Outlook: There have never been any questions about McCaffrey's talent. He entered the NFL as the eighth overall pick back in 2017, and he averaged 1,814 yards and 13 TDs over his first three years. It was the injuries that created a fog over his fantasy value with the Stanford product appearing in just three games in 2020 and seven the following season. It devalued him enough that the Panthers were willing to take pennies on the dollar from San Francisco when they traded him in 2022.

Since joining the 49ers in October 2022, McCaffrey has appeared in 27 of 28 possible games (he, like many of the team's playmakers, was held out of Week 18 this last year), during which time he has averaged 119.7 yards per game and visited the end zone 31 times. Not only has he stayed on the field, but he's also been a workhorse, completely marginalizing the team's depth at the position and finishing second in the NFL in carries (272) last year. Although he doesn't get targeted on the same level as he was in Carolina, the veteran remains arguably the top pass-catching back in the NFL.

Entering his age-28 season, Run CMC should still be in his prime, and coming off consecutive injury-free campaigns you can feel comfortable downgrading his injury risk. Given his consistency, involvement in one of the league's top offenses, and talent, McCaffrey appears to be the clear choice for the No. 1 overall pick in most drafts.

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Outlook: Bijan Robinson was arguably the largest victim in Arthur Smith's regime. After being an elite prospect from the University of Texas, Robinson was selected by the Falcons with the 8th overall pick. He then landed in a timeshare with Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson. However, reports indicate that this timeshare will be dissolved and Robinson is in line for a "Christian McCaffrey-like" role. A large workload would allow Robinson to produce at an appropriate fantasy level relative to his talent.

Robinson passed the eye test as a rookie, regularly shaking defenders and making jaw-dropping plays. This was backed up by his 0.28 missed tackles forced per attempt, the 4th highest rate among RBs. The only thing holding him back was his perplexing usage under Smith. With a new coaching staff, it's wheels up for Robinson who will likely be one of the first couple of running backs selected in your draft.

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Outlook: Breece Hall is recognized as one of the league's most dynamic running backs, finishing the previous season as RB2 and a true difference-maker at the position. Leading all running backs with 95 targets, Hall secured 76 catches for 591 yards, topping the league in both categories in 2023. He also contributed four touchdowns in the passing game. Although his receiving stats were somewhat inflated by a 16-target game against the Commanders in Week 15, Hall's performance remained impressive even without that game, keeping him at the top in most running back receiving metrics. If not for Christian McCaffrey's extraordinary numbers in San Francisco, Hall would likely be the frontrunner for the RB1 spot in drafts this season.

Now set to play alongside Aaron Rodgers, a quarterback known for his highly effective check-down passes, Hall stands to benefit significantly. Throughout his career, Rodgers has consistently boosted the performance of running backs in the passing game, as seen with Aaron Jones being targeted 68, 63, 65, and 72 times during his tenure as Green Bay's primary back alongside Rodgers. That number fell to just 43 targets for Jones in 2023 as he played alongside Jordan Love. Given Hall's superior receiving skills compared to Jones, his targets are unlikely to decrease substantially in 2024, adding to his nice, high floor in PPR formats.

With Rodgers at the helm, the Jets' offense is expected to improve, potentially enhancing Hall's rushing opportunities as well. Despite his talent, Hall has only scored nine rushing touchdowns over his first two seasons, primarily due to the Jets' struggling offense, which often necessitated a focus on the passing game. Increased offensive efficiency should theoretically lead to more red zone opportunities and, consequently, more goal-line rush attempts for Hall in 2024.

Overall, Hall is one of the safest picks this season, having already proven himself as one of the league's best running backs in a poor offense. With an anticipated improvement in the Jets' offensive performance, Hall has a strong chance to exceed his previous achievements and solidify his status as an elite fantasy running back.

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Outlook: Last season was an up-and-down year for Jonathan Taylor and his fantasy owners. The season was riddled with contract disputes, injuries, and inconsistent production. Taylor started the season on the PUP list (ankle) and did not appear in a game until Week 5. He also missed a stretch of games late in the season due to a thumb injury. When he was on the field, he provided some productive weeks but was relatively inconsistent. He appeared in 10 games, finishing as a weekly RB1 four times. However, these RB1 finishes never came in consecutive weeks.

With a new contract and injuries behind him, Taylor will have a fresh start and is being drafted as the RB5 in most formats. I am hesitant to take him at this price, but let's take a look at the good and the bad of Taylor's 2024 outlook.

