for Perine, but it is me saying that he’s rosterable as the non-Carter/receiving option in that backfield.