Top Dynasty Fantasy Football Buys for 2021: Running Backs

Out of all the positions required to form a championship dynasty football team, the most important position to not fall behind on is running back. The running back position has the shortest lifespan in the NFL. Therefore, it has the shortest lifespan on your dynasty roster. Today, we will discuss the top dynasty fantasy football buys at running back. You need to be constantly active on every level of dynasty fantasy football in order to ensure you don’t miss out on the rising free agent or the third-round rookie pick that’s going to turn into a five-year starter on your team.

Here are a few guys to go after if you’ve missed out on the rookies this year and need a cheap upgrade at the position. 

Damien Harris 

If you follow me on Twitter (which if you don’t, go do it now @FFQuickTakes), you would know that I’m absolutely in love with third-year running back, Damien Harris. The Patriots’ running back has everything you look for in a breakout player at the position. He combines age, athleticism, draft capital, and projected volume, which are the four main checkmarks you look for in a long-term dynasty running back.

As a sophomore, Harris ran the ball 137 times for just under 700 yards, averaging 5.0 YPC, which was good for seventh-most among all NFL running backs. During the off-season the Patriots let Rex Burkhead go and moved on from injury-laden Lamar Miller, showing the confidence they have in Harris handling a larger role. They did use a 4th round draft pick on Rhamondre Stevenson. However, I don’t see him cutting into Harris’s workload any time soon, if at all.

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The only thing from here until the beginning of the season that could raise his value any more would be a quarterback change from Cam Newton to first-round pick  Mac Jones. Newton’s ability to run the ball close to the goal line really hurts Harris’s touchdown ceiling. Therefore, if Jones were to start it would really open the door for double-digit touchdown numbers. I’m all in on Harris and would feel comfortable starting him week in and out as my RB2 with the potential to end the season as a low-end RB1. 

James Robinson

After the 2020 season ended you would think James Robinson would be an easy sell because of such an unforeseen rookie season. If you had Robinson on your team it was most likely from the waiver wire because he wasn’t on many managers’ draft boards being an undrafted rookie free agent out of Illinois State. After injuries plagued the Jaguars backfield, Robinson stepped up and literally ran away with the job accumulating 1,400 yards of total offense and 10 touchdowns.

Robinson was well on his way to becoming a top 15 dynasty running back when the Jags hit the pause button and drafted running back, Travis Etienne, in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Many dynasty managers believe the Etienne pick hurt Robinson’s overall value. However, I think it opens the door for other managers to come in and offer a trade to someone who is pissed about the selection.

Even with Etienne crowding the backfield, I believe Robinson is going to get the majority of early work and virtually all of the goal line carries, giving him plenty of opportunities to repeat as one of the most undervalued running backs in the league. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and I firmly believe that Robinson will once again outperform his ADP and become one of the most rostered players on championship teams. 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Going into the 2020 season, there wasn’t a running back in the league that was more hyped up than rookie running back, Clyde Edwards-Helaire. When the Chiefs took him in the first round last year everyone had flashbacks of what Kareem Hunt was in that offense and thought he would step in and immediately take on a similar role.

Unfortunately for all of those people, they were extremely disappointed when he didn’t exactly live up to those expectations. Even if he wasn’t worth the draft capital in dynasty rookie drafts he was still a productive back in his first season, rushing for over 800 yards and hauling in 54 receptions in 13 games.

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Fast forward to this off-season and the Chiefs have a revamped offensive line and a much better idea of what kind of player they have in Edwards-Helaire. I’m expecting a huge leap from the second-year running back and a season much closer to what the majority thought they would see last year.

As high-powered as the Chiefs offense is and the ability of Andy Reid to get his running backs into space, Edwards-Helaire should easily top all of his numbers from a year ago and push for over 1,500 yards from scrimmage. I believe it’s worth it to reach out to the disgruntled manager in your league that rosters him to see what it would take for them to give him up.

More Dynasty Buys and Sells

Dynasty Football Sells: Quarterbacks

Dynasty Football Sells: Running Backs

Dynasty Football Buys: Wide Receivers

Dynasty Football Sells: Wide Receivers

Dynasty Football Buys: Tight Ends

Dynasty Football Sells: Tight Ends