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Tyler Atlas breaks down the fantasy football impact of backfields affected by rookie running backs selected in the 2022 NFL Draft (Round 4 Picks). Which RBs are risers or fallers?
Each year we see a handful of incoming rookie RBs finish as a RB2 or better in fantasy football. While the best rookies are typically those who are drafted on Day 2 or earlier (Najee Harris, Jonathan Taylor), there are also some recent examples of Day 3 picks and UDFA RBs who had great rookie seasons (Elijah Mitchell, James Robinson).
In this article, I’ll be covering the RBs that were drafted in round 4 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
To read my article about each of the Day 2 picks (Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, James Cook, and more), you can check it out here.
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Houston Texans: Dameon Pierce (Pick #107)
Dameon Pierce landed in the perfect spot, a wide-open backfield in Houston. Heading into the 2022 season, the Texans re-signed 32 year-old Rex Burkhead and career backup Royce Freeman on one year deals. The Texans also brought in Marlon Mack, who is two years removed from an Achilles tear, on a one year deal. Now, the team spent a very early fourth-round pick on Florida RB Dameon Pierce. Pierce’s talent could’ve seen him drafted on Day 2, but he only had to wait until the second pick of Day 3 to hear his name called.
At Florida, Pierce was used sparingly, earning just 106 and 100 carries in his final two seasons. He also earned 17 and 19 receptions in each of those seasons. While Pierce never saw a huge workload, this allowed him to stay healthy, only missing one game in four seasons with an apparent head injury. Nonetheless, Dameon Pierce was great whenever he was on the field, with 5.5 YPC throughout his collegiate career. Furthermore, in his senior season, Pierce scored a touchdown on an absurd 13% of his carries (Breece Hall 8%, Rachaad White 8%, Kenneth Walker 7%). He also made this highlight-reel play:
Dameon Pierce is an explosive running back with no tread on his tires and a nose for the end zone who is now joining a backfield with numerous questions. While I still expect Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead to split the starting reps to begin the season, there is an immediate opportunity for Pierce to win the starting role in Houston. Once he inevitably wows the coaching staff with a big play that their other RBs are incapable of making due to their injury history and age, it becomes Pierce’s job to lose. Royce Freeman will remain a backup barring injuries to the rest of the group.
Las Vegas Raiders: Zamir White (Pick #122)
Zamir White (6-0, 215lbs) was a solid bruiser prospect coming out of Georgia. However, he landed in a spot that does’t seem optimal for immediate fantasy success. This is a new offensive scheme in Las Vegas that is being run by Josh McDaniels, a coach that historically loves rotating between different RBs for their specific roles in the offense and keeping them fresh. Taking a look at the Raiders decisions this offseason, it is clear that McDaniels wants to continue this trend in his first year as the team’s head coach.
First, the Raiders declined Josh Jacobs’ fifth-year option, meaning he will likely sign elsewhere after this season. This is great news for White’s success in the future, but Jacobs will continue to be the workhorse for 2022. Next, the team signed Brandon Bolden, the pass-catching specialist that played in New England with McDaniels, to a two-year deal. This contract is worth about half as much as Kenyan Drake’s, who will also become a free agent after this season alongside Jacobs. These offseason moves indicate to me that the Raiders will mainly use Jacobs and Drake this season, as the team has no future ties to the two. Whenever they may need a breather, White will fill in for Jacobs and Bolden will fill in for Drake, but none of the bunch will have outstanding fantasy value barring injuries to the rest of the group.
It is worth noting that Jacobs has played between 13-15 games each season throughout his NFL career, and is a safe bet to miss a few games again in 2022. During those weeks that Jacobs may miss, White will likely play a meaningful role, earning ~15 carries/game. If you remember from last season, Jacobs missed time with an injury, and Peyton Barber was able to put up a 23-111-1 statline alongside Kenyan Drake.
Los Angeles Chargers: Isaiah Spiller (Pick #123)
Isaiah Spiller comes into the NFL as the youngest RB this season, as he will be just 21 years old when the season begins. Spiller was projected to be a top-three RB drafted in this class by many, but ended up falling to an already high-powered offense in the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth round. After performing poorly at the combine, Spiller’s draft stock plummeted. Nonetheless, the talent that everyone had seen pre-combine still exists, and Spiller could play an immediate role in this offense.
The Chargers do not want to give Austin Ekeler (who’s only 200 lb) the second-most red zone carries in the league again. Hence, why they drafted a 6-1, 215lb RB in Isaiah Spiller to handle the short-yardage duties in this offense. Spiller is a more than capable receiving back, handling 20+ receptions and ~200 receiving yards in every season at Texas A&M, but the team will continue to let Ekeler handle that work.
Meanwhile, the Chargers have been trying to use Joshua Kelley (36 carries) and Larry Rountree (33 carries) to handle short-yardage situations, and they are nowhere near as talented as Isaiah Spiller, despite his low draft capital. Spiller will have no issues beating out those two RBs in training camp, regulating each of them to backup duties. I still expect Ekeler to see a majority of redzone opportunities between the 5-20 yard lines this season, but we’ll likely see Spiller on the field once they are inside the 5. If he can earn 6-10 carries/game and score a couple goalline touchdowns, Isaiah Spiller could be a great value in 2022 fantasy football drafts.
New England Patriots: Pierre Strong Jr. (Pick #127)
Pierre Strong (5-11, 205 lb) was an interesting prospect with conflicting prospect grades, but nonetheless landed on a New England Patriots team that has historically used a slew of different running backs on their offenses.
Firstly, this pick shouldn't affect James White too much. If he can return to full health, White will likely continue to command his pass-catching work. Next, Patriots current backup RB Rhamondre Stevenson has a similar “bruiser” skill set to their starter, Damien Harris. Meanwhile, Pierre Strong is looked at more as a threat out in space, and could be used for completely different purposes than the combination of Harris and Stevenson. This gives Strong standalone value, without needing an injury in the backfield. This also means Rhamondre Stevenson will likely maintain his backup role from last season, since Strong will be used separately. Either way, you must always remain hesitant with running backs in New England, as there will always be some sort of split between the entire group.
While I expect Pierre Strong to have an immediate role in the offense as a rookie, I don’t see it being more than 5-6 carries/game, and his upside is capped unless every other RB in the offense gets injured. This team doesn’t typically like to feed one RB, as Harris only saw 20+ carries twice last season, and this would not be the running back you’d hand workhorse duties to.
Tennessee Titans: Hassan Haskins (Pick #131)
Hassan Haskins is a raw bruiser back (6-1, 220 lb) coming out of Michigan and in my opinion was drafted to the perfect spot, as Derrick Henry’s backup in Tennessee. There is no chance for Haskins to beat out Henry for the starting role any time soon, but he will serve as his immediate backup if Henry happens to go down with injury again. As Henry heads into his age 28 season and is coming off his first serious career injury, it’s not unreasonable to expect him to miss a few games again in 2022.
Hassan Haskins, who’s coming off a senior season with a line of 270-1300-20, will have no issues beating out Dontrell Hilliard for the backup role in Tennessee, and could have great late-round stash value in this run-heavy offense with little competition behind Derrick Henry.
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