6 Running Backs Your Fantasy League Drafts Completely Wrong
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
37 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 13, 2026
Published
Thu, August 13, 2026
35
Player insights
33
Players mentioned
Topics
TreVeyon HendersonAaron JonesBlake CorumBrian RobinsonBucky IrvingCam AkersChristian WatsonChuba HubbardDamien HarrisDavid MontgomeryDe'Von AchaneGeorge HolaniJ.D. McKissicJadarian Price
Player analysis
Player insights
Aaron Jones
NegativeUsage23:14
Aaron Jones is viewed as a 31-year-old veteran who showed signs of slowing down last season. The Vikings are expected to limit his touches, and he is at risk of losing early-down and goal-line work to Jordan Mason, who is considered more explosive between the tackles. Additionally, depth players like Xavier Scott may cut into his overall workload.
Insight pageBlake Corum
NegativeValue27:06
Blake Corum is mentioned as a handcuff target but is excluded from the source's top-tier list of targets.
Insight pageBrian Robinson
PositiveUsage20:12
The Commanders were the NFL's best team in outside zone efficiency last season at 6.1 yards per carry, and Robinson led the league in that specific scheme at 7.6 yards per carry. Despite frustration with his usage last year, the team plans to run outside zone more frequently this season, and Robinson's potential for growth in his second year is not being properly priced into his current market value.
Insight pageBucky Irving
PositiveRole5:52
Bucky Irving is now ranked ahead of Rachaad White because the team is actively experimenting with him as a receiver to address his previous lack of college usage. While he must improve his pass protection and ball security, the team appears to be leaning toward him as the starter until proven otherwise. He is also used as a benchmark for the draft tier that includes Jonathan Brooks and Quinshon Judkins.
Insight pageCam Akers
NegativeProjection7:36
The source compares a potential optimistic outcome for Jonathan Brooks to Cam Akers's rookie season, where Akers caught passes and served as a goal-line back despite team limitations.
Insight pageChristian Watson
PositiveRole29:19
The source cites Christian Watson as a positive comparison for Marshawn Lloyd, noting that once Watson addressed his own injury issues, he immediately emerged as an elite player for the Packers.
Insight pageChuba Hubbard
PositiveRole3:46
The source remains optimistic about Chuba Hubbard, ranking him 102nd overall and inside the top 40 running backs. Despite a current week-to-week hamstring issue and the arrival of Jonathan Brooks, Hubbard has not been ruled out for Week 1. The source believes he could serve as a flex option and potentially remain a 1A option alongside Brooks, with the team likely planning for Hubbard to handle ground work while Brooks contributes through the air.
Insight pageDamien Harris
NegativeRole54:12
The source references Damien Harris as a historical benchmark for the role Rhamondre Stevenson currently occupies, noting that Stevenson has been effective in the specific ways Harris was previously utilized in the system.
Insight pageDavid Montgomery
NegativeValue7:15
The source references David Montgomery as a benchmark for the 'running back 21-22 territory,' noting that Jonathan Brooks is not currently in that tier. Additionally, Montgomery is viewed as a comparable player to Zach Charbonnet in terms of role and projected points for the early part of the season.
Insight pageDe'Von Achane
PositiveUsage25:56
Devon Achane is the league benchmark for explosiveness, ranking first in yards per carry when not hit behind the line of scrimmage since 2022 with a 9-yard average.
Insight pageGeorge Holani
NegativeDepth Chart14:28
George Holani is mentioned as part of the current Seahawks backfield depth chart, contributing to the overall uncertainty surrounding the team's running back rotation alongside Zach Charbonnet.
Insight pageJ.D. McKissic
PositiveValue18:46
J.D. McKissic is a recommended draft target alongside Rashad White, as the Commanders' backfield tandem is currently undervalued in fantasy drafts.
Insight pageJadarian Price
NegativeRole8:47
Jadarian Price is mentioned as a player in the same draft range as Jonathan Brooks (end of the fifth round). The source expresses a cautious stance on Price, noting uncertainty in his role due to Zach Charbonnet's recovery, his light weight (203 lbs), and a lack of proven receiving ability, leading the source to draft him less often than the consensus.
Insight pageJahmyr Gibbs
PositiveValue12:08
The source is increasingly bullish on Jahmyr Gibbs, drafting him more aggressively than composite rankings suggest. Gibbs is highlighted as the second-most explosive runner in the league based on yards per carry when not hit behind the line of scrimmage.
Insight pageJayden Daniels
PositiveProjection18:31
Jayden Daniels provides upside to the Commanders' offense and is expected to improve the efficiency of the team's running backs by opening up lanes.
Insight pageJaylen Warren
NegativeValue5:52
The source uses Jaylen Warren as a benchmark for Jonathan Brooks's ADP, noting that Brooks is already being drafted ahead of Warren in some formats.
Insight pageJeremiyah Love
NegativeProjection8:02
The source distinguishes Jonathan Brooks from Jeremiah Love, noting that Brooks was a 'rock solid, no doubt about it starter prospect' coming out of college, whereas Love is viewed differently.
Insight pageJerick McKinnon
PositiveUsage19:10
The Commanders are experimenting with Jerrick McKinnon as a pass catcher, which could provide him with upside as a second and third-down contributor.
Insight pageJonathon Brooks
NegativeValue3:58
The source ranks Jonathan Brooks between RB28 and RB30, noting his potential to become a bellcow despite the team's likely caution following his ACL recovery. While the source is committed to drafting him, they warn that his rising ADP toward the sixth round is becoming risky, especially given the uncertainty of his immediate role and the quality of the Panthers' offense. The source advises against drafting him earlier than the range of Quinshon Judkins and Bucky Irving.
Insight pageJordan Mason
PositiveSleeper23:01
Jordan Mason is a high-upside sleeper (composite ADP RB39, ranked RB36) who is significantly undervalued in half-PPR formats. He is a superior between-the-tackles runner compared to Aaron Jones and is a strong candidate for goal-line work. Mason projects for 13-14 carries per game in a new outside zone scheme. Efficiency metrics support his upside: he ranked 12th in yards per rush (4.8) and 10th in yards after contact per rush (3.41) last season, and he is among the league's most explosive runners in yards per carry when not hit behind the line of scrimmage.
