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The NFL might be a pass-first league that is dominated by quarterbacks and wide receivers, but running backs still rule the roost in fantasy football.
2020 was not a great year for running backs in fantasy football, though. The consensus No. 1 pick in fantasy leagues, Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey, only played three games due to a litany of injuries. The second-ranked running back in many fantasy circles, New York’s Saquon Barkley, tore his ACL in the second game of the season. Only eight running backs broke the 1,000-yard rushing barrier in 2020, compared to 15 backs breaking the barrier in 2019. If you were able to get two of the best backs on your fantasy roster this year, you probably made some money.
There were several running backs that had breakout campaigns in 2020, though. Here is a look at the best breakout performances at RB in 2020 and what their 2021 outlooks are!
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David Montgomery, Chicago Bears
2020 Stats: 1,070 rushing yards, 438 receiving yards, 10 total touchdowns
Montgomery did not flash many Gale Sayers-like skills during his first year-and-a-half as a pro. He only averaged 3.7 yards per carry as a rookie, did not have a 100-yard rushing game, and scored just two touchdowns over the first nine games of his sophomore season in 2020. Montgomery plodded between the tackles and showed no explosiveness or ability to elude tacklers. The only thing he had going for him from a fantasy perspective was that due to Chicago’s lack of depth behind him, Montgomery was going to be the Bears' bell-cow back no matter how marginal he was.
Just as Montgomery was possibly dropped in many fantasy leagues, someone flicked a switch and he started running like the second coming of Sayers. Over the last six games of the season, Montgomery was a totally different tailback. He caught passes out of the backfield like he was the modern-day Roger Craig (24 receptions for 226 yards), broke big plays (80-yard TD against Houston), and handled as large of a workload as any back in the league (140 touches over the six-game stretch). Montgomery amassed over 100 combined yards in each of Chicago’s final six contests of the season and scored eight touchdowns over that span.
Montgomery heads into the 2021 season as a top-10 fantasy running back. Chicago will certainly upgrade its offensive line and receiving corps, which will lead to Montgomery getting more scoring opportunities throughout the season. If franchise quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s trajectory keeps going on the upswing as it did during the latter stages of this past season, Montgomery will be blessed with even more chances to score touchdowns and rack up yards. The best is yet to come for the RB in his third season.
Ronald Jones II, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2020 Stats: 978 rushing yards, 165 receiving yards, eight total touchdowns
Let me be as blunt as a lead pipe. Jones could not have had a worse rookie year in 2018. The kid averaged 1.9 yards per carry when he played, but he only managed 23 carries because he had a tough time acclimating to the NFL and learning the playbook. He also dealt with injury issues and problems with the Buccaneers' coaching staff at the time. The second-round pick looked like he could have been cut heading into 2019, but thanks to an improved attitude and the fact that only the methodical Peyton Barber stood in his way, Jones was able to crank out 724 rushing yards and six scores while adding 31 receptions for 309 yards on pass plays.
Entering the 2020 season, Jones was installed as Tampa’s top tailback at the onset and looked like he was set up to have a banner year. But right before the opening game of the season, the Bucs signed released runner Leonard Fournette, and Jones’s fantasy status was as questionable as Jordan Reed’s weekly injury status. Yet despite having Fournette and fellow veteran LeSean McCoy breathing down his helmet, Jones persevered and did not get on quarterback Tom Brady and head honcho Bruce Arians’ bad sides. Jones went on to average 5.1 yards per carry and set career-highs in rushing yards and touchdowns. He would have easily broken the 1,000-yard barrier if he did not miss the final two contests of the season.
How 2021 is going to play out for the Buccaneers' backfield is any fortune teller’s guess. Fournette’s future is murkier than the water in a swimming pool if no chlorine has been doused in it. Jones is the favorite to be the lead back from here on out though, and if Brady and most of his pass-catchers return next season, then Jones will be in line for 1,000 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Wayne Gallman, New York Giants
2020 Stats: 682 rushing yards, 114 receiving yards, six total touchdowns
Gallman was a fantasy non-factor during the first three years of his NFL career. Five touchdowns over that span. Only 80 carries for 286 yards between 2018 and 2019 combined. Long snappers, punters, and blocking tight ends had just as much fantasy value, if not more. The former fourth-round pick was buried deep on the depth chart in Giantsville heading into this past season.
Fantasy football is a cruel hobby. The aforementioned Barkley had his 2020 season (and the fantasy seasons of those who drafted him) ruined by his torn ACL. But while many fantasy players and pundits thought veteran backups Dion Lewis and Devonta Freeman would benefit the most from Barkley’s injury, it was Gallman who shocked the world and was the best back for the Giants the rest of the way. He ran tough between the tackles and set career-highs across the board (rushing yards, touchdowns, yards per carry) while Lewis and Freeman watched from the sidelines. Gallman scored all of his touchdowns and plowed for 418 yards during a six-game stretch during the middle of the year that probably saved millions of fantasy managers' seasons.
Gallman’s 2021 fantasy value is directly tied to which team he signs with this offseason considering he is a free agent. If he stays with the Giants, he could be primed for another decent season if Barkley does not recover fully from his knee injury. If Gallman signs elsewhere, his worth will depend on if he is a No. 2 RB or sharing the top spot with another back. Whatever the case, fantasy managers need to keep an eye on where Gallman ends up and have him on their cheat sheets when it is draft time.
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