Must Own and Under-Valued Running Backs for 2020
by Alan Seslowsky

Most fantasy football drafts that we all play in are “snake” format. The players you have an opportunity to draft greatly depends on the random draft position you are assigned. In the first few rounds, drafts will go according to ADP more or less. The hard truth is that you will not have a chance to draft every player that you want. This is a point scored for the “auction only” drafters. Below are a few players that RosterWatch has identified as “Must Own” running backs in early draft simulations using our signature tool, The Ultimate Draft Cheat Sheet. For purposes of defining “must own” running backs; they are players that are getting drafted moderately to greatly under-value. 

Joe Mixon: A Perfect Late First-Round Pick

You might be asking yourself how can a running back with a late first-round ADP be considered “undervalued.” There is a case to be made for Joe Mixon to be a top-four overall player in fantasy. The conditions around Joe Mixon have been sub-optimal for most of his short career. There are reasons to have optimism about Cinncinati’s offense for 2020. The Bengal’s drafted pro-ready QB Joe Burrow, they get their pro bowl WR, AJ Green back healthy, and the offensive line should be improved with 2019 first-round pick Jonah Williams set to make his NFL debut. Lastly, Joe Mixon was able to produce is poor conditions in the last half of 2019. There is plenty of reason to believe that Joe Mixon has RB1 overall in his range of outcomes. If you are sitting at the end of the first round and want to start your draft with a “must own” RB, Joe Mixon is the ideal draft pick.

 

Kenyan Drake is Rising Quick

One of the best reasons to take part in early off-season drafts is that there is big-time value to be had before the market massages out the ADP. Reflecting back to May of 2019, running backs like Josh Jacobs and Miles Sanders were going in the 5th and 8th round respectively. When casual players entered the drafting market in late August of 2019, those ADPs were in the 2nd and 3rd round respectively. One of the absolute “must own” RBs this offseason is Kenyan Drake. In drafts dating back to February, he was going as late as pick 26 overall. His mid-June ADP is up to pick 15 overall. RosterWatch is anticipating a continued rise up the board for Drake and he still represents value. He looks looked into a three-down role with minimal threat to his carries or targets. Arizona’s offense is poised to take a significant step forward under 2nd year Head Coach, Kliff Kingsbury, and QB Kyler Murray. Get all the Drake you can.