2022 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley moving up in RB rankings

Chris Towers updates his rankings and tiers at the RB position

By Chris Towers

Aug 24, 2022 at 6:35 pm ET • 1 min read

USATSI

At the top of my running back rankings for the 2022 Fantasy Football season, I made some small adjustments in recent days. The most significant of those is that Alvin Kamara is now a top-four back for me, up from No. 6 in my previous rankings. He jumped from the bottom of the second tier at the position to the top of that same tier, mostly because I just don't have as many concerns about him as I do the other guys around him.

Dalvin Cook is an incredible talent, but he's never played more than 14 games in a season and has dealt with a litany of shoulder injuries going back to college. There's always something with him, and unlike Christian McCaffrey, Cook's have been pretty significant injuries with several recurring issues. Najee Harris doesn't have injury concerns, but I'm just not sure I trust Pittsburgh's offense -- there have been some pretty worrying reports out of training camp, and Harris feasted on dump-offs that may not be as plentiful this time around.

Kamara's legal troubles still loom, but most expect them to be resolved in the offseason, which likely means whatever suspension he might be facing wouldn't come until 2023, if it does at all. The Saints offense figures to be a lot better than they were a year ago, and Kamara should only benefit from that. He's a top-four back for me.

The other big move I made this time around was to move Saquon Barkley into my top-10. The Giants have been funneling targets to their running backs in camp and in the preseason -- Antonio Williams had seven from Daniel Jones in the most recent preseason game -- and Barkley is one of the best pass-catchers at the position. He could be in line for a massive season if he stays healthy.