Another Stellar Year For Rookie RBs!!!

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Heck, even I thought this might be a fun discussion.....

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FTR.....2nd year RBs aren't really making a big splash this season. Only 4 of them have more than 229 rushing yards (Richard), including Howard (847), Elliott (783), Collins (570) and Henry (520).

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I would've said Cook or Fournette coming into the season. Those are the two big ones that really jumped out at me in college. Right now, I'd say whichever one can stay healthy. That could mean Hunt, but honestly man, I don't think I can even play him in fantasy until they bench or get rid of Alex Smith. McCaffrey will surely have a good career. Maybe not as an every down back you can hand it to 20 times, but he'll be a good player for a long time. Joe Mixon is the other one who I think has the potential to be a perennial pro bowl type of every down back.

There's a guy you didn't mention that I like as a sleeper, though. Wayne Gallman. He's playing behind Darkwa right now, but as a guy who has the potential to have a really nice under the radar career, he's worth a mention.

Good points! Have to keep my radar on Mr Gallman!!

[Spice 1]

I would've said Cook or Fournette coming into the season. Those are the two big ones that really jumped out at me in college. Right now, I'd say whichever one can stay healthy. That could mean Hunt, but honestly man, I don't think I can even play him in fantasy until they bench or get rid of Alex Smith. McCaffrey will surely have a good career. Maybe not as an every down back you can hand it to 20 times, but he'll be a good player for a long time. Joe Mixon is the other one who I think has the potential to be a perennial pro bowl type of every down back.

There's a guy you didn't mention that I like as a sleeper, though. Wayne Gallman. He's playing behind Darkwa right now, but as a guy who has the potential to have a really nice under the radar career, he's worth a mention.

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Once again, rookie RBs have made a nice dent in the league. It is no secret that you can find an impactful RB even if not in the first couple of rounds. Of course, many of the names this year were well known entities, but all in all, there have been a lot of young men playing the position who may be around a long, long time.

For the sake of ranking, I will just use a simple total yards/game stat, and add other details for the top players. As well, I will list a number of other backs who have been recognized already. Here goes:

Player Yds/Game (Other)

K Hunt - 112.2 (890 yds rushing / 344 yds receiving / 6 TDs)
D Cook - 111.0 (354 yds rushing / 2 TDs)
L Fournette - 104.2 (765 yds rushing / 173 yds receiving / 7 TDs)
A Kamara - 99.4 (546 yds rushing / 548 yds receiving / 9 TDs)
C McCaffrey - 66.9 (268 yds rushng / 468 yds receiving / 5 TDs)
C Carson - 66.8

I'll stop there, but mention some other good players: A Jones, J Mixon, S Perine, D Foreman, C Clement, T Cohen, M Breida, A Ekeler, J Williams.....and more!

In my opinion, those top 4 are deserving of their current status as long term stars. Hunt, Fournette and Cook came off the blocks with real noise....and it was sad to see Cook go down. But Kamara has been on a wild ride of late, and by season's end may have the best yards/game stat.....among others.

I like McCaffrey but I see him more of a multi purpose guy (which is not a bad label!), and in my books, is not on the perfect team. I was hoping he'd land in NO, if not here of course.

My question to you....who will have the best career? It's a tough one for me. I'd like to see more of Cook. Fournette is a beast. Hunt seems to be declining a little with the decline of his team.....and Kamara appears like the lead dog of late, but I need to see more of him as well. Again, who ends up being the best of the class?

Regardless...good RBs and the draft usually go hand in hand. And as mentioned, you can often find them further down in the rounds.