NFL Fantasy Football - RB Rankings 7 - 12 for 2022 - Redraft

DFS Army’s Gthom breaks down running back rankings 7-through-12 for the 2022 fantasy football season (prior to the NFL Draft).

• QB rankings 1-12
• RB rankings 1-6
• WR rankings 1-6  and WR rankings 7-12
• TE rankings 1-6 and TE 7-12 rankings

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7. Najee Harris (RB) Pittsburgh Steelers

Najee Harris’ rookie season was nothing short of stellar. This is a good football player and the Steelers feature him as a true three-down back, rare in today’s game. While Harris finds himself seventh on this list he has the talent and potential to finish much higher than seventh overall at his position.

Harris finished as the league-leader in receptions, which fueled his RB4 finish in fantasy. Ben Roethlisberger was the check-down king and that was a huge benefit for Harris. Which leads us to the biggest question mark around Harris: how good will he be with Roethlisberger gone and no reliable quarterback on the roster?

The question mark around his quarterback is a legitimate issue when projecting Harris for fantasy. This may change after the NFL Draft but as of right now, Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins seem far removed from being competent quarterbacks.

Outside of this one complaint, Harris is an excellent first or second round pick in fantasy drafts. At the least, he possesses one of the highest fantasy floors and will get you there on volume alone. But if Harris is able to reach his ceiling, then he could become the steal of the draft.

8. Javonte Williams (RB) Denver Broncos

Javonte Williams is another sophomore that projects to be an excellent fantasy football player. There are factors to consider but if the season were to start today, he would be highly sought after.

Williams looks poised to take the leap in fantasy for several reasons. First, the upgrade at quarterback is critically important to this team. Second, there is not another running back on this roster that can keep up with Williams. If Williams is the three-down back, or even the primary back, he would likely finish in the top-10.

Looking at Williams’ 2021 season he split time with another solid running back, Melvin Gordon. Even after the 50/50 timeshare with Gordon, Williams finished as the RB17 overall and maintained 10.8-FPPG. Gordon being off the roster brings a lot of optimism towards Williams.

Weeks 12-to-14 Williams began to flash his brilliance and averaged 22.06-FPPG for a three-game span. During that time there were many fantasy managers calling for Williams to commandeer a chunk of Gordon’s rushing share. Unfortunately that never happened and the timeshare persisted.

If you select Williams in your league’s draft, you obviously expect him to improve a lot for fantasy and that will happen if the roster looks like it does today. Williams’ fantasy stock would fall if Denver drafts a running back in rounds 1-to-3, or signs a formidable RB2 in free agency.

9. Nick Chubb (RB) Cleveland Browns

By now most fantasy football managers know what to expect from Nick Chubb. He is a not-so-sexy RB1 for your fantasy roster, but carries solid upside every week. Sadly, Chubb’s time share with Kareem Hunt will always hold him back from being a must-have fantasy player.

In 2021, Chubb was able to average 14.7-FPPG across 1,259 rushing yards and nine total touchdowns. He was the RB11 overall but missed three games (one from covid, two from a bad ankle) in the process. If he played one of those three-missed games, he easily could have finished as the RB8 or RB9 overall.

Something that is baked into Chubb’s draft outlook is his upside should anything happen to Kareem Hunt. In the event that Hunt misses time, Chubb would be the lead dog for this backfield and receive instant RB1 status.

The addition of Deshaun Watson at quarterback is going to help Chubb and the Browns improve immensely. It seems inevitable that Watson misses at least six games from suspension, but nothing has been levied by the commissioner’s office at this time.

Exiting your draft with Chubb on your roster is never a bad thing. He is not as flashy as some of the other players before or after him. But he is a proven veteran that does a hell of a job running the football. Chubb is not a player that should be reached for in drafts due to his time share.

10. Alvin Kamara (RB) New Orleans Saints

Alvin Kamara has been a staple for fantasy football since 2017. From his sophomore season through 2021, he has been viewed as a top-five running back for fantasy. That could all change heading into this year.

Recapping his 2021 fantasy season, Kamara had 898 rushing yards, 439 receiving yards, 47 receptions and nine total touchdowns. This effort led Kamara to a RB8 finish overall despite missing four straight games with an injury.

