The 2023 rookie class has given us far more Fantasy Football production than anyone could have reasonably expected. What is most fun is that it hasn't come from exactly where we expected. Puka Nacua and Tank Dell were the two most impactful wide receivers for a good chunk of the season. C.J. Stroud has been the best QB despite Bryce Young being picked higher in the NFL Draft and Anthony Richardson being picked higher in Fantasy drafts.
Running back has been no different with De'Von Achane threatening to break Fantasy Football whenever he suits up. This week I'm watching a trio of running backs, and their usage, to see if they're still complementary backs or if we should expect them to be lead backs moving forward.
Achane may seem the most obvious on this list because he had 17 touches last week and 17 earlier this season against the Broncos. But those were both blowouts and last week we saw Raheem Mostert handle the majority of the work before the team rested him early in the third quarter. Achane has been the most efficient rusher in the NFL, leading the league in explosive run rate and avoid rate and averaging 9.5 yards per carry.
My favorite Achane stat is that he's had two games this season where he only had one carry but he still leads the NFL in rushing yards per game. If Achane works as the team's RB1 and holds that role through the end of the year, he'll vault to no lower than No. 3 in my Dynasty Running Back Rankings.
Keaton Mitchell is the closest thing to Achane we've seen and he may be trending in the same direction. Mitchell worked ahead of Gus Edwards for a large chunk of the Ravens' Week 12 win over the Chargers and saw a career-high 11 touches. He's averaging 9.3 yards per carry and 11.7 yards per catch, though he's only seen 35 touches in six games.
Finally, I'll be watching Roschon Johnson's usage very closely. He saw a career-high 15 touches in Week 12. What we don't know is how much the absence of D'Onta Foreman had to do with that and how the Bears plan to use their backs down the stretch. Johnson hasn't been near as efficient as Achane or Mitchell, but his profile does seem more likely to see 15-plus touches consistently.
While Achane has already vaulted into the consensus top-12 backs in Dynasty leagues, Johnson and Mitchell are hovering around RB30. Their values are much more volatile and could move in either direction over the next month.
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