Insight pageJosh Jacobs
NegativeRole26:46
Josh Jacobs faces significant uncertainty, including a 20% risk of suspension and concerns regarding his durability and declining explosiveness. While his fantasy value has historically been tied to an 85% workload share, that share can drop to 75% even when active, and the team performs differently when he is not the sole focus. He is considered a high-risk player for missing time due to his heavy usage history.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
PositiveValue1:40
The source ranks Kenneth Walker III as their RB6, significantly higher than his composite redraft ADP of RB11, citing his fit in a high-success-rate rushing offense, an improved offensive line, and his 'Shady McCoy' style of play. The Seahawks are expected to continue their intentional backfield split strategy to keep Walker healthy for the playoffs, a philosophy that proved successful last season. Additionally, Walker is highlighted as a top performer in explosiveness metrics, particularly in yards per carry when not hit behind the line of scrimmage.
Insight pageMarShawn Lloyd
PositiveBreakout26:20
MarShawn Lloyd is a high-upside priority RB2 candidate (ranked RB47 vs. RB62 ADP). He is praised for his explosiveness, size, and pass-catching ability. Lloyd has worked with a specialist this offseason to address body compensation issues from a 2020 ACL tear that previously caused quad imbalances and soft-tissue injuries. Packers beat reporters are reaching a consensus that he is a significant player for the team, with the potential to emerge as an elite asset if he has successfully fixed his body, similar to Christian Watson's trajectory.
Insight pageQuinshon Judkins
NegativeValue7:15
The source uses Quinshon Judkins as a benchmark for the RB21-22 draft range, advising that Jonathan Brooks should not be drafted ahead of the tier containing Judkins and Bucky Irving. Additionally, the source notes they would rank Zach Charbonnet ahead of Judkins for the first month of the season, provided Charbonnet is active.
Insight pageRachaad White
NegativeRole21:16
White remains a viable fantasy asset due to his established ability to catch passes, pass protect, and handle goal-line work. While he faces competition from Bucky Irving, White is expected to pay off if Irving struggles with mistakes or fumbles early in the season.
Insight pageRhamondre Stevenson
PositiveProjection31:58
The source views Rhamondre Stevenson as a highly effective, efficient, and established starter who is superior to the current market perception. Stevenson led the league in Next Gen Stats rush yards over expected per carry last season and was highly effective in short-yardage situations, handling 12 of 16 carries inside the 5-yard line. He demonstrated superior short-yardage efficiency with +31% rush yards over expected compared to TreVeyon Henderson's -1%. While the source expects a backfield split, Stevenson remains the preferred fantasy asset and the first RB2 off the board in drafts, with superior pass protection skills compared to Henderson.
Insight pageTank Bigsby
PositiveSleeper27:04
Tank Bigsby is highlighted as one of the top handcuff targets to draft, alongside MarShawn Lloyd.
Insight pageTony Pollard
PositiveValue6:06
The source ranks Tony Pollard ahead of Jonathan Brooks, expressing more comfort with Pollard's established role in his respective offense.
Insight pageTreVeyon Henderson
NegativeValue8:47
Trevion Henderson is mentioned as a player in the same draft range as Jonathan Brooks, specifically around the end of the fifth round in Yahoo drafts.
Insight pageNegativeRole14:07
The source is lower on TreVeyon Henderson than his composite ADP of RB25, ranking him as their RB28. Despite his top-end speed and strong late-season performance last year, the source is fading him due to concerns over pass protection, vision, patience, and the likelihood that he will not be the starter for the first series or carry. The source argues he is being drafted too close to his ceiling.
Insight pageNegativeValue17:08
The source questions why Treyveon Henderson is being drafted ahead of Zach Charbonnet, noting that Henderson's perceived advantage in straight-line speed does not justify his higher draft position. The source is lower on Treyveon Henderson than his current composite ADP of RB25, ranking him as their RB28. While acknowledging his rare top-end speed and RB10 points-per-game performance during the latter half of last season, the source argues he is being drafted too close to his ceiling. The primary concern is that he will not be the starter for the first series or carry, and the source believes drafters are overvaluing the backup running back on the Patriots.
Insight pageZach Charbonnet
PositiveValue14:28
Zach Charbonnet is an undervalued asset with a real chance to pay off, despite uncertainty regarding his return from February surgery. Reports indicate he is ahead of schedule in his recovery, and he is ranked ahead of Quinshon Judkins for the first month of the season. The source questions why Treyveon Henderson is drafted ahead of him, noting Henderson's speed advantage is overstated.
Insight pageZack Moss
NegativeInjury57:29
Zack Moss is noted as a factor in his team's backfield competition, with the source specifically highlighting that he is currently coming off of an injury.
Insight pageZamir White
PositiveValue57:20
The source argues that Zamir White is undervalued relative to TreVeyon Henderson, stating they cannot justify why White is being drafted after Henderson given their comparable status as young prospects on good teams.
