Late-Round Running Back Targets in FFPC Fantasy Football Leagues
With preseason football, hard knocks, training camp reports, and way too many injuries already, football is back. Along with all of that comes the return of fantasy football leagues! I am partial to FFPC leagues where they offer massive prizes and the upside to win a million dollars. All you have to do is win your league and advance to the championship rounds where you will arguably have the best chance at a million dollars in your life.
To briefly explain the FFPC Main Event. It's a $2,000 entry. Everyone drafts in a league with 12 total teams. In Weeks 1-12, you play against all of the teams in your league. Weeks 13 and 14 are the “league playoffs.” The top-4 teams make the playoffs and play in the semi-finals and finals. Then from there, the two best teams qualify for the “championship rounds.” This is where the big money is. The best two teams from every league from the entire contest get thrown into that pool for the championship rounds. The top-scoring teams from Weeks 15-17 in the championship rounds can win up to $1M. You can find all of the rules, prizes, and more here.
I already wrote a similar article about my favorite late-round tight ends, which matter a lot in the FFPC tight-end premium format.
Late-Round Running Back Targets
Before we dive in I am defining running backs after pick 120 or 10 full rounds as late-round candidates!
Rico Dowdle ( FFPC ADP 122.2, RB43)
We are buying the role and reading the tea leaves here, not necessarily the player. With Tony Pollard out of the picture, he leaves behind 307 touches from last season up for grabs on a high-scoring offense behind a solid offensive line. Both Dowdle and Zeke figure to play a role, but early indications are that Dowdle could be the 1A.
Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer mentioned earlier this week that Rico Dowdle is having a “hell of a camp” right now.
#Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer on the RB depth chart:
“It’s a really deep room and that’s one of the stronger competitions… We don’t want it to be easy decisions.” pic.twitter.com/3qoEMBiMQX— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) August 14, 2024
Cowboys beat writers have also speculated based on training camp that Dowdle will likely lead the team in rushing with Zeke mixing in.
If the winds start blowing another direction or heavily toward Zeke, they are going in a similar enough range to shift your draft strategy that way.
Chuba Hubbard (Pick 134.2, RB47)
I firmly believe that if the Panthers didn’t draft Jonathon Brooks, Hubbard would be going 60+ picks higher than this as the RB25 or so.
I absolutely love Hubbard in fantasy relative to his cost, especially if you need a solid RB2 for the first 4-5 weeks. Rookie RB Jonathan Brooks isn’t set to return until Week 3-4 and likely will be slowly ramped up after that after tearing his ACL last season.
The Panthers invested the most money into their offensive line of any team this offseason which has shown to matter a lot year/year (H/T John Paulsen's Study).
They also hired Dave Canales away from the Bucs who just resurrected Baker Mayfield’s career and helped ignite the Bucs offense. Canales frequently used Rachaad White as a pass-catcher last season and Chuba Hubbard took on a much bigger role in that area last season, catching 39-of-44 targets.
Canales mentioned multiple times early in the offseason about wanting to establish the run and recently talked up Hubbard saying “ This guy, he means it. He runs angry and he runs with a style that we want to be about,” Canales said recently. “I can’t wait to give Chuba those opportunities to really champion those guys that bring that kind of toughness.” (NY Times)
On top of a sizable role, the Panthers schedule starts off with some games they *could* be in neutral game script. They play against the Saints, Chargers, and Raiders in the first three weeks. None of those teams have offenses that should blow the Panthers doors off but like I mentioned before, his pass-catching role should be significant enough to be more resistant to game script concerns.
After greatly outperforming Miles Sanders last season and early in camp, I expect Hubbard to be the clear top running back until Brooks returns and be a solid back-end RB2.
I like pairing Hubbard with other late-round RBs who don't project to be early-season starters but could take on bigger roles down the stretch, that way when Brooks is a full-go midseason, you are ready to start someone else.
Braelon Allen (Pick 153.3, RB55)
This late in the draft I love to take players with “contingent upside.” Essentially if the player in front of them gets injured, this player (in this case Braelon Allen), would immediately be fantasy-viable. Season-altering injuries are nearly impossible to predict, but drafting some of the potential players to fill valuable voids can be fruitful in fantasy. The last two players in this thread qualify as such.
In most scenarios, the player in front of them doesn’t get hurt and they have very little week-to-week viability as a starter. In the case they do get hurt and have to miss time, Allen becomes insanely valuable and would be the #1 waiver wire pickup, unless he is already on your roster.
Breece Hall sits in front of Allen on a Jets offense that is getting Aaron Rodgers back and revamped their offensive line this offseason. Allen has already worked as the clear #2 back and flashed upside in his first preseason game with 54 yards on just 6 carries, including rips for 24 and 16 yards. It looks like Hall would be the guy if given the opportunity.
Jordan Mason (Pick 168.6, RB60)
Another uber-late-round running back with contingent upside! Reports from 49ers camp suggest that Jordan Mason has taken over Elijah Mitchell as the Niners second-string running back. On top of that, CMC has already suffered a minor injury in training camp. In the instance CMC were to miss time in the regular season, Mason is a legitimate fantasy starter on a high-powered offense.
