Redraft Rankings Spotlight: RBs

Rankings are fun, but they don’t always tell the whole story. In this series, I’ll take a closer look at my 2022 Redraft Rankings, providing context for a handful of players that I have ranked well above or below ADP consensus. This time around, I’ll be focusing on the RB position. Make sure you check out my full Redraft Rankings before your draft gets underway!

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants – RB7

According to Sleeper’s most recent ADP, Saquon Barkley is the RB12. Drafters are clearly nervous about Barkley after two consecutive injury-riddled seasons. In my rankings, I reject this cautious approach and focus strictly on the upside. At 25 years old, Barkley is still firmly in his prime, bringing elite athleticism to an offense that can only improve under Brian Daboll. He will handle all of the pass-catching duties and the majority of carries with just Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell for competition. Whenever we’ve seen a healthy Saquon Barkley with a high opportunity share, he has been one of fantasy football’s most valuable assets. He should be drafted accordingly.

Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams – RB20

Before he tore his Achilles last June, Cam Akers was one of my favorite 2021 breakout candidates. But, unfortunately, my confidence and enthusiasm have been replaced with skepticism. I’m worried about his post-injury explosiveness and his role in the Rams’ offense. Sean McVay’s comments this preseason suggest that Akers will be more of a committee leader than a full-blown workhorse. Receiving work is another concern for Cam Akers, not because he lacks ability but because the Rams do not feature their RBs in the passing game. Over the past three seasons, the Rams have ranked 32nd, 30th, and 32nd in RB target share. Akers will need to overperform in the TD column to approach RB1 production.

Even with all of these questions, I’ve only ranked Cam Akers three positional slots below his Sleeper ADP of RB17. In my overall rankings, however, he’s nearly two full rounds below consensus. I strongly prefer the WRs available in this portion of the draft, and my rankings reflect that.

Chase Edmonds, Miami Dolphins – RB25

Excluding weeks that he left early, Chase Edmonds had just one weekly finish outside the top 30 RBs last season. That was despite splitting work with James Conner and scoring just two total TDs. Now, as Miami’s lead back, Edmonds is being drafted as the RB35, after Kenneth Walker, Cordarrelle Patterson, Damien Harris, and Devin Singletary. I will not stand for this level of disrespect. 

Chase Edmonds ranked seventh in RB target share and 9th in yards per route run last season. He was also underrated as a rusher, ranking 9th in true yards per carry, 12th in juke rate, and 11th in breakaway run rate. He’s a proven talent and roughly the same size as Austin Ekeler, Aaron Jones, and Christian McCaffrey. Now he’s set to take on the biggest workload of his career with Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel as his principal competition. He is a must-draft at his current price.

Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots – RB31

While other drafters worry about Week 1 projections and players with “safe” floors, you should be honing in on the players with league-winning upside. Rhamondre Stevenson fits the bill. Although he’s listed behind Damien Harris on the depth chart, I have Stevenson ranked ahead because his ceiling is higher. We saw this last season in Week 10. With Harris out of the lineup, Stevenson carried the ball twenty times and saw five targets, exceeding Harris’s career-high. He finished as the overall RB2 that week. For whatever reason, the Patriots are more comfortable using Stevenson in the passing game, which means you should be more comfortable drafting him to your fantasy team.

Thanks for reading this article! You can find me on Twitter at @fantasyfreezer if you have any more best ball questions or just want to share your favorite tournament teams!

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