X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Biggest Fantasy Busts of 2020 - Running Back

Justin Carter breaks down the biggest fantasy football busts at running back from the 2020 NFL season. Who has seen their draft value decrease heading into 2021?

The 2020 NFL regular season is now in the rear-view mirror, so let's look back on what happened. Today, that means looking back on some busts.

While plenty of good things happened this season, some players didn't live up to expectations. We're going to take a look at some of those players and try to diagnose why 2020 wasn't their year.

Today, we'll be looking at the three biggest running back busts of the season. ADP is from FantasyPros, and the final rankings are through the first 16 weeks because we don't need to pretend to care about Week 17 now that Week 17 is over. We're also not looking at players who dealt with major injuries, like Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys

ADP: RB3
Final Ranking: RB11

While Zeke technically finished as an RB1 on the season, things definitely didn't go the way that we all expected when we were drafting him as the overall RB3 on the season.

Elliott got off to a good start, with five rushing touchdowns and three games of 89 or more yards over the first five games. But things really fell off a cliff after that, with Elliott totaling just two touchdowns -- one of which was a Week 17 rushing score -- over the remainder of the season. His receiving production continued to decline as it did in 2019, and that issue was exacerbated by the fact that his rushing production disappeared too. Elliott averaged 65.3 rushing yards per game, a big drop from the earlier parts of his career:

Elliott's yards per game have dropped every season, but until this year, that was something you could live with. But 2020 was not something you could really live with, especially when you definitely drafted Elliott while Alvin Kamara was still on the board.

The big question here is what comes next for Elliott. Obviously, the Cowboys are stuck with him for now, as the dead cap if they moved on this year would be far too much. Financially, the most likely scenario is that we have two more seasons of Zeke in Arlington.

But his years of heavy usage seem to be taking a toll. Elliott ranked 38th in big runs and 58th in big run rate. His true yards per carry ranked 53rd among running backs. Elliott still got plenty of volume but was clearly more ineffective than ever at doing things with that volume.

Going forward, we have to assume the Cowboys look to keep Elliott fresher by giving some of his touches to someone else, whether that be Tony Pollard or a back who is not currently on the roster. Elliott still has the upside to finish as an RB1 again, but it's hard to see him breaking into that elite group again. Maybe I'm wrong -- maybe we'll look back on 2020 as a slight blip and Elliott will still have a few more seasons as an elite fantasy option. But I'm not really willing to use a first-round pick on him next season to find out.

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs

ADP: RB11
Final Ranking: RB22

It wasn't so much that Edwards-Helaire was bad -- he just didn't live up to the preseason hype that saw him drafted as a low-end RB1 after Damien Williams opted out of the season.

Edwards-Helaire flew out of the gate with 25 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown. But he had just four more touchdowns over the remainder of the season and hit the 100-yard mark just once more. He saw his touches drop as the season went on, with his snap rate dropping midseason after the team acquired Le'Veon Bell.

One of the issues is that Edwards-Helaire struggled to make big plays. He was 24th in big run rate and 26th in juke rate. His true yards per carry of 4.3 ranked 28th among running backs.

I think we expected that Edwards-Helaire getting drafted in the first round was a sign of how the Chiefs would use him. But when he wasn't contributing to the team's success in the ways they expected, the Chiefs smartly added to their backfield. Edwards-Helaire will need to figure out how to evade defenders and improve his burst going forward, but he should enter 2021 as the lead back in Kansas City again. Maybe we shouldn't be out there drafting him like an RB1 this time around, but he can be a solid RB2 option. Just be wary of a preseason hype train.

 

Mark Ingram II, Baltimore Ravens

ADP: RB22
Final Ranking: RB72

Yikes.

Even after the Ravens drafted J.K. Dobbins, Ingram was being drafted as a low-end RB2 because the veteran had had some nice success playing with Lamar Jackson. But by the end of the season, Ingram was missing games as a healthy scratch as the Ravens valued keeping the RB healthy to save future cap space over whatever value he would have brought to the football field.

Ingram was okay early in the year, but it became clear when he missed time with an ankle injury that Dobbins was the best running back in Baltimore and that Gus Edwards was the better short-yardage option. Ingram saw his usage drop tremendously from then on, with five carries for five yards in Week 10 and two for two yards in Week 13. After Week 13, Ingram didn't have a touch until Week 17, but Dobbins had 160 yards in that game to Ingram's 39. And that was the end of things for Ingram.

