7 Fantasy Football Running Backs Primed to Break Out in 2024
Workhorse running backs are few and far between in today’s NFL, and the obvious ones are pretty easy to peg. Josh Jacobs (77.2%) was the only running back in the league to top 70% of their respective teams’ rush attempt share in 2023, with Kyren Williams (68.5%) and Joe Mixon (67.1%) the only ones in the same ballpark. Those backs essentially comprised the entire “elite usage” tier of running backs who controlled the backfield throughout the season.
What we’re doing here today is looking for candidates who could either come out of nowhere to earn these sorts of usages or give us fantasy production in other, more niche ways, like catching the ball out of the backfield or controlling their team’s goal-line usage.
First, we’ll take a look back at some running backs who fit the criteria of breaking out in 2023 before our seven potential breakouts in the middle-to-late rounds for 2024 drafts.
A Look Back at 2023
A sophomore that performed so well the team shipped off their veteran option, a wild performance for the Dolphins’ backfield, and a touchdown machine, operating as the thunder to a rookie’s lightning top the list of 2023 breakouts. Many of the players listed below were part of ambiguous backfields, and each gives us at least one criterion of what to look for in future candidates.
| Player | Team | 2023 ADP (Position Rank) | Half-PPR PPG Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyren Williams | LAR | RB71 | RB2 |
| Raheem Mostert | MIA | RB40 | RB3 |
| De'Von Achane | MIA | RB44 | RB4 |
| Alvin Kamara | NO | RB28 | RB5 |
| David Montgomery | DET | RB31 | RB13 |
| Rachaad White | TB | RB27 | RB14 |
| Isiah Pacheco | KC | RB30 | RB16 |
| Brian Robinson | WAS | RB35 | RB21 |
| Zack Moss | IND | RB66 | RB25 |
| Jerome Ford | CLE | RB69 | RB26 |
| Gus Edwards | BAL | RB61 | RB28 |
There were several breakouts at our disposal last season, with many of them coming off of draft boards towards the end of the “RB dead zone.” Though we were expecting some consistent production from Alvin Kamara and Rachaad White, they far exceeded those expectations, with Kamara receiving an insane 86 targets in 13 games.
Gus Edwards (13 rushing touchdowns) and Zack Moss (the RB7 in three games as a Jonathan Taylor fill-in ) exemplified what we’re looking for in role-specific players, which we will dig into throughout this article.
2024 Breakout Candidates
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