About a month ago I went division-by-division to take a look at each team’s backfield for fantasy football purposes. I wanted to get a better feel for how things would shake out. Since then, the 2023 NFL Draft has come and gone; and we have some new rookie running backs to consider in these situations.
Let’s take a look at the AFC North and South teams to see what, if any changes need to be made to our backfield expectations since the draft.
If you would like to take a look at the original series, it can be found at:
Fantasy Football: Backfield Breakdown – AFC North, AFC South
So, without further delay. Let’s take a look at how the AFC backfields look with their newly drafted rookies.
Indianapolis Colts
Returning Players: Jonathan Taylor, Deon Jackson, Zack Moss, Darrynton Evans
New Additions: Evan Hull
Another team with a late-round running back selection.
The Indianapolis Colts appear to have drafted the talented Evan Hull as a depth piece behind superstar running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor has dealt with injuries in his brief NFL career and Hull will be a solid replacement should he go down again.
The rest of this depth chart is unexciting and nothing more than plodders. Jackson, Moss and Evans are all JAGS and don’t factor to be useful at all for fantasy football – even in the event of an injury.
Hull was an intriguing prospect and if he ever gets the chance to prove himself, could carve out a notable NFL career with his skillset.
Taylor is the prize in this backfield, but Hull is a solid late-round dart throw.
Tennessee Titans
Returning Players: Derrick Henry, Hassan Haskins, Julius Chestnut
New Additions: Tyjae Spears
I never thought I’d say this in my life, but all the excitement on the offensive side of the draft appears to have come out of the AFC South. We’re seeing young and talented rosters adding young and talented QBs and RBs – and the Titans continued that trend.
Tennessee will return will all-world running back Derrick Henry – although age and injury appear to be taking their toll on the once-invincible stud. The Titans are clearly aware of his pending mortality as they have drafted three rookie running backs in the past two years. Whether due to injury or a youth movement, they appear to be prepping for life after King Henry.
In 2022 the Titans drafted Hassan Haskins and Julius Chestnut, two backs that I was particularly fond of but never got a decent share of the workload. Both rookies got their chance from time to time and both proved to be capable of contributing to fantasy football teams once they got a chance.
This season, the Titans chose to bring in Tyjae Spears. Spears is insanely talented, but a terrible choice for a team looking to start fresh. Spears comes into the NFL with lingering arthritis issues in his knees and no ACL in one knee. He was not a great choice to be the successor to Derrick Henry.
Truthfully, I would rather throw a dart at Haskins or Chestnut than at Spears. At least they both have a clean bill of health.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Returning Players: Travis Etienne, Snoop Conner, D’Ernest Johnson, JaMycel Hasty
New Additions: Tank Bigsby
Another AFC South team and another rookie running back landing spot. This time we see the talented Tank Bigsby land in Jacksonville as the thunder to Travis Etienne’s lightning.
Etienne seems to be an enigma thus far in his NFL career. Between injury and inconsistency, nobody really knows what to make of him. Whether Bigsby was brought in to simply keep Etienne fresh and be a complementary piece, or if he was brought in to take over this backfield remains to be seen. The only thing that is for sure is that the Jaguars have tons of talent on their running back depth chart.
In addition to Etienne and Bigsby, Jacksonville also brought in D’Ernest Johnson from Cleveland in free agency. Johnson was a talented back who showed flashes of brilliance when called upon in Cleveland. If either of the top two backs goes down or struggles, Johnson is more than capable of stepping in and producing.
Snoop Conner and JaMycal Hasty have both flirted with fantasy football relevance, but neither profile as more than a change of pace depth back. The top three are where all the excitement is at in Jacksonville.
Houston Texans
Returning Players: Dameon Pierce, Devin Singletary, Mike Boone, Dare Ogunbowale
New Additions: Xazavian Valladay
The Texans did add a rookie running back in the NFL Draft, albeit the least exciting one of the division. Houston invested a wealth of draft capital into re-vamping this offense, but the lone addition to the backfield was Xazavian Valladay.
After drafting Dameon Pierce in the 2022 NFL Draft, many experts assumed they would draft a high-profile rookie this year – but that proved to be a false assumption.
The Texans did bring in a veteran running back; but if the biggest competition for Pierce is Devin Singletary and Valladay, the sky is the limit for his fantasy football potential.
If the Texans do not bring in one of the veteran running backs still available in free agency, Pierce is going to be a highly sought-after player in the 2023 fantasy leagues.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Returning Players: Najee Harris, Anthony McFarland, Jaylen Warren, Jason Huntley
New Additions: None
After the excitement and hype that was the AFC South, we shift gears and find a team that sat tight at the position in the NFL Draft. The Steelers opted to run it back with a duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
Harris was a massive disappointment as s sophomore and is being avoided by many fantasy football managers. But for a player of his skillset and opportunity, the value is there. He should come at a significant discount in fantasy leagues this season. He is a prime target in all formats based on the expected workload alone.
Warren was a more than serviceable replacement when thrust into action due to a Najee Harris injury, but he profiles best as a complementary piece used sparingly to give Najee a break.
Anthony McFarland and Jason Huntley are two names not worth noting for fantasy purposes. Neither has produced any relevance for fantasy football and neither is more than a hope and a prayer.
Baltimore Ravens
Returning Players: JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill
New Additions: Keaton Mitchell
Baltimore should be full of excitement at the potential of finally getting a healthy JK Dobbins.
Dobbins has always had more than enough talent to be a high-end star in the NFL but between splitting touches and injuries he is yet to get a real chance to explode.
That explosion is coming in 2023. Dobbins is going into his first fully healthy season after an ACL injury and should be full speed ahead. He is currently going much later in drafts than he should be and is a massive value.
Gus Edwards is still on the team, but between age and injury, he is no guarantee to be on this roster come Week 1 – which is likely why they chose to draft Keaton Mitchell.
Keaton Mitchell is a very talented young back. If he is thrust into any significant role he could be a great complementary piece to Dobbins.
Justice Hill is just Justice Hill. Every year he is on this team and every year he has no value. Feel free to disregard him again in 2023.
Cincinnati Bengals
Retruning Players: Joe Mixon, Trayveon Williams, Chris Evans
New Additions: Chase Brown
Cincy is a confusing situation for fantasy football running back value. Joe Mixon has been the starter for years and should be once again in 2023. The wrinkle in the plan is Mixon’s pending legal situation and his decreasing efficiency.
For that reason, many fantasy football managers have begun flocking to Chase Brown. Brown was a talented rookie coming out of Illinois, but fell in the draft after a disastrous showing at the 2023 Senior Bowl.
The hype surrounding Brown has gotten out of control. Even if Mixon is released, it is very likely that the Bengals would bring in a veteran running back as opposed to handing over the full workload to Chase Brown.
Add in the fact that Cincinnati also has Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans on the roster, and there is more than enough talent to muddy up a Chase Brown monopoly on this backfield.
If you can acquire Mixon at a discount for one last playoff push do so. The rest of these backs are overpriced based on hype.
Cleveland Browns
Returning Players: Nick Chubb, Jerome Ford, Demetric Felton, John Kelly
New Additions: None
The Browns chose not to add anyone to the backfield at the 2023 NFL Draft and instead will run it back with the duo of Nick Chubb and Demetic Felton.
Chubb will be the early down bell cow and will be easily the most valuable player on this team but Felton showed in limited playing time that he was capable of filling in as a complementary piece when needed.
Whether Felton can step in and fill the shoes of the departed Kareem Hunt remains to be seen, but he is a solid late-round target based on his potential opportunity with the injury-plagued Chubb in front of him.
