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With the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, it's time to dig into the huge list of players who weren't drafted and figure out if any of them have fantasy value.
This also extends beyond NFL fantasy—if you were watching the XFL this season and playing DFS, then you likely saw the top name from last year's article, Abram Smith, tearing things up for the Defenders, a performance that probably caught some NFL eyes. The players in this article probably won't have much value right now—though players like Zonovan Knight, Jaylen Warren, and Jordan Mason all saw the field last year as UDFA running backs.
So, are there running backs in this year's class who might have some value, whether that be in 2023 or beyond? Here are three names that I think you should keep an eye as you get ready for your dynasty rookie drafts.
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Sean Tucker - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers entered the draft with one of the NFL's weaker running back rooms. Rachaad White, their 2022 third-round pick who ran for 481 yards as a rookie, is the presumptive starter, with Chase Edmonds, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, and Patrick Laird backing him up.
Now, I do like White a lot—he also caught 50 passes last season—but it's unlikely he's going to be used in a bell-cow role. Other players will get touches. And the other players currently on the roster...meh. Edmonds has flashed some skill before, but he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry while splitting time between Denver and Miami last year. Vaughn had 17 carries and three receptions last year. Laird had one carry and three receptions for the Dolphins.
Enter Sean Tucker. Assuming everything is okay healthwise for Tucker—he missed the combine and Syracuse's pro day due to an undisclosed health condition but has been medically cleared now—then he should have a viable shot to get touches this year for the Buccaneers.
Tucker had 27 touchdowns over the last two seasons, including four receiving scores. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry across his three seasons at Syracuse and also added 64 receptions. He's also got breakaway speed, and if the Buccaneers can scheme to get him some screen passes out on the perimeter, he could do some real damage.
Keaton Mitchell - Baltimore Ravens
I was a big fan of Keaton Mitchell at East Carolina, where the 5'9'' back ran for 1,452 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, including 222 yards in a win over Temple. He caught my eye because of how well he ended the 2022 season, with 100-plus rushing yards in his final seven games. Overall, Mitchell averaged 7.2 yards per carry last season, plus added 27 receptions. He had more runs of 10-plus yards than any other FBS back last season.
He's a little undersized, but he's also a dynamic player who heads to a Ravens team that's a lot thinner than you might think at running back. Sure, a healthy J.K. Dobbins is really good—he averaged 5.7 yards per carry in eight games last season—but then you have Gus Edwards—a good runner but who adds no pass-game value—and Justice Hill, whose career high in rushing yards is 262.
The Ravens also come into this season with a new offensive coordinator, Todd Monken. This had been a team that didn't really target its running backs in the passing game—13.5% of the Ravens' targets went to running backs last season, which was the third-lowest in the league. But Monken comes from Georgia, where running back Kenny McIntosh had 43 receptions last season, third-most on the team and just 15 fewer than No. 1 wide receiver Ladd McConkey. More RB involvement in the passing game could be the thing that gets Mitchell on the field, as he can be electric when he gets the ball in space.
(And look, I know we do this "maybe the Ravens will use the running backs in the pass game" thing every season, but the Monken move really feels like it might be the thing that changes that.)
Xazavian Valladay - Houston Texans
The Texans spent most of this offseason rebuilding things offensively. They'll enter 2023 with new veterans at every skill position—Robert Woods at receiver, Dalton Schultz at tight end, and Devin Singletary at running back—plus rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and rookie wide receivers Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson.
All that movement creates a really fluid situation here, one that could lead to a surprise name making the team at running back: Xazavian Valladay out of Arizona State, who NFL.com lists as their top undrafted running back.
Dameon Pierce is the clear starter at running back for Houston, with Singletary right behind him. But Singletary is only under contract for 2023, as is Dare Ogunbowale. Mike Boone has two years before he hits free agency, but has never run for more than 273 yards in a season. I think there's a pretty easy path to the RB3 role, which puts you an injury away from fantasy relevance.
As for what Valladay brings to the field, he's got three 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, two when he played for Wyoming and one in his lone year at Arizona State. Valladay's numbers at ASU are impressive because he didn't really show any fall-off from his Mountain West numbers. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry last year, which was 0.4 more than his 2021 numbers at Wyoming, and he caught a career-high 37 passes last year.
That pass-catching ability might be something that really helps him get a roster spot. The Texans have a whole new coaching regime and QB this year so I won't look at their RB targets last season, but new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik comes over from a 49ers team that targets the RB position 110 times last season. And the running back who saw 51 targets for Houston last year—Rex Burkhead—is no longer with the team.
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