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Adam Koffler provides his 2022 fantasy football draft rankings for the running back position in PPR leagues and identifies players to target and avoid.
Howdy RotoBallers, and welcome back to more of our fantasy football rankings! Below you will find Adam Koffler's 2022 PPR Running Back Rankings, updated as of 8/20/2022.
In this article, I'll also highlight a handful of running backs that I'm targeting and avoiding at cost this season. Remember, these are full-PPR rankings, thus bumping up high-volume pass-catchers and running backs that are utilized in the passing game.
Below you'll find my tiered rankings for the running back position. Check out my other positional rankings: QBs, WRs, TEs
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Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
Fantasy Football Running Backs I'm Targeting for Fantasy Football
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC (RB20) - Yes, I know, he's disappointed us now for two straight seasons. But I'm telling you, this is the year! Darrel Williams, Andy Reid's trusted pass-catching back, is no longer on the team and they've backfilled him with a seventh-round rookie in Isiah Pacheco. I know, Pacheco has flashed in training camp, but he's not going to be trusted early to handle the amount of work Williams did alongside Edwards-Helaire.
We're still talking about the starting running back on one of the best offenses in football, and now with less competition in the backfield (we think). I'd much rather take a shot on CEH than say Rashaad Penny, and they're going very close to each other according to most consensus rankings.
Nyheim Hines, IND (RB29) - Nyheim Hines in the top-30!? There's just no way! Oh yes there is. Remember back in 2020 when Hines was a low-end RB2 in PPR leagues? Philip Rivers targeted him 76 times and he found the endzone seven times on 165 total opportunities. In 2021, with Carson Wentz at the helm, Hines saw just 57 targets and scored just three touchdowns on 113 total opportunities.
From everything we've heard this offseason, Frank Reich and the Colts actively want Hines to touch the ball much more often than he did a season ago. And with Matt Ryan as the new quarterback in Indianapolis, expect the targets to increase drastically from the measly 3.4 per game a season ago. Jonathan Taylor isn't going to out-touch Hines 372 to 96 again this season, that's for sure.
Others I'm Targeting: D'Andre Swift, A.J. Dillon, Chase Edmonds, Kenneth Gainwell, Rhamondre Stevenson, Dontrell Hilliard
Fantasy Football Running Backs I'm Avoiding for Fantasy Football
Najee Harris, PIT (RB13) - He's in the top-five or top-six depending on who you talk to, but I just can't get there. Ben Roethlisberger checked down to Najee 19 times in a game Diontae Johnson sat out. Mitch Trubisky isn't likely to check down nearly as much and this Steelers offense could struggle a bit out of the gates.
Harris finished as the RB7 in PPR with a league-leading opportunity share at the running back position. With Jaylen Warren and Anthony McFarland Jr. both healthy and performing admirably in training camp, there's a chance Harris doesn't match his workload from a season ago. And when he doesn't, it's likely he's sitting outside the top-10 running backs in fantasy football in 2022.
Damien Harris, NE (RB38) - Look, I've got Rhamondre Stevenson well above Harris, and for good reason (I think). It's Harris who's likely to be involved on passing downs, not Stevenson. Once Stevenson established himself late in the 2021 season, Harris' snap share decreased to below 40%. The only way for him to meet and/or exceed value this season is to score another 15 touchdowns on just over 200 carries. That's very unlikely to happen again, so he's a fade in PPR formats for me.
Others I'm Avoiding: Derrick Henry, Miles Sanders, Antonio Gibson, Rashaad Penny
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