Insight pageZavier Scott
NegativeDepth Chart25:29
Xavier Scott is identified as a potential depth player in the Vikings' backfield who could carve out a role and take touches away from Aaron Jones, building on his performance as a former wide receiver who impressed during last year's preseason.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Yesterday, we talked through eight wide receivers that your fantasy league is drafting shockingly wrong. Today, we got
0:06six running backs for you. How we did this, we aggregated, compiled all of the
0:11reraft sites, compared it, packaged it into one number, and then we look at our
0:16own rankings. And Hayden, once again, it's our job to tell you why we are smarter than all the platforms that
0:21millions and millions of people draft off of. Yeah. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower, sometimes correct. Uh unfortunately,
0:27also sometimes incorrect. But, uh, today's I'm starting to feel it. We're getting some injuries in in the news and
0:33like that's where like these rankings discussions, it's like, okay, you liked them a little bit. Now, you better like them a lot because they're going to be
0:39up in about round five, round six. Now, I think injuries are going to make their mark on the running backs this August
0:44and early September, much more than the rookies are. Let's put it that way. Like I think this is a difficult year to find
0:50major running back ranking discrepancies because of the let's say lack of running
0:55back class that just entered the NFL because typically those guys are undervalued and we can you know rank them and draft them a little bit
1:02earlier. I do want to say the headliner from this group that we spent a lot of time on earlier this summer so we won't
1:07do it here has been Ken Walker III for us. I mean he's the composite in all your reddraft leagues running back 11
1:13for us. He's our running back six. Why do we love K9 so much this year? Just history of Andy Reid, Shady Shady
1:20McCoy comes to mind for me. Kenneth Walker, I think it does a pretty good Shady McCoy impression. They gave him a
1:26bunch of money. Um, and they have a good offensive line, something that Kenneth Walker has never had before. This been a high success rate rushing offense. Uh,
1:33that's a credit to the offensive line and to the scheme and having Patrick Mahomes be a threat. They've not been an
1:39explosive one. Uh, that's why you add the Super Bowl MVP. Yeah, they ranked 10th in yards before contact last year,
1:45the Kansas City Chiefs did, but 32nd in rush yards after contact per attempt. And as a whole, the Chiefs were 20th in
1:53explosive carries last season. So, they learned and they kind of showed that efficiency and success rate can only
1:58take you so far. And, you know, getting the explosive plays, especially when now the coverages are playing Pat Mahomes in
2:04this passing attack, uh, getting that through the rushing game is more and more important than ever. And hey, I
2:10think what we've seen through beat writers and, you know, clips is maybe more under center work from Patrick Mahomes this preseason and that's just
2:15going to lead to like better rushing angles and ways to attack uh with Ken Walker who was the only big addition to
2:23this offense this entire off seasonason. Okay, you mentioned injuries. Let's get
2:28into and further down the board here. We had a big one this morning. Chuba Huard is week to week with a hamstring issue.
2:34Now Dave Canales is certain he's going to be out there in week one. Hayden, we have mentioned multiple times that
2:40Jonathan Brooks at some point is going to leaprog Chuba Hubard in rankings.
2:46However, right now, Jonathan Brooks is the running back 32 in all your reaff.
2:51He's my running back 28. He's your running back 30. How do you feel about it? Yeah, this one obviously you have to
2:57adjust the the rankings because Jonathan Brooks has one, he's healthy enough to be playing. Uh, every report from this
3:04off season has been promising for him. He was always going to have at least a role in the pass game. Um, but he does
3:11have the upside to make this more of a bell cow. I'm guessing that's not what the Panthers want to do coming off of a
3:16second ACL tear. But now that Chuba Hubard is not going to probably practice that much for the rest of training camp,
3:22that gives Jonathan Brooks a chance to run away from the job. Uh, I don't think that's likely that Jonathan Brooks is
3:28going to absolutely run away with this job. I still think that they like Chuba Huard, but Chuba Hubard has an injury history himself here. Um, so right now
3:36for the first time I have uh moved Jonathan Brooks ahead of Chuba Hubard. I still think that they should be fairly
3:42close together. I'm not sure how good the Panthers offense is going to be right now uh either. Um, but I know that
3:49everyone's going to love Jonathan Brooks to the point where I think that he's going to be ranked pretty aggressively
3:55here in a second. And I don't think I'm going to be chasing him up that high, but I totally get the upside case.
4:00A lot to hit on here. The first one is the John the Brooks train has now left the station and so it's kind of up to
4:07you to decide if you want to hop aboard it or not and just how aggressive you want to get with it. So right now I do
4:14feel comfortable with his ADP ranking him higher than his ADP because I I
4:19believe in the talent and I'm also reading the tea leaves of how you know the Panthers have through media entities
4:26projected that they love Jonathan Brooks. I mean this is from Cam Wolf back in like July. If Jonathan Brooks is
4:32healthy, they have the expectations of him potentially being the lead back over Chuba Hubard in this offense. So Hayden,
4:38I think the optimistic case is well that's already happening now because of
4:44the injury to Chuba Hubard. So whereas in previous instances if they both went
4:49into week one at 100% or close to it then it would take time it would take
4:56weeks it would take months it would take great performances for Jonathan Brooks to potentially leaprog Chuba Hubard in
5:02this case does that even have to happen like now if Brooks looks great for the
5:08next month in practices in preseason because it actually sounds like he is going to play in week one of the preseason and week three of the
5:14preseason He has then maybe the first crack at being the lead back on this team for a
5:20team that loves to run the ball even when they're good at it and when they're not. Yeah. I I keep going back to that
5:26Wolf report though that he said that the plan is for him to mix in with Chuba Hubard and that if then if then if then
5:33he could become the lead back. So like I still think the Panthers went into this off seasonason thinking that it's going to be Chuba Hubard on the ground and
5:40Jonathan Brooks through the air. Is a multi-week uh injury in training camp going to make them reassess that? Um I
5:47think most likely not, but the odds definitely have climbed up. I think that the price tag is going to be where this gets interesting. Like is he going to
5:53get to Jaylen Warren? Is he going to pass Jaylen Warren and get towards Bucky Irving and Beijel Tutin? I think that's
5:59going to be the the case. I think there's a lot more risk uh both on the Jonathan Brooks side of it, the exact
6:06role that he's going to be playing in plus how good the Panthers offense is where I don't think the risk should be that high. If it's him versus Tony Pard,
6:13I think like that to me is kind of fair game to to be ranking those two guys. I have Pard ahead. I feel more comfortable
6:19about his role here. Uh and then eventually we'll get to the Chuba Chuba conversation, but there was so much hype
6:25coming into this that this is like the little uh ingredient that's just going to send Jonathan Brooks all the way up.
