Pope’s Pick 6: RBs to Watch in Training Camp

Welcome to Pope’s Pick 6. Twice a week I’ll be bringing you a quick look at my fantasy football thoughts in quick-hit form. Today: Running backs I’m watching closely in training camp.

Football is back. As all the teams are reporting to training camp, it’s only a matter of time before we are setting those Week 1 lineups. With that also comes a draft season, soon enough all of us will be on the clock somewhere. With that in mind, this week’s Pope’s Pick Six is dedicated to running backs I am keeping a close eye on this training camp, whether they are coming off an injury or just have a new situation to navigate. 

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

Now two years removed from his ACL injury, Saquon Barkley is entering this training camp with questions around whether he is still the elite talent we all were enamored with early in his career. These concerns were only intensified last season when he struggled in a big way, only averaging 3.7 yards per attempt and 6.8 yards per reception – both lowest of his career. He ended up with 856 scrimmage yards and 4 touchdowns on 203 touches and missed four games on the season. As bad as this season looked on paper, the coaching staff, playcalling and offensive line all did him no favors. 

In an effort to right the ship, the Giants hired one of the league’s more innovative offensive coaches in Brian Daboll. Daboll seems eager to find better ways to get the ball into Barkley’s hands, hopefully in space — he has 105 forced missed tackles in his career. It would also be nice to see the team work to get him to the edge more often and let him use his burst and speed. I’ll be watching to see if they do those things in the preseason, and what Barkley does with those opportunities. If it looks good, he’s got a shot to return to the RB1 level.

Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams

Cam Akers struggled with injuries as a rookie in 2020, but he did flash in a small stretch Weeks 12-14, putting up three straight games of at least 14 PPR points, totaling 52.2 in that span. After a late-season ankle sprain, he returned for the Rams’ two playoff games, producing 272 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns on 49 touches and leading to big fantasy optimism for his 2021 — optimism that was unfortunately cut short when he ruptured his Achilles in July. Akers returned for Week 18 and the postseason, but averaged 2.4 yards per carry in his five games, significant down from his 4.8 as a rookie.

Of course, it was an incredibly fast return. So I am keeping a close watch in the preseason on Akers and his health. If we see evidence his burst and explosiveness are back, and if it looks like he’s getting a bell cow-like workload out of a backfield that still has Darrell Henderson, then there’s a chance he returns value on his RB15 ADP.

J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens 

As a rookie in 2020, Dobbins averaged 6.0 yards per carry and 6.7 yards per reception, displaying great efficiency on limited touches. Additionally, he closed the season out with a stretch of six weeks of double-digit PPR points, scoring at least 1 touchdown in each game. He was the RB10 in PPR scoring in that stretch, averaging 17 points a game en route to 101.7 total. And he did that all on only a 33.6% snap share. This made it easy to see how a larger role in 2021 could lead to fantasy stardom, which might have happened had he not torn his ACL in a preseason game and missed the season. 

Now, he’s close to a year removed from the injury, so I’m watching Dobbins carefully. Running backs often struggle in their first year back from an ACL tear, so Dobbins looking explosive and confident with pads on will be crucial to his 2022 prognosis. I also want to see how confident the Ravens are in putting Dobbins out there, and what situations they use him. If he looks like he can be as efficient as he was as a rookie, he’s got a shot at being a league winner at his RB25 ADP.

Melvin Gordon, Denver Broncos

It took a while, but Melvin Gordon found his way back to Denver this offseason after testing the free agency waters. This move extinguished a chunk of the Javonte Williams hype that had risen while it looked like he was going to get a bell cow role. Instead, Gordon and his extremely efficient 203 carries for 918 yards and 8 touchdowns (plus 28 receptions for 213 yards and 2 scores) are back. A year ago, Gordon was RB21, while Williams was RB17. 

Though he is now 29 years old, Gordon has proven he still has the effectiveness to be a viable NFL running back. So I am keeping a close eye on Gordon and this Broncos backfield. Before camp even started there have been guesses and rumors of what each player’s will be — anything from “this is Williams’ backfield” to “another 50/50 split.” With a whole new offense and quarterback, it is likely this offense is much improved in 2022, leading to more production for both players. However, if the split is truly 50/50 again, we likely see both players finish as low-end RB2s. For this reason, I am taking the extreme discount on Gordon, whose current ADP is RB34, as he could significantly outproduce that value. On the other hand, Williams’ RB11 ADP could disappoint many managers.

Ronald Jones, Kansas City Chiefs

After four roller-coaster years in Tampa, Ronald Jones moved to Kansas City this offseason and is in an equally murky situation. On the surface, it might seem like he’s not likely to be productive, joining a running back room that already has former first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the re-signed Jerick McKinnon. However, Edwards-Helaire has been a letdown through two seasons. He hasn’t hit 1,000 rushing yards or topped 4 rushing touchdowns in either of his seasons, and he’s missed multiple games each year (10 combined missed games through two seasons). As a result, there is an opportunity for Jones to come in and carve out a significant role in the run game this year. 

Because of this, I have my eyes glued on this backfield, especially with the rumors that the Chiefs hope to use Jones on early downs. This is no surprise as he arguably is the better pure runner of the group — he has also displayed more explosiveness over his career, with 49 runs of 10-plus yards and 20 runs of 15-plus. Additionally, he has scored at a higher rate inside the red zone, converting on 27.1% of his carries, compared to Edwards-Helaire’s 16.3%. I am curious to see if Jones can carve out a lead rushing and red zone role in training camp. If so, on this potent offense its likely he will become a great value at an ADP of RB38. 

Tyler Allgeier. Atlanta Falcons

Tyler Allgeier may not be the biggest rookie name this season, but he may be one of the most important to know. In four years at BYU, Allgeier was extremely productive in a workhorse role, totaling 3,336 scrimmage yards and 37 total touchdowns on 498 touches. Last season, he tied for the NCAA lead in touchdown runs with 23 and led the Independents for the second straight year in rushing yards with 1,601. All of this helped him land with the Falcons in the fifth round of this year’s draft. That lands him in a great situation to get work quickly, as the Falcons have a very shallow RB depth chart. 

That’s why Allgeier is a must-watch candidate this August — he could carve out a significant role in this offense. His only real competition are 32-year-old Cordarrelle Patterson and 30-year-old Damien Williams, and neither has ever topped 650 rushing yards in a season. In other words, it’s easy to see a path for this highly productive college back to grab a lead role in this offense. Keep an eye on him in the preseason, because there’s real potential fantasy value there.