Looking for fantasy football sleepers at running back for the 2020 season? Our ESPN Fantasy analysts have a handful for you, ranging from rookies to an accomplished veteran who is being overlooked.
The ESPN Fantasy Football virtual summit highlighted many key storylines as we look forward to 2020 fantasy football drafts. Our composite rankings, which will be updated throughout the offseason, are always a great starting point for fantasy owners as they prepare for draft day.
To give you a peek behind the curtain of some of our best discussions, we introduce our fantasy football roundtable series. Each entry will feature members of our ESPN Fantasy team offering their analysis on the hottest topics that came out of this year's summit, which hopefully will get you thinking about how you want to approach your drafts in the months ahead.
Who is your favorite RB sleeper for 2020?
Head coach Ron Rivera said Gibson has a skill set like Christian McCaffrey and, well, he would know. Combine Gibson's talent, his coach indicating plans to get him involved early and the very dubious health status of every other young running back in Washington (or age, in Adrian Peterson's case), and it sets the table for Gibson to deliver as a sleeper this fall.
Matthew Berry: Antonio Gibson, Washington Redskins
I'm being only a little bit of a homer here. The Redskins lack any reliable playmakers outside of Terry McLaurin, and Gibson is an incredibly versatile offensive weapon (last season he was the only FBS player to have more than 700 receiving yards and more than 300 rushing yards). Fantasy success is about talent and opportunity and Gibson has both, as he'll play RB and WR thanks to a skill set that Ron Rivera recently said was "like Christian McCaffrey." His words, not mine.
Matt Bowen: Anthony McFarland Jr., Pittsburgh Steelers
With a current ADP of 169.1 (RB57), McFarland brings some much-needed juice to the Steelers' running back unit. It's the game speed here and the explosive-play ability. And I believe the rookie out of Maryland has receiving upside, too, in a pro offense.
Mike Clay: Ronald Jones II, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Darrell Henderson Jr., Los Angeles Rams
We all like the shiny new toy, but it wasn't long ago that Jones and Henderson were in that category. NFL draft Day 2 rookie running backs haven't had much fantasy success during the past decade, which makes Jones (who is bigger and younger than third-round rookie Ke'Shawn Vaughn) and Henderson (who is perhaps more dynamic than second-round rookie Cam Akers) intriguing midround values.
Tristan H. Cockcroft: Anthony McFarland Jr., Pittsburgh Steelers
McFarland is going to be a common final-round selection of mine, as he fits my preferred "sleeper" description of a high per-play upside running back behind a starter with some questions. James Conner has missed nine games the past two seasons with non-elite production in the games he has played, so I see McFarland and/or Benny Snell Jr. getting critical time at some point.
Daniel Dopp: Ronald Jones II and Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I wanted to say Aaron Jones because the Packers seem to be sleeping on his talent, but I digress. Ronald Jones is the last person to be talked about whenever you bring up the Bucs' offense, and some of that is fair. To say Jones has struggled with his transition to the NFL is an understatement, but I'm looking at what should be a high-scoring offense with the ability to have meaningful red zone touches for the lead back. I think you'll be able to get both Tampa Bay backs in the latter rounds and have a solid flex with RB2 upside once that role plays out.
Eric Karabell: Ito Smith, Atlanta Falcons
Nothing personal against new Falcon Todd Gurley II or his arthritic knee, but it seems a safe bet he will not be playing every week and will need someone handling at least the pass-catching duties from the backfield. For this reason, Ito Smith is one of my top late-round handcuffs, though his own health is far from safe.
Field Yates: Phillip Lindsay, Denver Broncos
Lindsay feels like an odd choice for a sleeper given that he's had back-to-back season of at least 1,000 rushing yards. But is it that unreasonable to believe he has a chance to hold onto the sizable role he has carried thus far in Denver? While money can talk and Melvin Gordon is now making $8 million a year, I don't view the talent gap between the two players as that wide. Keep an eye on Lindsay, who is currently the 39th RB off the board in early ESPN drafts.