Kamara is a runner and a receiver and that combination creates a lot of his fantasy value. After maintaining an average of 5.43 receptions per game from 2017 – 2020, Kamara saw his receptions per game slide to 3.6. Additionally we saw his yards per carry drop as well. In 2017 – 2020 he had 4.97 yards per carry and in 2021 he finished with 3.7 yards per carry (the league’s median is 4.3).

Now mix-in former head coach Sean Payton has resigned, plus the team enters their second consecutive season with below average quarterback play. The bigger question mark is how Kamara will be utilized in this offense without Sean Payton scheming. Payton was viewed as an offensive genius in the NFL and his absence does bring Kamara’s value presumably lower until we can see his usage. It is worth noting that Kamara’s offensive coordinator will return in 2022; he has been with him since Kamara’s rookie season.

Kamara is talented and has the ability to put up monster fantasy numbers and that is valuable. But his actual touches could become less frequent and less valuable for fantasy. For this reason Kamara lands in the top-10 but he is not someone to reach for given the question marks surrounding his team.

One final thing about Kamara: if he goes 10th off the board at his position, he could be the steal of the draft should he reach his ceiling.

11. D’Andre Swift (RB) Detroit Lions

Fantasy football managers left their 2021 drafts with nothing short of mixed feelings for Swift. Those feelings were erased once the season began, but as 2021 progressed Swift began burning fantasy managers and the mixed feelings returned. While those emotions were warranted, do not hold that against Swift in 2022.

Last season the former Georgia Bulldog finished 10th at his position in FPPG, logging 13.7. Swift ended the year as the RB19 overall, but missed four games. If he played all 17 games, and maintained his pace, he would have likely finished as the RB6 or RB7 overall. His workload was that valuable.

In Swift’s second-year we saw increases across the board: rushing attempts, receptions per game, total rushing yards and total receiving yards. These stats show a clear increase in usage with Swift and that lifts his fantasy projections too.

In his rookie season Swift finished with 3.5 receptions per game and 8.8 rushing attempts per game; in 2022 he increased those numbers to 4.8 and 11.6, respectively. Swift has undeniable talent and any further increase to his volume elevates him for fantasy, especially since touchdowns could be hard to come by for Detroit.

Of course you have to bring up the team around him which is not good. It starts with his quarterback Jarrod Goff and unfolds from there. The positive side of this: Detroit will find themselves down a lot in 2022 which should force them into passing situations. Playing keep-up is great for backs who can catch the ball because their quarterback checks down a lot more in those situations.

Swift looks like a solid pick at this position in fantasy drafts. There is upside with this pick and there is little hesitation towards his 2022 outlook.

12. Leonard Fournette (RB) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Leonard Fournette’s 2021 season was excellent, even if he missed three games. In addition, Fournette was able to double his rushing yards, when compared to 2020, and nearly did the same for his receiving yards. He is the man for Tampa’s backfield.

On top of his increase in rushing yards and receiving yards, Fournette was able to pile up more rushing attempts, more receptions and more touchdowns. This usage led Fournette to finish as the RB7 overall. Any further increase to these trends in 2022 would make Fournette a great value at 12.

The former LSU Tiger maintained a great fantasy floor as well. From weeks 4-through-15 he had more than 10-fantasy points in all but one-single game. In this same stretch he finished one week with an incredible 40.6-fantasy points, plus added weekly finishes of 27.7 and 21.2. While on this 11-game run, Fournette finished with 18-FPPG which was only behind Jonathan Taylor and Austin Ekeler.

Looking at 2022, Fournette’s fantasy projections spiked once Ronald Jones left for greener pastures. Additionally, Tom Brady returning to Tampa Bay solidifies Fournette’s value in this offense. This is important for Fournette because former head coach, Bruce Arians, transitioned to a front office position following the 2021 season.

Unfortunately Fournette carries a history of missing games in each season due to injuries. He has yet to play a full schedule for an NFL team. Do not avoid Fournette because of this, just be sure to understand his injury history for depth purposes.

Fournette is a great player at this range of the fantasy football draft. His team is nothing short of a Super Bowl contender and we will likely see Playoff Lenny’s opportunities continue to rise in 2022.

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