Christian McCaffrey And The Top-5 Dynasty RBs
With the 100th NFL season coming to a close in two weeks, fantasy football enthusiasts will start to focus their attention on dynasty leagues. For those that are unsure, a dynasty league runs year long and is the closest thing to experiencing what an NFL GM goes through when putting together their rosters. Unlike redraft, where you select new players at the end of every season, in dynasty leagues, you retain most or all of your players from year to year. This enables team owners to build a team over time and includes many more levels of strategy than a simple redraft.
Now Available: 2020 Dynasty Rookie Rankings!
Dynasty has become more and more popular as fantasy football evolves. With that in mind, we will spend the next two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl breaking down our top-5 dynasty players for each position. We start with what some may argue is the most important, the running backs. Having a strong stable running back to build your team around can go a long way. At the end of this series, you will have a strong understanding of who to be targeting in your dynasty leagues. As soon as the Super Bowl is finished and we have crowned the winner of the Lombardi trophy, Create-A-Rank will have an even more exciting announcement to make. Stay tuned, as big things are happening this offseason!
2020 Dynasty Fantasy Football RB Rankings
1: Christian McCaffrey, RB Carolina Panthers, Age: 23
This one almost feels too obvious. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey has been the number one running back in PPR (points per reception) leagues for the past two seasons. It makes sense he would be at the top of my 2020 dynasty RB rankings. What makes him so valuable in dynasty, is the fact that he is so young. Running backs do not usually have much of a shelf life, their careers are not as long as say a quarterback. But, McCaffrey is still in his prime and has a number of years left before his production starts to diminish.
This past season, McCaffrey joined an incredibly elite club as he became only the third player in NFL history to rush and receive for more than 1000 yards. He finished the year with 1387 rushing yards and 15 rushing TDs. He added 1005 receiving yards and another four receiving TDs. The other running backs to have accomplished such a feat? Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk.
Christian McCaffrey is just the third player to reach 1,000 rushing & 1,000 receiving yards in a single season! #KeepPounding @cmc_22
đź“ş: #NOvsCAR on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app
Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/HYJhHN7b2Y pic.twitter.com/emyGnA2Qr3— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2019
As impressive as that is, what does it mean in the world of fantasy? McCaffrey had an incredible 355 fantasy points in 2019, surpassing his 2018 total of 279. The second closest running back behind McCaffrey was Derrick Henry with 276.
Although there are a number of questions regarding the Panthers for the 2020 season, one thing that is for sure will be McCaffrey’s involvement in the offense. Carolina brought in former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule to replace longtime HC Ron Rivera this offseason. Rhule has little experience as a coach in the NFL but boasts a history of some very successful college offenses. He is a huge fan of the run-pass option, which will play well with McCaffrey’s skillset.
Christian McCaffrey and the rest of our 2020 dynasty RBs
“Run-pass option has been my deal with the devil,” Rhule said at a coaching clinic last summer. “We won a couple of games, but it wasn’t played the way I wanted it to be played. I want the game to look a certain way, with a certain brand. The run-pass option has been a bridge for me, a way to win. We want to be tough. We believe in full gear, weightlifting, the Oklahoma drill. All the people tell us to be careful about doing, I believe that’s exactly what we need to do.”
Rhule will likely play off of what McCaffrey is good at, which bodes well for his 2020 outlook. With the uncertainty at the quarterback position, the offense will once again run through McCaffrey. He proved this season, playing with three different QBs, that whoever is throwing the ball doesn’t matter. He will get yards and TDs no matter what. After averaging 22 fantasy points per game, he will likely regress a little in 2020. However, even a slightly regressed McCaffrey is better than most RBs.
2: Aaron Jones, RB Green Bay Packers, Age: 25
Aaron Jones had his breakout season for the Green Bay Packers this year, rushing for more than 1000 yards for the first time in his career. The reason I have Jones so high on this list is because of how much Packers head Coach Matt LaFleur likes to run the ball. Jones has performed well enough to eliminate any competition by the other backs on the team and unless the team drafts someone, that should continue next year.
