With the 2022 NFL Draft, and the bulk of the major free agency moves now in the rear view mirror it is time to examine which NFL veterans are likely to benefit from the flurry of off-season activity and which ones have taken a hit in value. We begin our Post Draft Winners & Losers segment with the Running Back position.
Winners
Miles Sanders - Philadelphia Eagles
Despite the swirling rumors that the Eagles were keen on adding to their running back room, the team refrained from adding a new running back via the draft or free agency. Philadelphia will be running it back with a group consisting of Sanders, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell. Coming off an injury plagued season in which he finished RB44, Sanders is likely to be available at a discount. In addition to injuries taking their toll, Sanders also did not visit the end zone a season ago, despite the Eagles leading the league in rushing touchdowns in 2021. A deeper dive, however, reveals that Sanders’s 5.5 yards per carry were tied for 2nd in the league among RBs who handled at least 130 carries. The unquestioned top talent in his position group, Sanders appears primed to lead the Eagles in rushing attempts and is due for some positive regression in the TD department. With 2022 draft picks at their all time high in value, managers willing to ship out an early-mid 2nd round rookie pick may have a shot a landing a quality depth piece to a win now roster.
James Conner – Arizona Cardinals
What a difference a year makes. To say the former Steeler castoff took full advantage of his first season in the Arizona Desert would be a massive understatement. With Chase Edmonds taking his talents to South Beach, the assumption among the dynasty community was that the Cardinals would be looking to revamp their running back corps ahead of the 2022 season. On the contrary, the team inked Conner to what amounts to a 2-year extension and did very little to fill Edmonds’ vacated role. As of this writing, former 7th round pick Eno Benjamin (who has logged 40 career touches in 2 seasons) will be competing with 2022 6th round selection Keaontay Ingram for carries behind Conner this season. Neither of which should substantially eat into Conner’s workload. Though it’s unlikely that Conner replicates his 18 trips to the end zone ever again, he should be more involved in the passing game and serve as the goal line back for what appears to be a high scoring offense. At this time of year, dynasty mangers are overly cognoscente of age, particularly at running back. Entering his age 27 season, Conner is getting long in the tooth, but remains a desirable short-term asset for competitive rosters. An early 2nd round pick should be an easy price to pay for managers looking to make a run at a title in 2022.
Losers
Antonio Gibson – Washington Commanders
Coming off back-to-back seasons in which he finished as RB12 overall in .5 PPR scoring, the team is telling us with their actions that they don’t plan to allow Gibson to take on a true bell cow role any time soon. Despite a 24-hour period where it appeared that the Bills were going to poach passing down specialist J.D Mckissic, the Commanders annoyingly came to terms with McKissic on a team friendly 2-year extension. The return of McKissic , whose 123 receptions over the past two seasons are good for 3rd among RBs in that span, further saps Gibson’s ceiling in the reception department. If that wasn’t bad enough, the team selected two down thumper Brian Robinson out of Alabama in round 3 of the 2022 NFL draft. While Robinson doesn’t profile as a future All-Pro, his large frame makes him a good bet to steal early down work and a threat to steal TDs inside the red zone. Coming off 3 consecutive seasons in which the team has finished in the bottom half of the league in points scored, the team is not projected to take a massive step forward during the upcoming campaign. Put it all together and what do we have here? Think of the Washington backfield as a short candle in which Gibson is the lead back, but his value is being burned from the top by rookie Brian Robinson and from the bottom by the pass catcher McKissic.
Michael Carter – New York Jets
One of the more polarizing players throughout the early portion of the off-season, Carter’s value took a massive hit on draft night when the Jets selected Iowa State running back Breece Hall in round 2 of the NFL Draft. A dual threat in college, Hall is all but a shoe in to take on lead back responsibilities in what appears to be an ascending offense. The Jets addressing their RB room was predictable, as Carter was by no means a world beater when given the opportunity to run behind Pro Football Focus’ 11th ranked offensive line in 2021. Despite the quality offensive line in front of him, Carter took on 8 or more carries on 12 occasions a year ago and managed to exceed 4 yards per carry only one time. He will start the 2022 season competing with veteran Tevin Coleman for work behind Hall. At just 23 years old, Carter remains a quality bench stash that could be very fantasy viable in the event Hall were to miss time but his dynasty value has taken a massive hit compared to where it was just a few weeks ago.