Starting with the good, Taylor has proven to be a quality rusher who can churn out yards when necessary but is also capable of a house call at any moment. The Colts will be a high-paced, run-first offense and will feature Taylor as an offensive focal point. He should see plenty of rushing work and will have every opportunity to rack up yards on the ground.

Looking to the bad, Taylor may have a hard time seeing high-value targets and red zone touches. Taylor has never been highly utilized or effective as a pass catcher and in an offense with Anthony Richardson as the QB, don't expect a bump in usage as a receiver. Speaking of Richardson, we just discussed his effectiveness as a rusher near the goal-line. Taylor will certainly see work in this area of the field, but the Colts would be foolish not to give goal-line rushes to Richardson. There is a path for Taylor to pay off at his RB5 price with volume, but the red flags are very apparent.

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Outlook: In Week 1 last year, Cam Akers ran the ball 22 times to Williams' 15. It seemed to be a split befitting their respective statuses as RB1 (Akers) and RB2 (Williams). On to Week 2, right? Wrong. Akers never suited up for the Rams again, eventually being traded to the Vikings, and Williams took over as the lead back. While an ankle injury would put him on the shelf for a month, the Notre Dame product proved he could be a workhorse when healthy.

In six games after returning from injury, Williams averaged 25 touches per game, resulting in 131.5 yards per contest -- he topped 100 total yards in each game -- and eight total touchdowns. Like most of the skill players, Williams was held out in Week 18, and he wasn't nearly as effective in the Wild Card loss to Detroit (70 yards, 0 TDs), but that had more to do with fewer opportunities (14 touches).

For as good as Williams has looked on the field, there are viable questions about his durability after spending time on Injured Reserve with ankle injuries in each of his first two seasons. He also missed part of the offseason program his rookie year with a broken foot. In terms of production, you're looking at a potential top-five fantasy RB, even with the arrival of Blake Corum. There's risk here, though, so make sure your depth is solid if you're investing in Williams to be your No.1 back.

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Outlook: With 1,400 total yards and 12 touchdowns considered a down year, the Titans moved on from Henry this offseason, and the Ravens were more than happy to scoop him up. At age 30 and with tons of wear on the tires, Henry is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but gets to ride out his twilight years in one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL. With Jackson, and a complex passing attack to support him, Henry won't be asked to carry the offense on his back like he had to with the Titans. Gus Edwards, who has a fraction of the physical ability that Henry has, backed into 13 rushing touchdowns last season. The efficiency of the offense, and the fact Lamar Jackson doesn't pilfer as many red zone scores as you might expect, gives Henry potentially the highest touchdown floor of any back not on the 49ers roster.

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Outlook: Saquon Barkley found a new home in a much better offense, signing with the Eagles this offseason after a challenging year with the Giants. Despite missing three games, Barkley narrowly missed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in 2023, contributing nearly 90 total yards per game and 10 total touchdowns in just 14 games. He achieved these numbers despite playing in an offense that ranked 29th in total yards and 30th in offensive points scored. The Giants' offensive struggles were compounded by Daniel Jones' injury, which left Barkley to carry the load in a subpar offense with truly horrendous quarterback play.

Now with the Eagles, Barkley has the chance to thrive behind one of the league's best offensive lines, even after the retirement of Jason Kelce. This elite unit should provide Barkley with more opportunities to reach the second level, where he can showcase his power and elusiveness.

The main concern for Barkley in Philadelphia is the team's reliance on Jalen Hurts' rushing ability, both near the goal line and in situations where other quarterbacks might check down to the running back in the passing game. Barkley caught 91 passes as a rookie with Eli Manning, but saw a significant drop in receiving opportunities with Daniel Jones, failing to reach 60 receptions in any subsequent season. Hurts' tendency to run instead of passing to running backs has led to no Philadelphia back reaching even 40 receptions in any of his three seasons as the primary quarterback.

While Barkley is expected to get more consistent playing time than recent Philadelphia backs, the concerns about his receiving ceiling being capped around 50 receptions are valid. The key question is whether he'll get enough usage in the running game, especially near the goal line, to justify his late-first-round ADP.

With only Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley as viable backups, Barkley is poised for an elite-level workhorse opportunity share in an offense that should remain excellent. This makes him a very safe bet to be a solid weekly starter in fantasy, with the potential to return to elite-level production if he can capitalize on touchdown opportunities. If things break his way, especially in the touchdown department, Barkley could once again be one of the top running backs in fantasy football.

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Outlook: Travis Etienne was a rather divisive running back last offseason. The rhetoric coming out of Jacksonville made it seem that the coaching staff wanted to take work off of his plate and have a committee in the backfield. Things played out in the complete opposite direction. Etienne garnered 325 touches, third most among running backs. His 73 percent snap share also ranked third.