So, what's next? He's been released by the Ravens and will probably find work somewhere in 2021, but it won't be as a lead back. As of now, it's hard to see a reason why I'd draft Ingram in 2021 fantasy drafts.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jauan Jennings

Avoids Serious Shoulder Injury
Garrett Crochet

Shuts Out the Athletics
Royce Lewis

Launches Two Homers Monday Night
NBA

Mason Jones Takes His Talents to Australia
NBA

Talen Horton-Tucker Joins Reigning EuroLeague Champions
New York Knicks

Malcolm Brogdon on Knicks' Radar
Andrew Wiggins

Attracting Interest From Lakers
Miami Heat

Heat Interested in Reunion With Precious Achiuwa
Tyler Glasnow

Fans 11 in Seven No-Hit Innings Monday
Slade Cecconi

Takes No-Hitter Into Eighth Inning Monday
Max Muncy

Batting Cleanup in Return to Dodgers
New York Knicks

Ben Simmons Reportedly Declined Knicks' Contract Offer
Younghoe Koo

Falcons Auditioning Kickers, Could Replace Younghoe Koo
Denver Broncos

Sean Payton Says Broncos Need to be Better With Run-Pass Balance
Tank Bigsby

Eagles Acquiring Tank Bigsby From Jaguars on Monday
George Kittle

Likely Out 3-5 Weeks, Could Land on Injured Reserve
Chase Burns

to be Activated on Friday
Brock Purdy

Dealing With Multiple Injuries, Could Miss Week 2
Tyler Glasnow

Cleared to Start on Monday
Logan O'Hoppe

Placed on Concussion Injured List
Christian Yelich

Returning on Monday
Elias Pettersson

Feeling "Good" Ahead of Season
NHL

Alex Formenton Rejoins Swiss Team
NHL

Grigori Denisenko Heads Back Home
CAR

Kevin Labanc Joins Hurricanes for Tryout
Ross Colton

Healthy for Start of Season
Daniel Palencia

Cubs Place Daniel Palencia on Injured List With Shoulder Strain
Pete Crow-Armstrong

Returning on Monday
Sean Murphy

Done for the Year With Hip Labral Tear
Alec Bohm

Lands on Injured List With Cyst in his Shoulder
Trea Turner

Going on Injured List, Phillies Hope to Have him Back for Playoffs
Brock Bowers

Considered Day-to-Day With Knee Injury
Jonathan Taylor

is "Good" After Taking a Hit to his Neck in Week 1
Caio Borralho

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Kyle Stowers

Suffers Setback on Rehab Assignment?
Nassourdine Imavov

Extends Win Streak
Mauricio Ruffy

Gets Submitted
Benoît Saint Denis

Benoit Saint Denis Taps Out Mauricio Ruffy
Michael King

Expected to Return on Tuesday
Russell Wilson

Remains the Giants Starter
Trea Turner

Undergoing MRI Exam on Monday
Paul Craig

Retires After UFC Paris Loss
Denny Hamlin

Earns his First Cup Victory at Gateway
Kyle Larson

Damage Ruins Kyle Larson's Chance At a Top Finish at Gateway
Christopher Bell

Scores his Third Top-10 Finish at Gateway
Joey Logano

Maintains his Perfect Top-Five Streak at Gateway
Ryan Blaney

Struggles and Recovers for a Top-Five Finish at Gateway
Modestas Bukauskas

Scores First-Round Knockout
Bolaji Oki

Suffers Second-Round TKO Loss
Xavier Worthy

Week-to-Week with Dislocated Shoulder
Mason Jones

Scores Comeback Win
Rhys McKee

Suffers Third-Round TKO Loss
Axel Sola

Successful In His UFC Debut
Robert Ruchała

Robert Ruchala Unsuccessful In His UFC Debut
William Gomis

Bounces Back In The Win Column
Derrick Henry

Scores Twice but has Costly Fumble on Sunday
Lamar Jackson

Shines With Three Total Touchdowns in Loss to Bills
Keon Coleman

Leads the Team With 11 Targets on Sunday
Josh Allen

Totals Four Touchdowns in Win Over Ravens
Chase Elliott

Gets Lucky but Still Has Best Run at Gateway
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Wins Stage 2, but Was Let Down by Strategy
Tyler Reddick

Despite Bad Luck, Tyler Reddick Does What he Needed to Do
Chase Briscoe

Recovers from Incident with Daniel Suarez to Finish Second
William Byron

Late Caution Foils William Byron's Shot at Gateway Victory
Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Dominates Targets in Seattle, Records 124 Receiving Yards in Week 1
Puka Nacua

Leads Rams in Targets, Catches, and Receiving Yards in Week 1
Logan O'Hoppe

Exits After Concussion Scare, Status Remains Unclear
Christian McCaffrey

Logs 31 Touches in Season Opener
Travis Etienne Jr.