6:30I would not be surprised if he's like a sixth round pick here in in a little bit, right? That's getting dicey to me, you know,
6:36like that to me is like where I'm like, okay, there's there's a plenty of red flags here. And if Chuba Hubard comes back on Labor Day in this practicing and
6:43plays week one, um to me that's going to be a lot of risk at that price tag. Yeah. If you're drafting today on Yahoo,
6:48he's a ninth round pick. And like you said, this can be the spark that starts the flame that everyone was just waiting
6:55for for him to be a sixth round selection. So, a lot of the names that you mentioned I already have Brooks
7:01over. Like I already have John the Brooks over Jaylen Moore. I have him over Tony Pard. So, put your J the
7:08Brooks goggles on. Okay. Let's say you are the most optimistic, bullish Brooks
7:14fan out there. What is the absolute ceiling that you could take Jonathan Brooks? Is it Quinn John Judkins, Dave
7:21Montgomery in that running back 2122 territory? Is it just behind them?
7:27Um, he's nowhere near that to me. Like he Well, I'm asking you to put yourself in
7:32the position of someone else that wants to be hyperaggressive on Jonathan Brooks. To me, it would be like the Cam Scataboo
7:38from the rookie season last year. Yes. Like if it works out. You can't draft like an if then, if then statement
7:45as if it's going to for sure happen. So like I think preseason rankings versus what he could possibly do. I think he
7:51can have like a Cam Scataboo type of impact where he caught some passes, ends up being the goal linebacker. The team's
7:56not that great, but it's enough for him to like showcase his skills. Uh Jonathan Brooks was a was a hell of a prospect.
8:03He wasn't a Jeremiah Love type of prospect. He was a a rockolid, no doubt
8:08about it, starter prospect at the time. And I would guess that the Panthers aren't going to be like, "Hey, he's healthy today. Let's give him the ball
8:1425 times per game." Like to me, that sounds that sounds a bit too much. I know that they like Chuba Hubard still.
8:20Chuba Hubard has not been ruled out for weeks. Like to me, this is where I think that he could be Cam Scaboo if
8:26then if then if then. I'm not going to be, you know, paying that price tag as if all these things happen.
8:31To answer my own question, I if I was sitting here saying I'm leaving my draft no matter what with Jonathan Brooks. I
8:39still would not take him earlier than the Deont Quinn Chan Judkins and probably Bucky Irving area. But then
8:44after that, like where he's going in Yahoo right now, this is the end of the fifth round. Trevion Henderson, Basil Tuton, Jadearian Price. If you want to
8:51exit no matter what, then by all means take him there. Yeah. But uh I I'm not I'm still keeping him around the range
8:57that I am right now. One final point. The last two years since Dave Canales took hold of this team and yes, they're
9:03switching over to Brad Edzick calling plays. The Panthers are going to run the football. That is what they want to do.
9:09They have been very successful in it. We saw Chuba two years ago. We saw last season 200 plus yard games with Rico
9:15Dattle. But even when they lost Robert Hunt and then lost Brady Christensen, guess what? They still ran the football.
9:21Even when they had low success rate and low efficiency. So this is one of those organizations that if they are running
9:26for 12 yard gains or they're running for two yard gains, they are still going to give their running backs opportunities.
9:32And for that reason, I'm kind of again, it's making me more optimistic than it would be in other situations.
9:37Yeah, that's why I'm I'm still leaving the light on for Chuba Hubard. I got him ranked 102nd overall, just inside my top
9:4240 running backs. Um I I still think there's a chance that he could be a flex this season and if they just stick with
9:48the initial plan, which I do think was Chuba Hubard 1A, Jonathan Brooks 1B. Um
9:54but obviously just the odds have shifted between exactly that. Do you think it's as simple as the two ADPs just flip? Again, right now Brooks
10:02is going in the ninth round and Chuba Hubard is going on like the 67 turn. Is now Brooks going to go in the six seven
10:07turn and then Chuba Hubard goes in the ninth round? I know how you guys operate. I know what hype is for for these young players. The
10:14I know how this how this thing goes. [laughter] Okay, let's talk about some other young players. And this is the section of the
10:21show that we are much higher on these players than where they're being selected right now. And the first name
10:27is a rookie. Yes, it's Jadearian Price of the Seattle Seahawks. He's being drafted in your home leagues right now
10:33as running back 26. He's my running back 24. And he's your running back 23. Now,
10:39something interesting happened here, right? When I outlined the show, brought up the names, compared the ADPs and all
10:44that, I sent them to you and then you started doing your research and your only reaction was quote, "I've got to
10:51move him down." Why was that your first reaction? Yeah, I don't think I'm viewing Jerian
10:56Price as like some like home run selection. I I draft him a little bit, but not too often when I'm doing these drafts. He kind of's in like a weird
11:03spot where there's a bunch of kind of unsettled roles like the Bial Totin type of tier. Trayvon Henderson comes to
11:09mind. And I think that Jarian Price's role is a little bit uncertain. Uh, every single report it seems like Zack
11:16Sharbon is just like way ahead of schedule. It's like I'm still not fully buying it, but like when the ninth beat
11:21reporter says it, like you have to like, okay, maybe I'm just an idiot and that these guys are just going to come back from these serious injuries like two
11:27months ahead of schedule. But like those are the type of reasons why I'm not all the way in on Jadarian Price. I think Jaden Price is an interesting prospect.
11:33You can go watch our full video on him. To quickly sum it up, uh I liked him like at like in terms of his vision and
11:40he had a little bit of pop. I was surprised that he was only 203 pounds. He like almost seemed like he would be running heavier than that, but when he
11:46came in that light and his lack of uh just there's no proof that he's going to be an awesome receiver, there's also
11:52like no evidence that he's like not going to be able to pull it off. It's a lot of like the if then statement that have to kind of go his way here. Um, but
12:00once those quarterbacks are off the off the board, like I'm starting to look around and I don't feel great about those wide receivers either. I don't
12:06feel great about those running backs where I'm mixing Jadarian Price in. So, I was just surprised that like when
12:11you're setting up this composit, you were like, we're way higher than Jarian. I was like, I'm not drafting them as if that's the case. I'm fine with him.