First, keep in mind that Jones is still only 25 years old. With Aaron Rodgers getting to the age where his arm starts to struggle, the team will likely rely even more on the run next year. With a limited number of weapons in the passing game, Jones is a solid back with pass-catching ability. If there is a player that I would have to bet joins McCaffrey in the 1000/1000 club, it would be Jones. He is explosive out of the backfield.
Another reason I love Jones next year is how much Rodgers loves him in the red zone. One can assume that the Packers will likely have some positive regression next season when it comes to points scored per game. They were 15th in the league with 23.5 points per game, with only 44 TDs on the year. Jones accounted for nearly half of those TDS with 19 total. If the Packers score more next year, Jones might be able to surpass his impressive TD total.
3: Saquon Barkley, RB New York Giants, Age: 22
Obviously, a lot of these running backs are fairly close together rankings wise. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley could have easily been seconde on this list. The only knock on Barkley is his health. A high-ankle sprain sidelined Barkley for nearly a month this season and looked to limit him for several weeks thereafter.
2020 Dynasty Starup Mock Draft (SuperFlex)
Another issue I have with Barkley is that he plays on a bad football team. The New York Giants were in contention for the first overall pick this past season, and I don’t see them being much better under new HC Joe Judge. Playing for a bad team means you play from behind a lot, and the run game is eliminated in those scenarios.
On the plus side, during his seasons in New England, Judge was widely exposed to the utilization of the running backs in the passing game. If he brings that to New York, Barkley could finish as the number one back in the NFL. Look for Judge to help Barkley sharpen his receiving skills and become an even more lethal offensive weapon. However, for my 2020 dynasty RB rankings, I am a little bit more timid on him. Even with his injury, Barkley still managed to rush for over 1,000 yards and score eight total touchdowns. He has the potential to prove me wrong here.
4: Dalvin Cook, RB Minnesota Vikings, Age: 24
Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook had an impressive 2019 season. It started off incredibly hot, but injuries down the road caused him to cool off. However, his overall body of work was so impressive that he has worked his way into the upper tiers of dynasty rankings. Cook is a true all-purpose weapon with a stable organization. He had an impressive 309 fantasy points this past year.
The only concern with Cook in 2020 is the emergence of Alexander Mattison. Near the end of the year, Mattison started to steal more and more snaps from Cook. He was also more involved in the passing game. Either way, this one-two punch of the two RBs makes this backfield one of the most dangerous in the NFL.
5: Ezekiel Elliott, RB Dallas Cowboys, Age: 24
The NFC East is stocked with RB talent. Alongside Barkley and the Giants, you also have Ezekiel Elliott with the Dallas Cowboys. Elliott is a generational RB talent who had another good year despite the terrible coaching of Jason Garrett. The problem for Elliott? They brought in Mike McCarthy to replace him.
Ezekiel Elliot is a stud in the backfield. He produced 1777 total yards and 14 scores last season. He was one of the most dependable backs in the league and should be getting over 300 touches every season.
However, McCarthy has a tendency to be more of a pass-happy coach. McCarthy will run a more fast-paced offense. During his final five seasons with the Packers, McCarthy’s offense used a no-huddle at the rate of 21 percent, the third-highest use of the no-huddle during that span. He likes to throw the ball vertically.
In his final three seasons with the Packers, his teams had among the lowest rushing attempts in the NFL. In his twelve full seasons, less than half saw the team produce a 1,000-yard rusher. None of this is good for Elliott. However, Elliott is too good of a RB for McCarthy to ignore. He has never had a back with this kind of talent before.
Elliott has now signed a long term deal, so dynasty-wise there will be no worry about him changing teams. He is locked in and will hopefully be able to replicate the success of his rookie season in 2020.
