Forget fantasy football for a moment. Let’s look at backup tailbacks instead as just football players – which guys are the best at their craft – and try to rank them 1 thru 32.
So I’m taking just the backups for each team. I’m setting aside true third-down type backs like Danny Woodhead, Theo Riddick and Darren Sproles. The roles for those guys don’t necessarily change if the starting tailbacks on those teams get hurt. I’m looking at just the so-called handcuff backs.
Toughest calls are in Jacksonville (where I went with T.J. Yeldon as the starter and Chris Ivory as the No. 2 – those guys are sharing time) and Baltimore, where I could have gone with either Terrance West or Kenneth Dixon. New England doesn’t really have a true backup tailback behind LeGarrette Blount; I went with James White.
Once we’ve got our 32 guys, imagine how NFL teams might draft them. And I’m setting aside age. I’m looking at just the 2016 season.
I think they’d go something like this …
| RATING THE BACKUP RBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rk | Tm | Player |
| 1 | TEN | Derrick Henry |
| 2 | CIN | Giovani Bernard |
| 3 | DAL | Alfred Morris |
| 4 | SEA | Christine Michael |
| 5 | CLE | Duke Johnson Jr. |
| 6 | JAC | Chris Ivory |
| 7 | TB | Charles Sims |
| 8 | BUF | Mike Gillislee |
| 9 | ATL | Tevin Coleman |
| 10 | PIT | DeAngelo Williams |
| 11 | KC | Spencer Ware |
| 12 | BAL | Kenneth Dixon |
| 13 | MIN | Jerick McKinnon |
| 14 | NYJ | Bilal Powell |
| 15 | SF | Shaun Draughn |
| 16 | DEN | Devontae Booker |
| 17 | PHI | Kenjon Barner |
| 18 | LA | Benny Cunningham |
| 19 | ARI | Chris Johnson |
| 20 | HOU | Alfred Blue |
| 21 | IND | Robert Turbin |
| 22 | GB | James Starks |
| 23 | WAS | Robert Kelley |
| 24 | NE | James White |
| 25 | OAK | DeAndre Washington |
| 26 | NO | Tim Hightower |
| 27 | MIA | Jay Ajayi |
| 28 | NYG | Orleans Darkwa |
| 29 | CAR | Cameron Artis-Payne |
| 30 | CHI | KaDeem Carey |
| 31 | DET | Dwayne Washington |
| 32 | SD | Andre Williams |
—Ian Allan