The Jaguars clearly like Etienne as a talent and did not make a significant addition to their stable of running backs, making it reasonable to expect that Etienne will see high-end usage once again in 2024. He could very easily be one of the league leaders in touches.

Etienne's fantasy output could also improve with increased efficiency. The Jaguars' offensive line sustained several injuries last season, leading to the line being shuffled around multiple times. Poor blocking led to an abysmal 3.8 yards per carry for Etienne. This was a significant step back from the 5.1 YPC he posted in 2022. Increased efficiency along with a big workload could allow Etienne to finish as a top-five RB this season.

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Outlook: Despite finishing as the RB11 overall in fantasy in 2023, Cook ranked as just RB19 on a points-per-game basis, highlighting the reality that much of his final ranking had more to do with him simply staying healthy than it did him delivering elite fantasy production. Cook has been touted as a proficient pass-catching back, but he ranked 17th at the running back position in receptions with just 44 throughout the season. Cook did, however, manage to join the elite club of running backs with over 1,000 rushing yards, finishing fourth with 1,122 yards on the ground. Despite this impressive feat, he only scored two rushing touchdowns, suggesting potential positive regression in the upcoming season.

The addition of Ray Davis in the Bills' roster could impact Cook's red zone usage, given Davis's notable collegiate success with 20 touchdowns in his final season. While Cook is expected to maintain a solid floor, his scarcity in touchdowns may limit his spike weeks. Nonetheless, with potential increased opportunities near the goal line and sustained health, he remains a reliable mid-to-high-end RB2 and could even remain a low-end RB1 in 2024 if he's able to stay healthy again.

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Outlook: If lightning could run, it would wear a Hawaiian blue #26 jersey. Detroit certainly raised some eyebrows when they made Gibbs the 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft, but instead eyeballs popped, as the rookie rolled up 11 touchdowns and 1,261 total yards on just 234 touches. Despite splitting the backfield with David Montgomery and not scoring his first NFL touchdown until Week 7, Gibbs often looked like played with his speed setting turned up, as he finished as a strong RB1 in both standard and PPR leagues. OC Ben Johnson deployed him all over the offense, using him on sweeps, screens, inside gaps, and wheel routes. His 52 receptions were good for 9th among backs, and this is the area I expect the most growth. Montgomery's usage at the goal line likely limits his touchdown upside, but the offensive coaches have already gone on record about their desire to make Gibbs a bigger part of the passing game. Look for the Lions to deploy their backs in a similar rotation this season, but if Gibbs can carve out an additional 20-25 touches, he's got a chance to crack the top-5.

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Outlook: Expectations last year were that the Chiefs would utilize some level of committee backfield with Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Instead, Pacheco was the bell cow, racking up 249 combined touches in 14 games while McKinnon (46) and CEH (87) combined for 133. There are few players in the NFL that run harder than Pacheco, who gives maximum effort on seemingly every touch. Whether such an approach is sustainable over the long haul is debatable, but through two seasons he has missed just two games due to injury.

The Chiefs didn't make any notable additions at running back, and at this stage they appear to have decided not to bring back McKinnon, allowing CEH to be the backup and perhaps opening up a spot at RB3 for last year's training camp darling, Deneric Prince. However things shake out down the depth chart, it's clear that this is Pacheco's job. In a league that has more and more committees in the backfield, the chance to draft a true lead back is becoming increasingly rare. A talented weapon in a dangerous offense, Pacheco heads into 2024 as a top-10 fantasy RB.

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Outlook: Looking to build on an encouraging rookie season, Walker instead did little more than tread water as a sophomore: as a runner, he posted a 228-1050-9 line in Year 1 versus a 219-905-8 effort last year, and as a receiver it went from 27-165-0 to 29-259-1. Total it up, and he collected 255 touches, 1,215 yards, and nine touchdowns in 2022, compared to 248 touches for 1,164 yards and nine scores last season. He once again missed two games due to injury as well, though it was an oblique issue this time around.

Although he's not a bruiser, the Michigan State alum has decent power to go with a mix of shiftiness and burst in the open field. He's also solid in pass protection with reliable hands, meaning he's capable of contributing on all three downs. That could be key as new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has said the backs will be more involved in the passing game than they were under Carroll.

While Walker remains the lead back, there is some mild cause for concern after he missed time each of his first two seasons and has talent behind him that could warrant more snaps. Nonetheless, Walker retains appeal as a low-end RB2 or strong RB3.

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