It's always tough to know how much to factor in the current year when putting together Dynasty rankings. That difficulty is highlighted when a superstar like Saquon Barkley goes down for the season. He was obviously worth less in October than he is right now. But how much less? Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that anymore. With the close of the 2020 Fantasy season, Barkley retains his spot at No. 2 behind only Christian McCaffrey.
You could make an argument for Alvin Kamara or Dalvin Cook at No. 2, but there are legitimate reasons why you shouldn't. Kamara and Cook will both be 26 years old at the start of the 2021. That's not old, but it is within three years of when you should expect a significant decline. Barkley will just be 24 and should have three-to-four years of elite production in front of him
Age isn't the only thing separating Barkley from the pack. Cook has never had a season as good as Barkley's 2018. While Barkley is recovering from an injury of his own I don't think anyone would argue he as big an injury risk as Cook. Kamara is topping Barkley's 2018 this year, but there's significant reason to doubt whether he has the same upside if Drew Brees retires.
The two most likely candidates to wrestle No. 2 away from Barkley in 2021? Jonathan Taylor and De'Andre Swift. They were two of the biggest risers of the 2021 season, with Taylor specifically looking like the generational back his measurements suggested. But they need to show a larger sample size of elite production before we have that discussion. Taylor could get his chance in the playoffs.
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Here are my updated Dynasty running back rankings, with the next update after the Super Bowl:
