By: Keith James

I love making deals. Don’t you? Dealmaking is the greatest part of dynasty fantasy football. Sure, there are deals to be had in redraft, but in one-year sample size, most league managers are leary to trade. In Dynasty, however, trades are an important tool for building your league dominating squad. In this article, I will showcase three under-the-radar running backs to trade for in your dynasty league. 

Trading is all about perceived value. It’s taken me a long time to understand how to successfully trade. Trades need to be fair but as a fantasy manager, you need to find value before it pops. We know that running backs have about a 3-4 year window before they fall off a cliff. Take a look at Leveon Bell and Todd Gurley. They were no about it top three picks just three seasons ago, now they aren’t even on an NFL roster. The greatness of running backs falls fast. In order to get out of an aging running back room is to find young talent that is ready to start making waves on game-day. 

Here are three running backs that fit that profile. They are being drafted with low ADPs and due to injury or ineffectiveness can be dynamic fantasy assets you are able to acquire for a cheap price. 

Darrynton Evans RB55, Tennessee Titans (ADP-220, Sleeper)

I like to target running backs that have high upside and are buried on the depth chart. Evans has both of these features. Not many people are aware of Darrynton Evans, but he is an explosive back, that ran a 4.4 forty coming out of college. Evans was the Titans 3rd round pick in 2020 out of Michigan beating Appalachian State. Due to injuries last season, Evans barely saw the field. 

Evans is no doubt buried on the depth chart. He is running behind one of the greatest power backs the NFL has even known. Derrick Henry is an alien. At 6’3 and 240 pounds, he is a dude that may very well buck all the trends of running backs dipping in production at age 27. But in fantasy football I play the odds and the odds say his cliff is coming. What usually ends up happening is injury. Henry is now entering his 6th NFL season. He has over 1,200 NFL touches. He is a great player and in standard leagues should be a top 3 drafted player but time catches all kings. 

When Henry gets dinged, Evans could be a league winner ready to catch passes and offer a different look to the Titans. Try to scoop Evans as an add on to a bigger trade and he could have league-winner potential. 

Chuba Hubbard RB50, Carolina Panthers (ADP-136, Sleeper)

Christian McCaffrey (CMC) is one of the best players in football. Not just at the running back position. He is an overall top 3 talent in the NFL. CMC also was dinged, a lot last year. He had multiple injuries that lead to him only playing in 3 games for the Panthers. I say that to say this, CMC has been brutally overused. He was such fantasy goodness for so long because the Panthers quite literally ran their entire offense through him, and he played every game. Last year was the first year he showed kinks in his armor.

CMC has over 1,000 NFL touches in his four years in the NFL. Much like Derrick Henry, he has been pounded and it showed up last season. CMC never missed a game until last year and my fear is that once star RB’s begin to get banged up, the injuries usually don’t stop. 

Enter a once shining star, Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard would have been a 2nd or 3rd round pick had he come out in 2020 but he chose to stay an extra year where he drastically disappointed NFL scouts. In 2019, Chuba Hubbard wowed at Oklahoma State. He rushed for 2,094 yards in 13 games. At 6.4 yards per carry, he was a big play waiting to happen at any moment. He also had a blazing 4.36 forty clocked at his pro day. Due to COVID and other factors, Hubbard had a down year that leads to him being drafted in the fourth round of the NFL draft.

Chuba is explosive. He can take a crack in the defense to the house on any play. Built-in the shape of Raheem Mostert, he is a slim, fast, break-away threat. If he hits a hole, he’s gone. If the injury bug continues to nip at CMC’s heels, Hubbard could be a weekly fill-in player that may look to do damage of his own for your team. By year three, Hubbard may own the backfield in Carolina.

Two years from now CMC will be hitting his age 27 years in the league and will be due for a decline. CMC is not built like Henry, he is smaller and shiftier. Great for prime running backs years, but once the injury bug hits it tends to hit again and again. 

Offer a 2nd round pick for Hubbard and see if anyone bites. If not, again try to grab him as a throw-in to a bigger trade and walk away with a piece that will pay dividends for your squad down the road. 

Kenneth (Kenny) Gainwell, RB45, Philadelphia Eagles (ADP-122, Sleeper)

Saving the best for last, Kenny Gainwell is an afterthought back that will provide fantasy results immediately. Gainwell was the reason Antonio Gibson didn’t get much run at Memphis. Gainwell was too good for the Tigers to take off the field so Gibson was used a receiver. Kenny Gainwell’s traits remind me a lot of Austin Ekelar. 

He is a shifty, satellite back that can catch the ball out of the backfield and do some damage. Gainwell is set to have a long career in the NFL. The area where Eagles starting back, Miles Sanders, struggled last year was in the passing game. This leads me to believe Gainwell will get run starting week 1. He is not only a guy waiting for an injury to get his chance, he is also a dude that can do some damage in his rookie year on 7-10 touches per game. 

Gainwell fits what Nick Sirianni did with the Colts. His profiles are to be used in the same fashion as Nyheim Hines was last year. For those of you that forgot, Hines was RB15 on only 152 touches last year and brought a lot of good fortune to fantasy teams. Gainwell could do the same this year. I don’t believe he gets enough looks to be an RB2, but he could easily be an RB3 and used often in a flex spot. If an injury happens to Miles Sanders, watch out for Gainwell to have himself a year.

His ADP of 122 has remained fairly stable this offseason. He is being drafted in the 10th round of dynasty leagues and usually in the 3rd round of rookie drafts. This is where a fantasy manager finds value. He was not a high-end asset but with the passing volume continuing to rise in the NFL, pass-catching backs like Gainwell are becoming must-own fantasy assets. Look to get Gainwell on your team by offering low draft capital and watch when he becomes an annual RB2 you can have locked and loaded for the next 4 years. 

The time is now to find sleeper RBs

Value plus volume equals fantasy success. All three players on this list offer little value to the uninformed league owner. Get a league owner excited by offering a solid player like Chase Claypool, ask for a player ranked slightly below Claypool like DJ Chark, and attach Evans, Hubbard, or Gainwell to the trade.

The post Dynasty: Three sleepers RBs to trade for appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

Dynasty champions and empires can be made by savvy pick-ups and trades of sleeping giants that others do not see. 2018: Phillip Lindsay; 2019: Austin Ekeler; 2020: James Robinson/Myles Gaskin ”“ just to name a few over the past few years. Here are some running backs who, for one reason or another, are low-risk high-reward players that can wake up your roster and make your dreams of fantasy glory a reality.

Kenny Gainwell

I don’t know what is in the water in Memphis, but it just keeps producing intriguing athletes for the NFL. This year, one of my favorite under-the-radar rookies is Kenneth Gainwell. Now Kenneth opted out of the 2020 season due to covid concerns, which is understandable. But, based on his 2019 stats, he was one of the best pass catchers in college football and the sole reason 2020 stand-out rookie Antonio Gibson wasn’t able to get on the field. Over 2,000 scrimmage yards in 2019 with 51 receptions is an exceptional mark for a running back in college. His landing spot will be something I am definitely monitoring because he could have a Nyheim Hines-like role in the NFL. We saw in 2020 how good that can be in PPR formats (running back 15), even if a workhorse is there.

Mike Boone

The new man in Denver will be joining Melvin Gordon and Royce Freeman. Mike Boone is no stranger to being buried on a depth chart, sitting behind both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison in Minnesota the past few years. Boone has had the opportunity to be the lead back at times due to injuries to Cook and Mattison, in which he has flashed in those occasions. If he can become the second man in Denver, that is a role that has had its fantasy relevance. With Melvin Gordon’s injury history, Boone could be one injury away from being an RB3/Flex to a low-end RB1 to high-end RB2 behind that offensive line.`

Phillip Lindsay

One of the biggest out-of-nowhere stories up until last year was Phillip Lindsay. We know the story ”“ UDFA out of Colorado to sign with Broncos and start his career with back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons. This offseason though, he asked for his release after getting an original round tender from Denver and ended up landing on the Houston Texans. Now, I will not get into their QB situation here because we will see how that plays out. What we do know is David Johnson restructured his contract to not be cut, and the Texans brought in the corpse of Mark Ingram to presumably be a locker room presence. With that, we can expect DJ and Lindsay to share the workload. Since David Johnson is not the same player he once was, it’s not out of the question Lindsay works his way to the lead running back role. In 2020, we saw Houston’s top running back average 15 PPR fantasy points per game.

Kenyan Drake

One of the biggest surprises this offseason was Kenyan Drake signing with the Oakland Raiders. Also, the contract he got is not back-up money. 14.5 million dollar contract over 2 years with 11 million guaranteed. This is saying that at WORST Drake will be splitting work 50/50 with Josh Jacobs. Over Jacobs’ first few seasons, he has not been used as the primary pass-catching running back. Even though we as a fantasy community think Jacobs is a competent pass catcher, Gruden and the Raiders do not want him in that role. With the loss of numerous key offensive linemen as well, I believe Carr will need to get the ball out quicker more often. This is where Drake comes in. We didn’t see Drake highlighted in the passing game in Arizona, but that has more to do with Kyler being a mobile quarterback. When Drake was in Miami, he averaged 45 receptions per year, whereas Jacobs’ career high is 33 receptions. Drake has the passing game floor to be an RB2 on your roster, but he is one Josh Jacobs’ injury away from flirting with Top 12 production.

Now there is no way to tell if these sleepers will wake up, but these are some cheaper guys who can make your roster a nightmare to your opponents with a few things breaking right.

“You Miss 100% OF THE 

SHOTS YOU DON’T

TAKE.  -Wayne Gretsky”

-Michael Scott

Find me on Twitter @KidFlashFF

The post Dynasty: Sleeper PPR RBs to Trade For appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: CJ Krause (@KidFlashFF)

We are in some of the most exciting times as a dynasty manager the season is over and we are now preparing for the 2021 season. Now this time of year I typically do not condone buying running backs because they have the highest possibility of being replaced in free agency or in the NFL draft. BUT, today I give you a list of 5 sleeper running backs that will more than likely return their current market price and only have room to go up.

Rashaad Penny

Now admittingly the former first round pick has not lived up to expectations like the Seattle Seahawks thought, but,  he has shown flashes that, when healthy, the he can carry the load. Let’s take a trip back to 2019. Simpler times.

Week 13 and 14 of 2019 while splitting carries with Chris Carson, we were truly seeing a usurp of Carson by the younger and more explosive player. Penny when getting his shot pre-ACL tear. In those two games, Penny ran for 203 yards on just 30 carries (6.7 YPC).

Now I do not expect him to keep that high of a YPC, but it shows what his ceiling potential is on limited work. In 2021, Chris Carson is an unrestricted free agent and with the Seahawks having under 3 million in cap space for 2021, I would assume Seattle will roll with Penny/Travis Homer/Deejay Dallas as their three running backs.

Based on tape and athletic measurables, I would bet Penny gets the lion’s share and he can be had for almost nothing right now. Penny should be a value 2 years post-ACL tear and in a run heavy offense.

AJ Dillon

Now here is a big name in the dynasty community this offseason. I must say buy with caution. BUT if it works out it’ll be a BIG hit.

Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams are both free agents going into the offseason and a re-signing of either will throw some cold water on AJ Dillon. Until then, his upside here is there are 320 vacated carries with Jones and Jamaal gone. Taking that into play, Quadzilla will have more than enough opportunity to be a RB1.

His draft capital of a 2^nd round selection in 2020 by the Green Bay Packers is also significant since that is very high capital for a running back when they had other needs. So, I assume the coaching staff has a plan for this young man.

Jeff Wilson Jr./Jamycal Hasty

Now I am kind of cheating listing both but what I’m really saying is pick up the San Francisco 49ers backfield up while you can. Almost every starting running back in the Kyle Shanahan offense has been successful no matter who he is.

Now I know Jeff Wilson is a restricted free agent, but I assume he will be back to the 49ers on a team-friendly deal, especially with McKinnon and Coleman coming off the books to clear up some space in the running back rotation. One thing to consider is the 49ers do have Raheem Mostert under contract. However, since he will be 29 years old when the 2021 season starts and he can be cut to save the 49ers 3.2 million, it may behoove them to do so.

Jeff Wilson is 25 years old and was the leading rusher for San Fran in 2020. Wilson also averaged 10.8 ppr fantasy points per game in 2020 while only having 10 total receptions weeks 1-16. Hasty is 24 years old and on a UDFA contract so I could totally see them using either or both next season.

Chase Edmonds

This one might be my favorite on this list because I love his tape. Chase Edmonds was drafted in the 4^th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

Edmonds has been stuck behind running backs like David Johnson and Kenyan Drake his whole career and has still produced in the limited work he received. In 2020, Chase Edmonds averaged 10.9 PPR points per game even with Drake there.

Kenyan Drake is an unrestricted free agent and will most likely be on a new team next year, leaving the backfield to just Edmonds and Eno Benjamin. Eno didn’t see much of the field all season, so unless Arizona makes a big free-agent signing, this is Chase Edmond’s chance to prove himself, especially going into a contract year.

Lynn Bowden Jr.

Lynn Bowden Jr. had an inauspicious start to his NFL career after being drafted and then traded by the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Miami Dolphins traded a 2021 4^th round pick for Bowden and Las Vegas a 2021 6^th round pick. Lynn Bowden was a dynamic college player who was traded for “football reasons.”

We are still unsure what that means specifically, but it seems Gruden may have just handed a hidden gem to Miami. It took a while for Bowden to get his chance at the field, but he was repurposed to a hybrid player going from the backfield to running routes out wide.

Admittingly, he didn’t get his real crack on the field until Week 13 for significant snap share, but once he was let loose, he never left the field. In Week 13, he had 71% snap share, and in the last 3 weeks of the season, he was on the field for over 90% of offensive plays.

Another thing that makes Bowden an intriguing buy is he acts as more of a slot receiver, as he lined up in the slot on 58.4% of his plays. The fact you get the flexibility of this player and that he has a role on the team makes this a great buy on a young player.

Happy hunting! I hope you are able to land some of these running backs and they bring you to fantasy football glory!

The post Dynasty: 5 Sleeper RBs to Target appeared first on Pro Football Mania.