| NAME |
THOUGHTS |
| 1: Jerome Ford |
With Nick Chubb coming off an ACL tear, it is a possibility he's not ready for Week 1, or a realistic possibility is slowly ramping up his workload.With Nick Chubb coming off an ACL tear, it is a possibility he's not ready for Week 1, or a realistic possibility is slowly ramping up his workload. Compensation injuries are not uncommon, so stashing Ford and D'Onta Foreman is not a bad idea. Ford finished as the RB16 in PPR in 2023, and has the skillset to be even better with some positive regression in rushing TDs (4). At the minimum he may be the receiving back (63 targets in 2023, 44 catches) when Chubb is not on the field, as Chubb hasn't caught more than 27 passes over the past 4 years. |
| 2: Austin Ekeler |
Ekeler went from finishign as the RB1 in 2022 to RB26 in 2023. While I think he finishing in the top 10 again is unrealistic, Ekeler is the type of guy to prove to everyone that has still has some left in the tank. I expect Brian Robinson Jr. to serve as the primary RB, but Ekeler is really only competing with Chris Rodriguez for touches. Jayden Daniels is expected to be electric, and getting the ball in Ekeler's hands in the open field is scary even at the tender age of 29. At his current cheap ADP, I'll likely have some shares of Ekeler as flex spot and bench depth. |
| 3: Blake Corum |
If not for his significant meniscal tear in the 2022 season, I thought Corum would enter the NFL Draft last year. He proved that the knee injury wasn't a huge impact on his effectiveness, as he didn't miss any time in 2023 despite a significant injury to his left knee (MCL sprain, bone bruise and meniscal tear) that required surgery. Corum is currently being viewed as a handcuff to Kyren Williams, but Williams has had issues with staying healthy in both of his NFL season. He's currently dealing with a foot injury, and this is after dealing with a foot (Jones) fracture, and high-ankle sprains twice. There is a very good chance Corum plays an important role at some point in 2024. |
| 4: MarShawn Lloyd |
MarShawn Lloyd was a 4-star prospect and his time at the University of South Carolina started off rough. He tore his left ACL in just his second practice in his freshman season, causing him to redshirt. He wasn't fully 100% until late into his freshman season, end really wasn't given a proper chance until his sophomore season. He was able to stay pretty healthy after that initial severe knee injury, despite suffering a bad deep quad bruise causing him to miss 3 games in 2022. He transferred to the other USC in 2023 and go to display his talents alongside Caleb Williams, averaging an impressive 7.1 YPC, and only missing 1 game due to unknown injury. He was drafted in the 3rd round by the Packers to complement, and likely eventually replace Josh Jacobs. As long as Lloyd can fix his fumbling issues (he has a big problem here), there's a very good chance he overtakes AJ Dillon as the RB2. Jacobs has struggled with injurie himself over the past few years, missing 4 games in 2023 with a quad bruise and already dealing with a hamstring strain in OTAs. Lloyd's ACL tear is now 4 years ago and no longer a concern, currently going as the RB42, I love his chances of making an impact in 2024. |
| 5: Chuba Hubbard |
After signing Miles Sanders to a huge contract (4 years, $25.4M) with the Carolina Panthers heading into the 2023 season, everyone kind of dismissed Hubbard. Yet it was Hubbard who excelled over Sanders in 2023, finishing as the RB27 in PPR, rushing for over 900 yards, and catching 39 passing on an anemic offense, despite on averaging 3.8 YPC. With the addition of Dave Canales as the new HC of the Panthers, most expect him to unlock Bryce Young's potential, and Hubbard could benefit from that as well. Yes,the Panthers spent a 2nd round pick on Jonathan Brooks, the 1st RB off the board, but he is still recovering from an ACL tear in November, and still hasn't even turned 21 yet. There is a good chance that Brooks isn't ready for the start of the season, as 9 months from his early December surgery date puts him in August training camp. Hubbard, Sanders and maybe some sprinkle of Raheem Blackshear will likely start the Panthers season leading in touches. If Brooks starts on the PUP, which is a strong possibility especially since its unlikely he knows all the protections and is truly ready to play meaningful snaps early in the season, then I expect Hubbard's ADP to rise quickly. Get ahead of this an take advantage of Hubbard's current price of RB47 with an ADP of 167. |
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