Dominates Backfield Touches in Jacksonville, Posts Monster Day
Jayson Tatum

"Moving Around Way Better"
Russell Wilson

Giants Won't Commit to Russell Wilson as Week 2 Starter
Drake London

Day-to-Day with Shoulder Sprain
George Kittle

and Jauan Jennings to Undergo MRIs
Daniel Palencia

to Miss Time With Shoulder Injury
Byron Buxton

Exits Early With Knee Contusion
Trea Turner

Suffers Hamstring Strain
Ryan Blaney

Should Contend at Gateway
Denny Hamlin

Fastest in Qualifying, the Favorite to Win at Gateway
Christopher Bell

Looking for Redemption at Gateway
Joey Logano

Has Been Elite at Gateway
Austin Cindric

Should Be On Your Radar at Gateway
AJ Allmendinger

Could Be a Sleeper Again at Gateway
Tyler Reddick

Southern 500 Near-Miss Makes Tyler Reddick a Stronger Option for Gateway
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace a Likely Gateway Contender
Alex Bowman

a Long Shot to Advance in Playoffs
Austin Dillon

Richard Childress Racing Looks Slower at Gateway, Which Will Hurt Austin Dillon
Shane Van Gisbergen

Starts 18th in Gateway Debut
Jeremy Swayman

Ready to Get Back on Track
Connor McDavid

Aiming for More Goals
NJ

Luke Glendening Signs Tryout Deal With Devils
Dylan Harper

Hoping to be Ready for the Opener Versus Dallas
EDM

Derek Ryan Retires From Hockey
Connor Zary

Agrees to Three-Year Deal With Flames
Carey Price

Canadiens Trade Carey Price to Sharks
Rasmus Hojgaard

Finishes Tied For Second at Omega European Masters
Tyrrell Hatton

Finishes Tied for 32nd at LIV Indianapolis
Matt Fitzpatrick

Finishes Fifth at Omega European Masters
Patrick Cantlay

Finishes Tied For Second in 2025 FedEx Cup Standings
Xander Schauffele

Finishes 42nd in 2025 FedEx Cup Standings
Caio Borralho

Set For A Title Eliminator Bout
Nassourdine Imavov

Looks To Earn A Title Shot
Mauricio Ruffy

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Benoît Saint Denis

Benoit Saint Denis Set For UFC Paris Co-Main Event
Modestas Bukauskas

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Paul Craig

In Dire Need Of Victory
Mason Jones

Set for Main-Card Bout
Bolaji Oki

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Rhys McKee

Set To Open Up UFC Paris Main Card
Jon Rahm

Looks to Prove His Importance on European Ryder Cup Team
Tommy Fleetwood

Among Leaders of European Ryder Cup Team
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Close to Triple-Double Versus Serbia
Nikola Jokić

Nikola Jokic Fills Box Score Against Turkey
Nikola Jović

Nikola Jovic Shakes Off Minor Injury
E.J. Liddell

Inks Two-Way Deal With Nets
NBA

Ben Simmons Reportedly Considering Retirement
P.J. Washington

Agrees to Four-Year, $90 Million Extension
Sepp Straka

Gets Captain's Pick to Join Team Europe
PGA

Victor Hovland to Make Third Ryder Cup Appearance for Team Europe
J.J. Spaun

Set to Represent Team USA for First Time at Bethpage
Russell Henley

Makes First Ryder Cup Appearance at Bethpage
Harris English

Named to Ryder Cup Team for Second Time
Justin Thomas

Making Fourth Ryder Cup Team Appearance at Bethpage
Ben Griffin

Making First Career Ryder Cup Appearance at Bethpage
Bryson DeChambeau

Set to be Part of Team USA at Bethpage

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP