Fantasy Football: 10 Running Backs to Target in PPR Leagues

Devontae Booker, Denver Broncos

Standard Running Back Projection: 46th
PPR Running Back Projection: 47th
PPR Average Draft Position: 11.11 (RB50)

Devontae Booker looks like a pretty appealing late-round pick right now.

The fantasy community has run away with the idea that this is Royce Freeman's backfield, making the rookie the RB27 by ADP, with Booker the RB50.

But we may have the cart in front of the horse a little bit.

Before the draft, Denver said they wanted Booker to be the lead guy, which kind of fell to the wayside -- for good reason -- after they took Freeman in the third round. Then after the draft, there was a report stating that Booker was still atop the depth chart, and just recently, a beat writer tabbed Booker to start in Week 1.

As we all know, Satan dabbles in coachspeak, and it's early August, so there's plenty of time for us to get a better read on how this backfield might play out. But at a minimum, it sure seems like Booker may be more of a factor than the discrepancy in their ADPs would have you believe.

Per our projections, Freeman (RB36) is the better guy to own, but Booker (RB47) is still a worthwhile dart throw late in the draft. Our models have Booker with 130 carries, 550 yards and 2.22 rushing scores plus 22 catches, 149 yards and 0.47 touchdowns as a receiver. Booker had 31 and 30 receptions across his first two years, so there's potential for him to do more than that in the passing game if he carves out a meaningful role.