2022 Fantasy Running Back Sleeper
Written by: Jon Gerstenberger
Imagine a big green button that says “Start”. We push the button. We are taken to our first, and most obvious point.
The Denver Broncos have Quarterback Russell Wilson now.
If you take Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater and throw them in a blender, that would be horrible, but Russell Wilson would still be a better quarterback than them both combined. The skill level improvement at the quarterback position is going to alleviate the pressure the Denver running backs were getting last year. Williams and Gordon were ranked 1st and 7th in broken tackles, and 9th and 11th in yards after contact, respectively, while being 32nd and 28th, respectively, in yards before contact.
What does all that say? They were getting the ball, getting hit almost immediately, and grinding out good runs, both averaging over 4.4 yards per attempt (Gordon at 4.5).
Yeah, we all saw they were both good in 2021. So what?
Well, here’s where it gets interesting, and why you should be keeping an eye on Gordon in your drafts – Javonte Williams is currently RB9 in ADP for 2022, whereas Melvin Gordon is RB32.
We have a one-year sample, where they were extremely similar (see chart), and yet, they are being drafted 23 spots apart? I smell a value!
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