NFL

Fantasy Football: 4 Mid-Round Running Backs With Workhorse Potential

Austan Kas  —  @AustanKas Jul 20th, 2017
It's not too hard to dream up a scenario in which Samaje Perine sees big-time volume this year, making him a nice running back to target after the early rounds. Which other mid-round backs could see significant touches?

Every-down running backs are unicorns in today's NFL. There aren't many of them, and the guys who do have true workhorse roles (David Johnson, Le'Veon Bell, Melvin Gordon and Ezekiel Elliott) are among the most valuable commodities in fantasy football.

But there are some running backs going much later in drafts who, if things break a certain way, could end up seeing significant volume. I'm not talking about a far-fetched scenario in which 17 guys have to get hurt for Benny Cunningham to seize an every-down role for the Chicago Bears (did you miss this summer's marquee signing?).

What I'm focusing on here is running backs who have a realistic shot at seeing significant volume and are being drafted in the middle rounds -- let's say Round 5 through Round 9, per Fantasy Football Calculator's average draft position data (ADP) for standard formats.

These are players who you can, ideally, plug into flex spots and let their volume override any deficiencies they have. And let's be honest, if they're running backs who could see a lot of touches and they're not going early, they ain't the belles of the ball.

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