12:17I I thought that this might be one of the scenarios that I'm too good at my job. Uh, and that might come up a bit later on here because I I am verging on
12:25being quite in on jadarium price here. And let me outline why. Okay. Yeah, a lot of the conversation this off
12:31season has been around Jadarian Price versus George Harani and how different that is, you know, than the Ken Walker,
12:36Zack Sharp stuff, but in my mind, you know, whenever people hear about split backfields, they're always like, it's
12:42going to be 50/50. Well, to me, George Hani is going to take most of the passing game work, but as we've outlined
12:48with other of these backfields, like the true pass game situations is the least
12:53valuable role in a lot of this stuff. receptions happened on first and second down. And really what was the huge
13:00difference last year that K9 didn't get there for the vast majority of the season was because he would do a ton of
13:05the work and then they got down to the 20 yardd line or the 10 yard line and that's when Zack Charbet would come in
13:11get a carry or two and get a touchdown. It wasn't that Charbanet was playing passing situations or the two and
13:17four-minute drill. It was that when K9 would get them down the field, here comes Charbanet to vulture touchdowns.
13:23And it got to the point, Hayden, where when you look back on the season, Zack Sharpet had the sixth highest market
13:29share of any ball carrier across the league at 65% of the Seahawks carries
13:35inside the 10 yard line. That was 31 carries for 10 touchdowns. And so
13:40there's a lot of other statements that can happen here, right? For one, for as long as Dak Sharp is sidelined, I would
13:48expect Darien Price to own that goalcoring role, right? the touchdown scoring role.
13:53That means for however long that is, we could have massive, massive spy tweaks
13:59for Jarian Price. Now, the other part is what you just said. Every observer of
14:04the Seahawks is saying, "Hey, maybe it's week two or week three that Zack Charm returns that it's not going to be the
14:10pup list." I mean, that is crazy when you think that this major surgery that
14:15he ha had happened uh back in February and now he's he's already back in the flow. Then the other aspect is well how
14:22good is Zach Char going to be once he gets back to the field is he going to be even close to what they did last year.
14:28So there's so many of those question marks around Charbard at this point and even Holani that despite the questions
14:36that Jarian Price had in his profile, I'm kind of leaning into well he has clear areas of strength and clear draft
14:42capital attached to him as a 32nd overall player that maybe we're not giving enough credit to that he's kind
14:48of the constant and the good qualities to this verse the questions of the others. Yeah, I just get worried that
14:53when Chuba or when uh Zach Charbin does come back that he's so much bigger than Price that he's just going to retain the
14:59goal line role and like you don't have to be like fully healthy and like fully explosive to be the better goal line
15:05back um versus Jadarian Price. Like that's where it's kind of in the back of my mind a little bit. I I've got him in
15:11like a draftable range. I'm not going to uh poo this one at all. if he goes and he's as good as Kenneth Walker and
15:17Shares on himself like he can absolutely pay off like multiple rounds ahead of this. Um and to your point if it's the
15:24first you know month of the season I will probably be ranking Jarian Price like ahead of like Quinchon Judkins and
15:30maybe David Montgomery or him and David Montgomery be pretty close in terms of like the role and projected points and
15:36whatnot between those offenses. Um, it to me is just like once we get back to
15:42Charbanet mixing in a little bit more, that's when I'm like, okay, is he then just going to be the RB27 from like that
15:48point forward, which is like not that big of a deal, but you know, he might start as like RB1 17 and then finish as
15:53like the RB28 as the as like the committee like really start to show himself. And then there's the statement that the
16:00Seahawks plan paid off last year. As much as we got frustrated by the split backfield, um it did allow for Ken
16:07Walker the third to be healthy in the playoffs and that turned into unreal performances and a Super Bowl MVP
16:14because he was fresh and he was healthy at that point. So that directive seemed to stem from, you know, Mike McDonald
16:21and it probably is going to happen again this year. So, I I do wonder even if Jaderian Price looks like the obvious
16:28best talent because of health and size and talent and all this type of stuff, uh that doesn't necessarily mean he's
16:34going to have a 60% workload even once we get inside the 10 yard line. I mean, I think when you zoom out, it's
16:42not, you know, that unrealistic to kind of fade a guy coming off a massive,
16:47massive surgery just like 6 months ago and thinking he's going to just go back and completely inherit 65%
16:54of the workload that he did inside the 10 yard line. And if that's the case, then I think Jerian Price has a real chance of paying off. And we're not
17:00talking about it enough, right? We're also talking about a first round pick on the defending Super Bowl
17:05championship team. like it's easy to see how this thing like could could work out here. So like to me I think it's an interesting conversation. Trayvon
17:12drafted after Jadarian Price in the draft. Uh and there's not a Roandre Stevenson on this team yet. Trayvon
17:18Henderson goes ahead because he's like I guess faster in a straight line but it's like not even like
17:24I mean jump too far ahead. Let's put a pin in the in the trivia conversation cuz that's a bit I know you're itching
17:29to get there. You're itching to get there. By the way, if you're enjoying this episode, hit that subscribe button. uh preseason games really get rolling
17:36this weekend. And so that means next Monday and Tuesday, we'll have sweeping rankings changes and deliver it to all
17:43of you. Running backs, wide receivers, again, rookie performers, who played and who didn't on the depth chart and who looked great. We'll watch every single
17:49preseason performance and deliver the goods for you for your fancy draft. So, hit that subscribe button and leave a
17:55thumbs up. It's totally free to all of you. Okay, this next one is where I am too good at my job, Hayden, because Bill
18:02Crosky Merritt has a composite running back 40 ADP in all your leagues. He's my
18:07running back 35 and somehow he's your running back 32. Like, what the heck happened here? Because I swear I feel
18:14like I've been the one that has been pitching Bill Crosky Merritt to you all summer long and to the audience and now
18:21you rank him not just a little bit, but considerably higher than I do. I mean, we should be probably targeting the back
18:27field uh of the commanders. The fact that, you know, there's upside with Jayen Daniels and Jaden Daniels makes it
18:33a whole lot easier to uh to open up lanes for um his running backs. Like, I
18:38feel like they're going to be efficient running the ball. And then we just have to figure out exactly who's going to be the 1A versus the 1B. And in my
18:45rankings, you will probably draft both of Rashad White and Jakori Krosky. Mayor, I was just like looking around.
