It’s NFL training camp battle season. From now until August, players are duking it out - some for roster spots, some for starting spots. As Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel put it when talking about Jaylen Wright, now is the time to “non-verbally communicate to coaches your hunger for an increased role." Or, as a normal person might say, “play well.'

These battles are not only crucial for NFL teams but also for fantasy football. All eyes are now on the big battles for starting running back jobs. Najee Harris vs. Omarion Hampton. Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Treveyon Henderson. Joe Mixon vs. Nick Chubb. Jaylen Warren vs. Kaleb Johnson. Now, all of a sudden, there’s also J.K. Dobbins vs. RJ Harvey as we discussed in this article. One trend is very clear this year: there are a lot of exciting rookies in the mix.

But here’s the thing - those guys are still expensive. The incumbents and the rookies. What if I told you some veteran guys were going VERY late in early fantasy football drafts that actually have a sneaky path to a starting job? A way for you to get a cheap shot at upside without contracting “rookie fever?" Now, I’m not saying these guys are all going to win the job or even have the best odds to do so. But I can paint you a picture of how it happens, if it does. And there’s a lot of upside to be had with very little risk at these five players’ prices in current fantasy football draft rankings. Let’s take a look at them based on who is going earliest to latest in early drafts. 

 

 

 

Top 5 Veteran RBs with Low-ADP Cost with Path to Fantasy Football Starting Roles

Jordan Mason, RB, Minnesota Vikings

This offseason started with Aaron Jones as a free agent. During that period, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell decided to make a little appearance on SiriusXM (if you take fantasy football seriously, I’m sure you obviously have a SiriusXM subscription and tune into the Fantasy Alarm Show weekdays 6-8 PM ET on Channel 87). In the interview, they ask O’Connell about Aaron Jones potentially returning to the Vikings as a free agent - here is what he had to say.

“I think we continue to grow in that room. Whether it’s infused in a young player in the draft, or maybe another player in free agency alongside Aaron Jones, hopefully.”

As Kevin O’Connell hoped, they did get Aaron Jones back. And they did continue to grow the room. They did so by trading for Jordan Mason out of San Francisco. Like coach said, they are growing out the running back room by adding a young player to the mix to help take the load off Jones (who actually had more yards from scrimmage than Justin Jefferson last year, the guy with the second most receiving yards in the league).

Now, Jones will obviously have a key role as he’s one of the best pass-catching backs in the league. But what if they decide to “grow the room” by splitting the work into run-down work vs. pass-down work? Now, there is not only a chance that Jordan Mason gets the short-yardage and goal-line work, there’s also a chance he ends up being the de facto starter the way David Montgomery “starts” over Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. That and the extensive injury history for Aaron Jones make Mason fairly interesting at his current ADP. He can be had outside the top 100 picks at times.

 

 


 

Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Travis Etienne is the Jacksonville Jaguars' incumbent starter. And Bayshul Tuten is the shiny new toy drafted by the new regime. So the battle should be between those two, right? Perhaps. But let’s take a second to consider the narrative that unfolded last year in Tampa Bay, where new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was just the offensive coordinator.

Rachaad White was the incumbent starter. Yet Bucky Irving came in and was more efficient running the ball on the ground. Liam Coen was willing to make the switch to have Bucky starting and playing on run downs, with White contributing mostly on pass downs. And Bucky Irving turned into a league-winning pick in fantasy football.

What’s interesting about that is that something similar was simultaneously unfolding in Jacksonville last season. Tank Bigsby ended up being far more efficient last year than Etienne - not only did he finish with more carries, yards, and touchdowns, but he did it on 4.6 yards per carry vs. 3.7 for Etienne. Bayshul Tuten is interesting, but he’s also a Day 3 draft pick - those guys fall flat all the time. Liam Coen showed last year that, when the rubber hits the road and games/jobs are on the line, the most efficient back is going to get the start. Based on what we saw last year, that could end up being Tank Bigsby. And he currently goes a full three rounds after both Travis Etienne and Bayshul Tuten.

 

 

 


 

Roschon Johnson, RB, Chicago Bears

I was CONFIDENT that the Chicago Bears would sign a running back in free agency. Then I listed them as a prime landing spot for a bruising back like Omarion Hampton in the draft. After they didn’t draft a back in the meaningful rounds, I was expecting them to sign Nick Chubb. Or maybe J.K. Dobbins. None of that happened.

The reason I figured they would bring in a bruising early-down back is new head coach Ben Johnson’s scheme with the Detroit Lions. He had David Montgomery working on early downs with Jahmyr Gibbs as his explosive pass-down/change-of-pace guy. And it worked so well that he’s now the head coach of the Bears.

Maybe he will change the scheme and lean into a one-back system. Maybe seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai will step up and claim that early down role. Or maybe the guy who is already on the team that was the more efficient short-yardage runner last year gets it. Both Roschon Johnson and D’Andre Swift each got 8 carries inside the five-yard line - Roschon scored 6 touchdowns on 9 yards, Swift had 3 touchdowns with -4 yards. And, if there is a “David Montgomery role” and Roschon Johnson gets it, that is the back that starts games in this scheme. Roschon fires off at an affordable round 14 in early Underdog drafts. 

 

 


 

Miles Sanders, RB, Dallas Cowboys

I know what you’re probably thinking. Something along the lines of, “ew, gross." I get it. But you know what else is gross? This Dallas Cowboys running back room. After Rico Dowdle stepped in and had 1,000 yards rushing as an undrafted free agent, Jerry Jones probably thinks he’s some kind of magician whose calling card is making starting RBs appear out of thin air. And maybe he can.

Javonte Williams is the front-running veteran given his youth and the built-in excuse that comes with injury recovery. But Williams was also just a top-five RB in targets last year in the NFL on a playoff offense. And he did nothing with it. Rookie Jayden Blue and Phil Mafah will naturally get a look, and Blue is certainly an interesting name. Yet, Day 3 rookies are still Day 3 rookies - they could amount to nothing.

Miles Sanders has done it before with multiple 1,000-yard scrimmage seasons on his resume (including one with 1,347 yards from scrimmage and 11 TDs). There have not only been reports that he has been the best-looking Cowboys back in OTAs so far, but beat writer Nick Harris of the Star Telegram tells us that Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams are the only RBs that have gotten work with the first team during mandatory minicamp. Sanders is currently listed as the RB67 on Underdog with an ADP of ~211, which means he can be had with your very last pick. Whoever the starting RB is for Dak Prescott and his weapons could make some noise. 

 

 


 

Elijah Mitchell, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Yes, Isiah Pacheco did get hurt last season. And he potentially lost some muscle and was out of shape when he returned late last year. But everyone saw that Kareem Hunt looked better than him and was beating him out for touches all the way through the Super Bowl, right? I didn’t imagine that?

While we are using our imagination, picture this scenario. The Kansas City Chiefs are a well-oiled machine. They cruised to the Super Bowl with essentially only one loss and what amounted to back-to-back bye weeks by skipping Week 18. What if Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are simply so good that average backs can look above average on this team? Where castoffs like Kareem Hunt can be the starting back in the Super Bowl?

Now, imagine they take a shot on another back in free agency. In fact, they quietly make him the highest-paid back on the team. And it’s a guy who has flashed upside when healthy with a 4.7 yards per attempt in his career. He even had a season in 2021 with 1,110 yards from scrimmage and 6 TDs. That’s Elijah Mitchell. And he often goes undrafted in Underdog Best Ball contests as the RB80 in ADP. That’s a free square.