Fantasy Football Dynasty Rankings Update: 2019 class leads changing of the guard at running back

Heath Cummings says there's been a changing of the guard at running back, and there's another one coming.

By Heath Cummings

Jan 14, 2020 at 1:15 pm ET • 2 min read

Just a couple of years ago it would not have been controversial at all to have Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell and David Johnson as your top three running backs in Dynasty rankings. As of January 2020, it's not that difficult to make the argument that none of them should be in the top 15.

Part of the reason for their fall is related to their 2019 performance. Gurley had questions about his health coming into the year and failed to reach 1,000 yards rushing for the first time since 2016. Bell averaged just 3.2 yards per carry and only scored four touchdowns on a bad Jets offense. Johnson was flat out replaced by Kenyan Drake and has a very uncertain future. Thankfully, the 2019 class did a fine job replacing them.

Josh Jacobs was supposed to be the sure thing in this class, and he didn't disappoint. But he's no longer the only back coveted in Dynasty or redraft. Miles Sanders finished the season on a tear, averaging 106 yards per game over his final six games. Devin Singletary was nearly as good with 549 yards in his last six games. and don't forget about David Montgomery, who led the class in touches and was the only rookie back besides Jacobs to score seven touchdowns.

All four of these rookies are now in my top 15 and could vault even higher with strong performances in their second year. For Sanders and Singletary, we just need to see a feature workload starting in Week 1 and they will be surefire top-10 backs by next year. For Jacobs, he's already in the top 12, but to vault into the top five he'll need to prove he can stay healthy with a feature load. Montgomery will need to be more efficient, and more work in the passing game would help as well.

These guys will also have to watch out for a loaded 2020 class coming after their spots. Just ask Bell, Gurley and Johnson about that.

Here are the rest of the Dynasty risers and fallers from the 2019 season:

Dynasty RB Risers and Fallers

Player	PREV	RANK
Derrick Henry	24	10
Austin Ekeler	36	17
Kareem Hunt	35	22
Ronald Jones	39	29
Raheem Mostert	NR	39
James Conner	7	19
Melvin Gordon	8	20
Tarik Cohen	21	33
Lamar Miller	34	48

Here are my complete Dynasty running back rankings. Expect another update in February.

Prev	Rank	Player	Team	Age
4	1	Christian McCaffrey	CAR	24
1	2	Saquon Barkley	NYG	23
2	3	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	25
9	4	Dalvin Cook	MIN	25
3	5	Alvin Kamara	NO	25
5	6	Nick Chubb	CLE	24
6	7	Joe Mixon	CIN	24
16	8	Josh Jacobs	OAK	22
11	9	Leonard Fournette	JAC	25
24	10	Derrick Henry	TEN	26
17	11	Aaron Jones	GB	25
26	12	Miles Sanders	PHI	23
10	13	Kerryon Johnson	DET	23
15	14	David Montgomery	CHI	23
40	15	Devin Singletary	BUF	23
18	16	Marlon Mack	IND	24
36	17	Austin Ekeler	LAC	25
14	18	Todd Gurley	LAR	26
7	19	James Conner	PIT	25
8	20	Melvin Gordon	LAC	27
19	21	Phillip Lindsay	DEN	26
35	22	Kareem Hunt	CLE	25
12	23	Le'Veon Bell	NYJ	28
22	24	Chris Carson	SEA	26
31	25	Kenyan Drake	MIA	26
23	26	Derrius Guice	WAS	23
20	27	Sony Michel	NE	25
28	28	Damien Williams	KC	28
39	29	Ronald Jones II	TB	23
25	30	Devonta Freeman	ATL	28
13	31	David Johnson	ARI	28
33	32	Mark Ingram	BAL	30
21	33	Tarik Cohen	CHI	25
29	34	Tevin Coleman	SF	27
30	35	Rashaad Penny	SEA	24
32	36	Royce Freeman	DEN	24
38	37	Alexander Mattison	MIN	22
27	38	Darrell Henderson	LAR	23
NR	39	Raheem Mostert	SF	28
37	40	James White	NE	28
52	41	Tony Pollard	DAL	23
41	42	Darwin Thompson	KC	24
43	43	Justice Hill	BAL	22
47	44	Jordan Howard	PHI	25
42	45	Matt Breida	SF	25
56	46	Duke Johnson	CLE	26
44	47	Damien Harris	NE	23
34	48	Lamar Miller	HOU	29
59	49	Carlos Hyde	KC	29
NR	50	DeAndre Washington	OAK	27
46	51	Latavius Murray	NO	30
49	52	Nyheim Hines	IND	23
51	53	Justin Jackson	LAC	25
53	54	Jamaal Williams	GB	25
NR	55	Chase Edmonds	ARI	24
54	56	Jaylen Samuels	PIT	24
55	57	Benny Snell Jr.	PIT	22
45	58	Ito Smith	ATL	24
NR	59	Darrel Williams	KC	25
58	60	Dexter Williams	GB	23