If you are like me, you double down on the running back position in rookie drafts after the real event takes place. The idea here is to add as many high-upside running backs and hope to catch lightning in the bottle with one of them.
The 2013 NFL draft brought us a ton of young running backs who made nice impacts as rookies. While we all expected the Eddie Lacy's and Giovani Bernard's of the world to preform well in fantasy football, not many projected what we saw from Andre Ellington and Zac Stacy, among others. While a great problem to have, it does leave some of us in a bind entering 2014. Among these second-year backs, who do we start and who do we bench?
eDraft plans to help you with that right here.
1. Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers
2013 Statistics: 1,178 rushing yards, 4.1 average, 35 receptions, 257 yards and 11 touchdowns
Lacy is going to enjoy having Aaron Rodgers in the backfield with him for a full season and it's going to do wonders for his overall production. The 2013 second-round pick excelled with a less-than-stellar passing game supporting him as a rookie. He put up 1,353 total yards in the final 12 games of the regular season, averaging 4.5 yards per touch.
While Green Bay will focus more on the passing game with Rodgers under center, its improved defense should help the Packers maintain a lead throughout. This will enable Lacy to get his fair share of touches. Considering he ranked No. 2 among all running backs in consistency last season, Lacy should find himself as a top-five overall fantasy running back in 2014.
2. Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
2013 Statistics: 860 rushing yards, 3.5 average, 45 receptions, 399 yards and eight touchdowns
Bell might not have put up stellar splits last season, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, but his ability to gain the necessary yards on third and short means that Pittsburgh should rely on him a great deal in 2014 to keep the chains moving. As we have seen in the past with other running backs, the Steelers have no issue pounding the rock when there is talent in the backfield.
Even if Bell averaged just four yards per carry in 2014, he should sit among the top-10 overall fantasy running backs considering he will see about 300-plus attempts throughout the season. Interestingly enough, Bell is also a decent PPR option. He caught nearly 73 percent of the passes thrown in his direction in 2013.
3. Montee Ball, Denver Broncos
2013 Statistics: 559 rushing yards, 4.7 average, 20 receptions, 145 yards and four touchdowns
Ball now has his chance to shine with Knowshon Moreno moving on to South Beach. If the success we saw from him last season and the history of running backs in the same backfield with Peyton Manning shows us anything, Ball is going to be a stud fantasy option in 2014.
He averaged over five yards per touch last season and was able to score a touchdown every 30 times he attempted a rush. While extrapolation never works in this game, it's safe to say that Ball's indicators lean towards 1,500 total yards and double-digit scores.
4. Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals
2013 Statistics: 652 rushing yards, 5.5 average, 39 receptions, 371 yards and four touchdowns
With Rashard Mendenhall out of the mix, Bruce Arians and Co. are going to have no other choice but to give the ball to the electric Ellington. While Stepfan Taylor may get a few touches here and there, we can expect Ellington to put up between 15-20 touches per game. He led all NFL running backs in average yards per attempt in 2013 and can hit that second level with the best of them. It also doesn't hurt that Arizona will have the services of Jonathan Cooper, who missed his entire rookie season after suffering an injury in preseason.
Ellington actually ranked 39th among all running backs in consistency last season. This despite the fact that he averaged just 7.9 attempts per game. Think about that for a second.
5. Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals
2013 Statistics: 695 rushing yards, 4.1 average, 56 receptions, 514 yards and eight touchdowns
Man, those who own Bernard were none too happy that Cincinnati decided to spend a second-round pick on Jeremy Hill this past May. Let's not fool ourselves here, Bernard's fantasy production will be impacted by this. Unfortunately for those of us who are high on Bernard as a fantasy option, his goal-line opportunities simply aren't going to be there. That's going to have a negative impact in his overall value.
With that said, Bernard is among the most-talented young running backs in the game, and the Bengals are going to find a way to get him the ball 15-20 times per game. That's more than what we said during his rookie campaign under then offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.
Bernard put up either 100-plus yards or a touchdown in 38 percent of his outings last season. He did this despite the fact that he averaged just 10.7 attempts per game. Expect Bernard's floor to be as a decent RB2 option with a ceiling inside the top 10.
Rounding out the Rankings
6. Zac Stacy, St. Louis Rams: Stacy should find himself in the 1,000-yard club when all is said and done. Let's just hope recent reports from St. Louis that Tre Mason will be given a chance to win the job are not true.
7. Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders: A solid under-the-radar option due to an aging running back in Maurice Jones-Drew and an injury-prone running back in Darren McFadden ahead of him on the roster. Keep your eyes open on the waiver wire here.
8. Knile Davis, Kansas City Chiefs: Purely a bench option due to the presence of Jamaal Charles, Davis should still get 5-6 touches a game. More of a decent option in deeper leagues.
9. Stepfan Taylor, Arizona Cardinals: We know very well how much Bruce Arians' led teams like these ground-and-pound running backs. If Ellington somehow falls out of favor early on, Taylor will be right there to pick up the pieces.
10. Joseph Randle, Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys signed Ryan Williams away from Arizona, but he's never been able to stay healthy. In addition to that, DeMarco Murray has had his own injury concerns. There is a decent chance Randle will get some touches in 2014.
11. Marcus Lattimore, San Francisco 49ers: We have no idea what to expect from Lattimore, who will be playing his first game since 2012. Even if he's healthy, the 49ers have Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde and Kendall Hunter ahead of him on the depth chart.