Wondering when NFL training camp starts? Well, it’s already started baby! Every team has now reported to camp, both veterans and rookies. And virtually all of them will have had their first practice by the end of today. 

Football is officially back with all of its glory and all of its heartbreak. We are seeing a bit of that already as the Minnesota Vikings already lost cornerback Mekhi Blackmon to a torn ACL in Day 1 of training camp.

Anything can happen once those pads go on. And jobs will surely be won and lost this week. We already looked at some Quarterback Training Camp Battles and the fantasy football implications. Today, we’re going to look at some running backs. So, strap on those guardian caps and let’s get to it!

 

 

 

Tennessee Titans - Tony Pollard vs. Tyjae Spears

As soon as it was clear that Derrick Henry was gone, the hype grew for Tyjae Spears. Despite Henry taking the bulk of the carries, Spears carved himself out a role on pass downs in 2023 and made the most of it with 52 catches and 470 yards of YAC which was top 10 for RBs. Elusiveness was key for him as his 27 broken tackles on pass plays was second only to Breece Hall. The dream was that he would take over the starting gig.

And then the Titans signed Tony Pollard in free agency. Despite a down year in Dallas, Tony Pollard has shown similar explosive tendencies in the past. There’s also reason to believe that he wasn’t 100% healthy for most of the year after offseason Tightrope surgery. He actually told us that he didn’t feel right until Week 11.

There hasn’t been much info yet, but I did find this clip from Titans RB coach Randy Jordan interesting. His answer on “what makes them different” is kind of circular but there’s one important tidbit – he says he will not be counting carries, he will be counting “touches”, which include short passes. That implies that there will be a split. 

We know that Tyjae is a good pass catcher, and we know that targets are more valuable than carries. Given that info and the fact that Spears often goes later than Pollard in drafts, that has us leaning towards Spears at current fantasy ADP.

Los Angeles Chargers - Gus Edwards vs. J.K. Dobbins vs. Kimani Vidal

This is a big one. Because we know that Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman want to run smash-mouth, in-your-face football. They’ve already made that pretty clear. What is not clear is how the pecking order will sort out at running back. Despite a deep free agent group as well as a draft class that included Harbaugh’s own running back at Michigan, Blake Corum, they didn’t make any major moves.

They brought in the plodder Gus Edwards as well as the oft-injured explosive back J.K. Dobbins, both of whom worked with Greg Roman in Baltimore. They did draft a back, but not until the 6th round of the NFL Draft with Kimani Vidal out of Troy. That’s going to be the battle at the top this year.

Early indications are that Gus Edwards is in the driver seat. But we’ve seen the Gus Bus before and that really doesn’t offer a ton of upside. He’s oddly efficient for his size but he doesn’t offer much in the pass game, so him at the top likely means a committee. We would much rather bet on the explosive upside of J.K. Dobbins or Kimani Vidal. 

And with the injury history for Dobbins, I’m more inclined to take a stab on the complete mystery box in Kimani Vidal at ADP. It might just be a complete split where no one is particularly relevant, so might as well roll the dice hoping that they got a steal with the Kimani Code. 

 

 

 

Denver Broncos - Javonte Williams vs. Jaleel McLaughlin vs. Audric Estime

The reports floating around regarding this backfield have been all over the place. At one point, undrafted rookie Blake Watson was even getting some steam. The most recent ones suggested that Javonte Williams and/or Samaje Perine both could be outright released from the team.

And now that NFL training camp has rolled around, some of those reports all of a sudden seem a bit silly. Looking back, the report essentially said that Jaleel McLaughlin and rookie Audric Estime were roster locks meaning one of Javonte Williams or Samaje Perine were likely to be cut (simply by process of elimination). Well, reports from early camp suggest that Javonte Williams is pretty far away from the chopping block right now:

Joe Lombardi LOVES his passes to the running back, so there is absolutely value to be had in this backfield. Given the ADPs of all of them, I don’t mind taking a stab on Jaleel McLaughlin in deep fantasy football leagues. But as of right now, Javonte Williams is looking like the top dog, so I’ll absolutely be picking Javonte at his ADP well before McLaughlin.

Washington Commanders - Brian Robinson vs. Austin Ekeler

There’s been a lot of talk about this “battle”, but I actually think it’s pretty clear. I mean, Ekeler already pretty much told us the deal. He specifically signed with the Commanders because his former head coach is now the Commanders RB coach – Anthony Lynn. And Lynn sold him on the idea that it would be similar to his early days with the Chargers when Melvin Gordon was there.

With that, I expect Brian Robinson to be the early down back with Ekeler to operate on pass downs. In that article, he talked about his nose for the endzone and that he expects to get some red zone touches in space as well. 

For Brian Robinson, I’m a little worried that a mobile rookie QB in Jayden Daniels may be setting the team up to score a ton (and he may take those goal line carries himself). That has me avoiding both backs to be honest but, if I’m going to take one in any sort of PPR, it will likely be Ekeler. He was still a top five back in receptions per game last year.

 

 

 

Miami Dolphins - Raheem Mostert vs. De’Von Achane vs. Jaylen Wright

Any time there are two talented backs, we consider that “crowded” for fantasy football. So what do the Dolphins do? They drafted another talented speedster in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft with Jaylen Wright. Now the waters over there are more muddy than ever. Or are they?

Mike McDaniel was recently asked about his loaded backfield in Miami. His response was typical to some degree, saying that they are all talented players. But it was the way that he said it that was interesting. The quote, per a recent ESPN article was, “the whole group, pretty much led by Raheem, it is of quality and depth as good as I've been around – and I've been around a lot of good groups.” Led by Raheem. And that’s exactly how it was last year, when he scored 21 touchdowns. 

I actually don’t think taking De’Von Achane around his ADP is necessarily a terrible pick given how explosive he is and how good this offense is. Terron Armstead is a monster at left tackle and fullback Alec Ingold really opens things up. But Raheem Mostert is going multiple rounds later and it wouldn’t necessarily surprise me if he outscored Achane again. So, that’s the pick I’m more likely to make

*P.S. - I would not at all be shocked to see Jaylen Wright be a huge waiver wire add at some point if either of Mostert or Achane go down with injury.

Cincinnati Bengals - Zack Moss vs. Chase Brown

We seem to run into this situation a lot. Explosive young running back flashes a couple times in a backup capacity. It becomes clear that the starter is gone. People start getting excited. And then, BOOM – free agency hits like a Mack truck. That’s what happened with Chase Brown and Zack Moss in Cincy.

And I completely get the excitement for Chase Brown. I saw the highlights with him operating as a change of pace back behind Joe Mixon. But we also need to understand the narrative here. The Bengals didn’t ditch Joe Mixon then fill out the back room with rookies and/or journeymen. They actually paid up for Zack Moss a bit. Our own Howard Bender summed it up pretty well in a recent video on the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel.

I know that it’s often a smart play to take the cheaper back in ambiguous backfields since you might as well take the discount and cross your fingers many times. But, in this case, Zack Moss and Chase Brown are being drafted fairly closely in drafts. For me, I’m going to take the proven starter that they paid to come and be the guy. On 30 of 32 teams last year, the player that started the most games led the team in carries. And I think that will be Moss.

 

 

 

2024 NFL Training Camp Battles: Fantasy Football