Hello, reader who procrastinated doing fantasy football research until now. Welcome.
The following running backs are available after the 100th pick in half-PPR fantasy drafts, per FantasyPros Average Draft Position (ADP). Add them to your queue, kick back, and await victory.
Fantasy football deep running back sleepers
Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
ADP: 108 overall (RB37)
The former fourth-overall pick returned to Dallas on a one-year, $2 million deal. Elliott will split snaps with Rico Dowdle and maybe Dalvin Cook in 2024.
While he isn’t the player he used to be, Elliott is the best back on his team.
2023 rushing efficiency among current Cowboys
If the on-field evidence isn’t enough, he’s best friends with the starting quarterback, and the team owner has had a weird affection for him since the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys won’t put too much on Elliott’s plate — he turned 29 in July — but they will give him the most important snaps (third down and goal line) on an offense projected very highly in play volume and points scored.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
ADP: 119 overall (RB41)
After landing in Sean McVay’s scheme, Corum is immediately one of the best handcuffs in fantasy. The real selling point is his potential to win the starting job, or at least significant snaps, over Kyren Williams. The latter isn’t built as well to carry a heavy workload.
Corum, the sole offensive player L.A. drafted top-200 in April, has already earned snaps with the starters.
Practices are closed during install and game prep periods starting this week. I will reiterate, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum have both gotten first team reps the majority of August with Williams in the leadoff spot. Corum started with some twos and then moved up.
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) August 27, 2024
Corum’s current job is to relieve Williams, who sustained multiple injuries in his 260-touch season last year. But it’s not crazy to imagine him continuing to impress and grow his role in McVay’s offense.
And if the third-year pro gets hurt again, the third-round rookie could be a league winner.
Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
ADP: 194 overall (RB55)
After Joe Brady took the reigns as offensive coordinator in Week 10 last season, the Bills offense ranked first in plays per game and total rushing attempts, per PFF. James Cook reached 1,500 yards from scrimmage and finished as fantasy’s RB11, but there’s still some meat left on the bone.
Cook is a dynamic albeit limited player. With a sub-200-pound frame, he’s best utilized outside the pocket. His goal-line plunges were seldom successful and Latavius Murray outsnapped him in critical passing situations.
As evidenced by the team rushing staff above, Buffalo wants to become a more well-balanced offense. Enter fourth-round rookie Ray Davis. He paced the SEC in total touchdowns (21) and ranked second in yards from scrimmage (1,452) as a fifth-year transfer last year.
Davis is denser than Cook, and can a) be trusted to play valuable snaps in short-yardage and passing downs, and b) execute runs that expand Buffalo’s playbook. Teams across the league are investing in power/gap concepts to counter the recent defensive shift toward two-high safety coverages.
Cook may lead the Bills backfield in snaps and touches, but Davis could carve himself a nice piece of the pie.
Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers
ADP: 264 overall (RB71)
The theme of this article is role players on good offenses. Guerendo plays for Kyle Shanahan (check) but his only path to relevancy is via injury, making him a target for deep/dynasty leaguers only. The fourth-round rookie is third on the depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason.
That said, Guerendo could erupt in Kyle Shanahan’s one-cut system if he ever gets the chance. He shined as a sixth-year transfer for Louisville last year after injuries plagued him at Wisconsin, finishing third in yards per carry (6.1) and fourth in yards per catch (10.6) among all ACC running backs to show his skills match his tools; Guerendo boasts the fifth-best Relative Athletic Score of any running back prospect since 1987.
His profile is admittedly unflattering when it comes to age, medical history, career production, competition level, and draft pedigree. Two trump cards can do a lot of heavy lifting, though. Glaring talent in Shanny’s scheme is hard to ignore in drafts with 20-plus rounds.
