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Mike Fanelli's fantasy football dynasty buys and sells - trade targets and avoids for Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, De'Von Achane in fantasy football dynasty leagues.
The running back position in the NFL is changing. Older superstars like Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara are nearing the end. Meanwhile, younger superstars like Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are ready to take their place.
However, the running back position is loaded with talented young players. While no one will rank them among the top three dynasty running backs, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, and De'Von Achane are three of the better young stars at the position. Last year, all three running backs had success despite playing on inconsistent offenses.
What should fantasy players do with Hall, Walker, and Achane this offseason? Let’s examine each star running back and whether fantasy players should buy or sell in dynasty leagues.
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Buy Or Sell Breece Hall?
Fantasy players had high hopes for Hall last season. The superstar was coming off a productive year despite tearing his ACL as a rookie. He had 223 rushing attempts for 994 yards and five touchdowns in 2023 despite playing behind an awful offensive line. The New York Jets improved their offensive line last offseason, signing Tyron Smith and John Simpson while trading for Morgan Moses.
More importantly, Aaron Rodgers was returning under center after playing four snaps the year before, giving the Jets their best option at quarterback in decades. Unfortunately, nothing went right in New York last season. Their offense fell apart despite adding Davante Adams early in the year. Meanwhile, a once elite defense struggled.
Unfortunately, Hall’s fantasy value took a massive hit. Many selected him as a top-three running back in redraft leagues with high-end RB1 expectations. Yet, the superstar ended the season as the RB17, averaging 13.3 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, a career low. By comparison, Hall averaged 14.9 fantasy points per game over his first two years in the NFL.
However, fantasy players should expect a bounce-back season from the superstar in 2025. Much of Hall’s fantasy success comes in the passing game. He averaged 4.5 receptions on 5.6 targets for 34.8 receiving yards per game in 2023, averaging a receiving touchdown once per 15.2 receptions. Unfortunately, his work in the passing game significantly declined last year.
Hall averaged 3.6 receptions on 4.8 targets for 30.2 receiving yards per game, averaging a receiving touchdown once per 19 receptions last season. The superstar saw his work decline in the passing game because of the addition of Adams. However, the Jets are expected to move on from Rodgers and Adams this offseason. I would buy low on Hall and bet on a bounce-back year in 2025.
BREECE 🙌 29-yard TD for the @nyjets!
📺: #INDvsNYJ on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/jkmXTPC0QL— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Buy Or Sell Kenneth Walker?
While Walker has the talent to be an elite fantasy football running back, the former Michigan State star has never had an RB1 yearly finish. The highest the star running back has finished in half-point PPR scoring was the RB16 as a rookie in 2022, averaging 12.6 fantasy points per game. Unfortunately, Walker has struggled with injuries despite not having a full workload.
The Seattle Seahawks drafted Zach Charbonnet after Walker’s rookie season, making fantasy players rip their hair out. Yet, the new addition to the backfield didn’t kill Walker’s fantasy value. He finished as the RB19 in 2023, averaging 12.3 fantasy points per game. Last year, the superstar was the RB28, averaging 13.2 fantasy points per game despite missing six contests with multiple injuries.
Unfortunately, injuries aren’t new for Walker. He has missed nearly 20% of the games in his career, totaling at least two absences in every season. However, fantasy players should be happy that Walker set a career-high in fantasy points per game last year. While injuries have limited the superstar’s upside, they haven’t stopped him from being a scoring machine.
Walker has 24 rushing touchdowns in 41 career games, including seven last year in only 11 games. Meanwhile, he had the highest missed tackle forced rate per attempt (30%) among running backs with at least 15 attempts last season (per Fantasy Points Data). His 46 missed tackles forced were the ninth-most in the NFL despite missing over a third of the year.
Kenneth Walker the THIRD for a reason.
THREE TDs tonight!
📺: #SEAvsDET on ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/9A3mMu6P2L— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2024
More importantly, Walker has become a receiving threat in the passing game. He had 46 receptions on 53 targets in 11 contests last season after totaling 56 receptions on 72 targets in 30 games over his first two years in the league. Fantasy players should expect him to improve in the passing game after the Seahawks hire Klint Kubiak as their offensive coordinator. I’m buying Walker this offseason.
Buy Or Sell De'Von Achane?
Fantasy players had split opinions on Achane heading into his rookie season. Many loved his explosiveness and home-run skill set at Texas A&M. However, he is a smaller runner and was a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Yet, Achane landed in an excellent situation with the Miami Dolphins.
They had two older running backs with significant injury history ahead of him on the depth chart. While Raheem Mostert had a career year in 2023, Achane was also a fantasy superstar when healthy. The former Texas A&M star was the RB24 as a rookie, averaging 16.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Unfortunately, he missed six games with multiple injuries.
However, the explosive playmaker was the RB4 on a points-per-game basis, posting a higher average than Saquon Barkley (14.5) and Joe Mixon (14.2). Achane averaged 72.7 rushing yards per game on only 9.4 attempts. His 7.8 yards per rushing attempt average was unsustainable, leading to many selling high on the dynamic star after his rookie.
Achane’s efficiency crashed back down to Earth last season. He went from averaging 7.8 yards per rushing attempt as a rookie to 4.5 in 2024. Furthermore, he had six rushing touchdowns in 17 games after totaling eight in 11 contests as a rookie. Yet, the former Texas A&M star finished last year as the RB4, averaging 15.3 fantasy points per game.
De’Von Achane has a touchdown on Miami’s opening drive #GoFins
📺: #NYJvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/JtlxqU6x2l— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2024
More importantly, Achane became a force in the passing game. He had 27 receptions on 37 targets for 197 receiving yards and three touchdowns as a rookie. By comparison, the superstar had 78 receptions on 87 targets for 592 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season, leading all running backs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Fantasy players should trade for Achane despite his high price tag.
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