18:51uh that tandem is just being priced way after so many different uh RB2s in the
18:57league on offenses that are not nearly as good as the commanders. And I was just like, okay, we just got to move both of these up. And as as I learned
19:03more about the backfield, a couple things that that stood out. Number one, Kron Allen's really not mixing in to the point that it might be a different guy
19:10as the RB3. Uh the second thing is Jakori Kroski Merritt. They're at least experimenting with him as a pass
19:16catcher. it's a good time to be experimenting, but like sometimes like these guys like they don't even get to
19:21that point. Uh, and the fact that they're at least giving him that gives him the upside to be more of a second
19:29and third down guy, not just an early downs guy. Um, plus like Cory Crossra is pretty fast and I thought he ran with
19:36like decent uh patience in a pretty complicated scheme last year and uh this one is kind of more toward his bread and
19:43butter. Um, so it's not necessarily that I'm out on Rashad White. It's more just like if it's just gonna be these two
19:48guys and I'm not worried about the third back, then like I'll roll the dice. Yeah, I've been drafting a ton of Bill
19:54this year. I actually think his running back 40 ADP is because, you know, he was drafted way earlier
19:59last year. People maybe bought into seventh round rookie and then he had his moments, but how he finished the season
20:04was not great and they're kind of sick of it and they're over it. I'll buy into
20:10that post hype sleeper stuff right now for Bill. And one thing stands out. Josh Connelly, who's their second uh year
20:17tackle, mentioned that they were great on outside zone last year. They just didn't run it enough and that they will
20:23this year. I've brought this up before, but Fantasy Points noted that the Commanders were best in the NFL in
20:29outside zone last season at 6.1 yards per carry. And Bill Krosky Merritt led the NFL in yards per carry on outside
20:35zone at 7.6. So, I understand if you are frustrated with him last year. Shows like this one brought up how he was
20:40getting used and used and used like he did early in the season. Uh he did lead this team in touches in terms of the
20:47backfield, yards from scrimmage and touchdowns as a seventh round rookie. I think it's absolutely feasible that the
20:53seventh round rookie then gets who missed an entire season of action the year before then just gets better and
20:59more comfortable in his second year in the league. And I don't think that's being priced in at all here. Yeah. And even with like you said the
21:05draft capital like there's a there's a big asterisk on that because like he was just suspended the year before that and
21:11like he might have been like a third round prospect that we're labeling him with a seventh rounder with that actually doesn't like match the talent
21:17on the field. Rashad White it's a one-year $2 million contract. Uh Rashad White, you know, he can catch passes, he
21:23can pass, protect, he's bigger, he can be in the mix in the goal line. So I have both of them inside my top 100. Um,
21:29I'm just now ranking Jaori Kroski Merritt ahead of Rashad White because they're experimenting with him as a
21:35receiver. Like that was the the big negative and at least there's hope that that's not going to be a negative uh
21:40this season. And why was a big negative? He just had seven receptions in college. The big thing here is just don't be a flatout
21:46zero in the passing game, right? Like show enough hands that they can trust you to be on the field and it's not just
21:53a tell when you're out there as oh they're running the football no matter what. because that is the case with certain players in the history of the
21:59league. He's not going to be Rashad White like you said in the passing game and probably pass pro is something that he definitely has to improve on, but at
22:04least he's getting glowing reviews from people out there like Ben Stanick and company that at least he's improving in
22:10the receiving game. Fumbles have also been an issue with him. So to me, I think they're going to like hope that Jory Cross I think he's going
22:16to start the season. They're going to hope that he can be the guy and if he makes too many mistakes then Rashad White's gonna pay off. I think that's
22:21just kind of how how this is and it's impossible to know exactly how it's going to work out. But the fact that it now it seems like it's Jakori until
22:28proven otherwise rather than the opposite, that's how I'm going to stick with my rankings. And we do need to bring up the Laramie Tonsel injury brought up yesterday
22:34talking about Terry McLaren. Not ideal. Definitely not ideal. But uh you know,
22:39they either move Josh Connley over or they move Brandon Coleman from guard to to tackle and we'll see which one happens. Um, hey, I just realized that
22:46on I think it was July 6th, we posted our six favorite running back sleepers and we're basically talking about them
22:52all again because we are still those are the players that we still are most over market on in comparison to the public
22:58out there. So, that brings us to Jordan Mason composite ADP in your home leagues
23:03of running back 39. He's both of our running back 36. The drum beat is
23:09glowing during training camp. Why are we hiring Jordan Mason? uh that Aaron Jones looked a little bit
23:15worn down last year. He's 31 years old. He's been taking, you know, pay cuts uh recently. Jordan Mason, they signed that
23:22multi-year deal with him because he was like awesome in the advanced stats. Well, the advanced stats are still
23:28pretty strong for for Jordan Mason. And the offensive line is now, I would say, fixed versus a work in progress uh over
23:35the last couple seasons. I feel way better with Kyler Murray being the the top guy versus JJ McCarthy. We'll see if
23:41McCarthy straight up gets moved here. But I think like between the tackles, rushing, explosiveness between the
23:48tackles, like under center runs, I think it's without question Jordan Mason's better than Aaron Jones there. Uh I
23:53think Aaron Jones going to mix in on on uh the passing downs. That's going to prevent Jordan Mason from reaching this
23:58huge ceiling. There was four games without Aaron Jones week three through week seven. He was the RB16 on RB 24
24:04usage and half PPR. He handled 63% of the carries. Um that's probably about like his ceiling. Um, and I'm not
24:11expecting him to get there. But is he going to have 13 14 carries and I think be the favorite for goal line in week
24:17one and is that enough to be your flex? I think that that's where we're getting at. And right now he's being priced as of like there's no option that he can be
24:23your flex. I think in half EPR, uh, the wide receiver that you draft in round eight, I think, is not going to project
24:29for as many fantasy points as someone like Jordan Mason, uh, who's going to go multiple rounds later. Yeah, I mentioned the glowing reviews.
