The NFL salary cap is slowly but surely rendering high-priced RBs as obsolete… It’s not that the position truly doesn’t matter – if it didn’t, do you really think Nick Saban and company would waste their time trying to recruit the very best five-star talents every year?
Rather, RBs matter less than the game’s other 21 positions when forced to operate under the restrictions of a salary cap.
It’s far easier to elevate a middling RB with superior QB and offensive line play than vice versa; look no further than the history of draft capital to figure out what skill position regularly produces the most late-round fantasy gems.
This is why teams like the Cowboys and Vikings have parted ways with their long-time bell-cow options at the position this offseason: Paying top dollar to any position for middling results isn’t good – particularly when said position has historically been easier to fill in the later rounds of the draft than pretty much any other.
Of course, just because teams don’t want to pay elite money to veterans like Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott doesn’t mean they can’t play ball at a high level anymore.
At this point in free agency, Cook, Zeke, Leonard Fournette and Kareem Hunt stand out as the most-accomplished RBs available.
Each is seemingly waiting for the right situation to come to fruition – so let’s rank them in terms of real-life ability entering the year 2023.
Why? Because it’s June baby, why not!
1. Dalvin Cook
Averaged the 12th-most yards after contact per carry (3.18) with the 16th-best rate of explosive rushes (11.3%) among 42 qualified RBs in 2022.
Yes, other stats like EPA per rush and success rate paint the picture of a much less efficient back. Also, yes, Cook (28 in August) doesn’t appear to be completely washed if some of his home runs from 2022 are any indication.
I’ve already broken down Cook’s most fantasy-friendly landing spots, but his mix of explosiveness and pass-down ability should make him any RB-needy club’s top priority relative to the other free agents at the position.
2. Kareem Hunt
Hunt spent his entire career putting up elite tackle-breaking numbers … until last year.
- 2017: No. 4 in missed tackles forced per carry, No. 13 in yards after contact per carry
- 2018: No. 4, No. 11
- 2019: No. 1, No. 41
- 2020: No. 28, No. 14
- 2021: No. 3, No. 12
- 2022: No. 40, No. 38
28 in August, it’s certainly possible Hunt has already played the best football of his career and is no longer the same dynamic threat in the pass-and-run game.
Or maybe a rumored reunion with former OC Eric Bieniemy in Washington is just what Hunt needs to get back into his groove.
Ultimately, Hunt still managed to rank 16th in explosive run-play rate and 10th in PFF receiving grade last season. He still boasts the sort of three-down skill set that would make a lot of sense in a handful of offenses without a proven workhorse available (looking at you, Rams).
3. Leonard Fournette
The good: Fournette managed to handle enough volume to post top-12 marks in both overall and per-game PPR scoring while working as the Bucs’ lead RB in 2022.
The bad: The artist known as Lombardi Lenny averaged the league’s fewest yards after contact per attempt (2.31) while also ranking among the game’s bottom-six backs in explosive run-play rate (7.4%).
Playing through a Lisfranc injury didn’t help matters; just realize the only thing that saved Fournette from posting truly abysmal production last season was Tom Brady’s ever-present willingness to check the ball down.
4. Ezekiel Elliott
Zeke has been forced to battle through early-season knee injuries in back-to-back years.
Of course, that’s life with 2,186 career regular-season touches on the odometer. The 1,881 carries in particular are troublesome considering the history of RBs not being the same after reaching the 1,500 mark.
Elliott is coming off career-worst marks in virtually every efficiency metric. While he’s still capable of providing help in short-yardage and pass-blocking situations, the days of Zeke making the most out of a bell-cow role certainly appear to be in the rearview mirror.
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