24:35Uh we've talked about Matthew Coller's uh notes previously that Jordan Mason is going to be this team's running back one
24:40that Aaron Jones already showed signs of slowing down last season. So the Vikings will be careful to limit his touches.
24:45Another one from Jason Harmon who has a show on Score North that Jordan Mason looks quote insane through camp so far.
24:54Massively underrated burst around the edge we get to see with this new run scheme. And that new run scheme is Frank
25:00Smith who's coming from Mike McDaniels Miami Dolphins and implementing this outside zone system. So yeah, I mean
25:07Jordan Mason has always been a very good just true ball carrier, right? Like even last year in a bad Vikings offense, he
25:15averaged 4.8 yards per rush, which was 12th best in the league, and then 10th best in terms of yards after contact per
25:20rush at 3.41 yards. So, if Aaron Jones falls off a cliff at 150 touches, we see
25:27that with our eyeballs. The Vikings, I think, behind the scenes now realize that, and there's a chance that your boy
25:33Xavier Scott, the former wide receiver who popped last year in preseason, now maybe takes some stuff away from Aaron
25:38Jones, too. Then, uh, Jordan Mason, again, as a true ball carrier, but guess what? That could equal touchdowns. Maybe
25:44he is the guy to see one of your phrases that quote unquote farts into the end zone for nine, 10 touchdowns this
25:51season. Yeah, it'd be a powerful fart. My my advanced uh nugget that I that I saw from from doing some research for
25:57Devon Chan, it was yards per carry when not hit behind the line of scrimmage. Are you athletes making to line of scrimmage since 2022? Devon number one,
26:05by the way, nine yards per carry. Jir Gibbs 2, Dererick Henry, Jordan Mason, and Kenneth Walker. Uh, by the way, the
26:11the worst in those metrics is like Isaiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt. So, that's a good metric about explosiveness.
26:17Jordan Mason being fourth there. Um, you know, that caught my eye. One more name that we're much higher on. It's really
26:22you, Marshon Lloyd. The I guess now thirdyear running back for the Green Bay
26:28Packers. Has barely played a snap in the league. He has seven touches through two seasons because of that. The people out
26:34there in their leagues draft him as running back 62. For you, he's your running back 47. Why are you in love?
26:40There's just so much uncertainty around Josh Jacobs and this offense is good. I want the backups that are clear RB2s on
26:46teams on good offenses and especially if there's, you know, some downside risk with the starter. If you're looking at
26:51the top 15 or so running backs across the league, more than half of them, we do not know who the RB2 is behind them.
26:57It makes it very frustrating to do handcuff rankings this year. I think that Jordan uh Marshon Lloyd is one of
27:04the best. Like him, Tank Bsby, like not counting like Blake Corm, but like those two ones are my top targets. uh Josh
27:10Jacobs, let's say there's like a 20% chance that he's suspended, but if it's like a domestic violence related uh
27:17suspension, those could be like up to six games. Like that would be like a significant not like miss a game here and there. It's like a m uh missing six
27:24or so games. Um plus, you know, there's uh the upside case that Marshon Lloyd's explosiveness just makes them not have
27:31to lean on Josh Jacobs to the extent that they did the previous season. Um, and I think it would be smart for Josh
27:38Jacobs workload to go down a little bit because he's been picking up some injuries. He might probably lost a step
27:43in terms of the explosiveness. I still really love how Josh Jacobs runs, but you can start seeing how maybe this
27:48thing gets a little bit more committee- like. Uh, but we're here for if Josh Jacobs misses time. And right now, all
27:54the reports, it's not that Marshian Lloyd is healthy. He's balling out. And we have to remember with him,
28:00he was a real prospect. Like, he had explosiveness. He had the size to take on the work. He actually caught a lot of
28:06passes um in college as well. Um so I do think we should be taking him serious
28:12and he really has worked on his body. He's gone to like all these crazy labs in different states and uh they seem to
28:17be really happy with him. So I there's so many great beat reporters on on the Packers beat and all of them are
28:24reaching the same same conclusion that like he's a big- time player uh for for the Packers this season. They're taking
28:30him very seriously. just to talk through that. In 2024, his first year in the league, he had a hamstring strain uh in
28:36like the first training camp practice and then that was then followed by an ankle sprain in week two that landed him
28:41on injured reserve uh alongside appendicitis and then 2025 season
28:47sidelineed with a groin strain, a subsequent thigh hamstring issue, and then a late season season calf hamstring
28:53recoccurrence that then put him on injured reserve. Now, that all brings us to apparently he spent, as you said,
28:59months this off season working with Dr. John Mayer, who plays guitar every once in a while, I think, too, uh, in
29:05California with like the goal of fixing his body. He found out that he was overcompensating at his ankle and hip
29:11due to a torn ACL, which he had back in college in 2020, and then had less quad
29:17strength because of it. So, Christian Watson did something similar like last offseason. I don't know if it's the same
29:23doctor or whoever, but we saw once Christian Watson hit the field on the same team, bing bang, boom, you have an
29:28elite player. So hopefully Marshon Lloyd has figured out his body, figured this out. Uh because as you said, they need
29:36it because Josh Jacobs strength, his superpower, has just been, you know,
29:42owning 85% of the workload basically. And so that drops on like 75%. In even
29:47the games that Josh Jacobs plays, there is a difference in the outcome for the two running backs. That's for sure. Yeah, I think there's like a chance like
29:53he has like a spike week or two in best ball formats like completely unpredictable as like the pure backup. But just if you're looking at the top 15
30:00running backs like who's most likely to miss time, it's the guys that hit the ball a lot with an injury history. Josh Jacobs is that also suspension risk.
30:06Like he carries some of that. Adam Sher. Now, I think people are, I would say, overreacting to that Adam Shfter um
30:12thing where he's like listing the players that can be suspended. There was so if then statements across
30:17that. It was almost like these guys could get suspended. [laughter] Turn this into the if then thumbnail. Like that that thumbnail does not hit as
30:24hard as what I usually hate. No, but to me that was like this is just
30:30a storyline. I that didn't feel like a report. It was more of like you know Shter saying like this is what we're
30:35expecting this season. these are the guys that could be suspended. Like the NFL is investig I knew that the NFL was investigating them. That did not feel
30:41like, hey, this is going to happen. Here it comes. It was more like the NFL is looking into this, but I already knew
30:46that. There is one running back that you and I are much lower on than where he's being selected in your leagues. And that is
30:52Trevian Henderson, composite running back 25. He's both of our running back
30:5928s. Uh Hayden, I am a Hindo optimist. I think his top end speed to pull away is
31:06rare. We saw that last season in games that when he handled 70% of the workload, uh I mean, he was a running
31:12back 10 in points per game, weeks nine through 17 last year, the most important part of your fantasy season. But I think
31:19this one's pretty simple. He is not going to be the guy that gets the ball on the first series or the first carry.
31:27We are drafting kind of the second running back on the Patriots higher than the starting running back on the
31:32Patriots. And that's like the main reason why I'm lower on Trevan Henderson than where the public is selecting him.
31:38Tayvian's obviously got a huge ceiling. If he somehow steals the job, if we're monitoring misses time, he has chance to
31:44be a top 10 running back. Um I also don't think that he's the only guy that with that type of profile and like we
31:50can't be drafting him towards that ceiling. I come back to a couple things. Number one is pass protection was pretty
31:56brutal last year. Some of it was like not understanding where it's coming from. Some of it was just like a size issue that I don't think he's going to
32:02be able to fix. Raandre Stevenson does not have that. Um, for example, by the way, Raandre Stevenson has been like in this system for a long time. Raandre is
32:09also a very real prospect who's been quite efficient. I think the other big part aside from protection is uh Raandre
32:16was really good as a receiver and also had a ton of explosive carries and then inside um short yard situations. So, I'm
32:22looking at three or fewer yards to go. Raandre Stevenson plus 31% rush yards
32:28over expected. And then, uh, Trayvon was at negative one. Raandre handled 12 of
32:33the 16 inside the 5yd line carries when two of them were active. Uh, the gap in the playoffs was substantial here.
32:38Raandra Stevenson was the RB1 overall in NextGen stats, rush yards over expected per carry last season, number one
32:45overall. So, we're not talking about like he has to flip some scrub. like Randre Stevenson uh was pretty effective
32:51in all the ways that Trayvon was supposed to. So, it's not that Trayvon has to get better. Like Raandra also has
32:56to get uh worse in these categories. I think they'll split it this year. I have them back to back in my rankings uh
33:02because they're splitting it. I don't think the upside's going to be as clear as if one of these guys ran away with it. And I'm just not hearing the reports
33:08that that's happened. Yeah, I I also have them back toback in my rankings. Um, if you just search and
33:14look of all the running back twos that are selected in your fantasy leagues, Randre is the first one off the board as
33:20he should be. I mean, he's the starter for this team, you know. And again, I hope Trevon can take a leap in year two.
33:26That's what happens. We also have people like, you know, Chad Graph saying it looked a bit like last season, big
33:32explosive plays, but just enough mistakes and pass protection that it feels like a risk to use him on third downs. If you can improve that skill,
33:39though, look out. Um, I did see another report from Mike Gardy. Hayden, this quote, uh, actually was just hilarious
33:45to me. It was great. I told you I haven't seen much improvement with Trevon Henderson's
33:50vision and patience, but I don't have access to practice film. So, [laughter] I mean,
33:58again, there's a reason why that you and I, you know, will go to games and watch games or, you know, watch them on
34:05television, but then we don't really see what happens until we actually do the rewatch on the tape. So, um, look, I I
34:12am not out on Trian Harrison as a player. Again, I am an optimist and especially if he has somehow someway the
34:19running back one label in this offense, really great things can happen because I actually think a lot of the issues for the rushing game for the first half of
34:25last season were the tight end to tight end blocking. It was rough, but they moved things around. They brought in new
34:31pieces and that should improve just overall maybe. Uh but I am out on where he's going in
34:38drafts right now unfortunately. Yeah, I just can't square that Jadarian Price goes after him. Like to me, like
34:43objectively, young players, they're both good prospects, both good teams.
34:48One has Reandre Stevenson, the other one has Zack Sharpy coming off of injury. You know, like I just don't get it.
34:55All right, we'll leave it there. Hayden just doesn't get it. Don't get it. Thanks you for tuning in, everyone. I
35:00appreciate you all watching this. Again, we have a wide receiver version of this. We also have Hayden's favorite pick in
35:07every single round on the site right now, plus plenty, and I mean plenty of other shows that we had done over the
35:12last three weeks. Uh, it's been a lot. Not even just the shows. I've been riding like a madman. We have our rankings. The the Ultra DraftKit is out
35:18there if you guys want to go support Yahoo, support our work there. It's like 15 50 pages. I have like specifically
35:25PPR rankings. I have rookie expectations in that. I think I have about like 50 blurbs, like multiple paragraph blurbs
35:32on there. So, if you're looking for where's the writing, one, Yahoo Sports, and then more is paywalled over here.
35:38Tiers, different types of league formats. Like, there's so much going on in that in that playbook. Um, you can go
35:43over to the site and and support us, uh, support Yahoo. It's it's the best way to do that. Um, and it's like, I think
35:49really valuable to to have 150 pages. You can just keep it on your desktop. You could obviously print it out, bring
35:55it to your draft, and we we have to update that thing every single week, so it's not going to get stale. Yes. Yeah. You said it all. that is
36:02Yahoo Fantasy Ultra. That's on top of Fantasy Plus. We showed you in our mock draft that with Fantasy Plus, you can
36:09just choose Hayden's name or my name and draft just off our rankings in the Yahoo lobby, which is pretty freaking sweet.
36:15Uh, but this has so much stuff. As Hayden said, it's 150 plus pages. In fact, it includes the college uh
36:21football fantasy stuff on there as well. So, yeah. I mean everything that you
36:26need. You've been asking where to find our content and it's there on Yahoo Fantasy Ultra. All right everyone, talk
36:33to you on the next episode. See ya.
