RADIO
Whether you load up on running backs early in the draft or employ the zero-RB strategy, a fantasy owner’s ability to identify late-round upside running backs is massively important to winning a fantasy championship.
Building quality depth at the running back position (especially if you don’t have to use a premium pick in the middle rounds) allows roster flexibility to attack wide receivers and tight ends to create the highest-upside roster possible.
A perfect example of this in 2020 is Tennessee Titans running back Darrynton Evans.
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Big-Time Production
Evans was highly productive at Appalachian State during his three-year college career, carrying the ball 482 times for 2,884 yards and 25 touchdowns total. He also had a role in the passing game, catching 39 of his 55 targets for 319 yards and six additional scores. Over the last two seasons, Evans had 11 rushing plays that went for over 50-yard gains. That was more than any of the big-name running backs that were drafted before him in 2020.
The RB came into his own during the 2019 season when he became the lead rusher on his team. The former Mountaineer ran the ball 255 times for 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns along with grabbing 21 receptions (28 targets) for 198 yards and five touchdowns last season before deciding to declare for the NFL draft.
After wowing the NFL combine with a 4.41 40-yard dash, Evans was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans. On the surface, the Titans pose a complicated landing spot for a young running back. Tennessee’s offense was 10th in the NFL with 445 rushing attempts in 2019, but Derrick Henry accounted for 68% of the team’s carries (303). After leading the league in rushing attempts, the Titans provided Henry with a four-year, $50 million contract, showing their faith in his importance to their offensive success. The Titans also boast one of the best offensive lines for running backs in the NFL and return four of their five starters from last season.
How Does Evans Fit In?
It makes sense for Evans to have a defined role as a third-down complement or change-of-pace/breather back for the Titans in his rookie season. Dion Lewis filled that role the past two seasons to mixed results. Tennessee focused entirely on Derrick Henry in 2019, so Lewis only carried the ball 54 times (12% of the team’s carries) for 209 yards and added 25 receptions on 32 targets (7% of the team’s attempts) for 164 yards and a score.
Realistically, it would make perfect sense for Evans to have a season that looked similar to Dion Lewis’ 2018 one with Tennessee. Lewis had 155 carries (33% of the team’s total) for 517 yards and a touchdown while adding 59 receptions on 67 targets (15% of the team’s target share) for 400 yards and a touchdown. Derrick Henry still factored as the lead back in that season, carrying the ball 215 times (47%) for 1,059 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 15 catches (18 targets) for 99 yards.
While a long-term contract locks Derrick Henry into the lead running back role in Tennessee for the foreseeable future, it doesn’t necessarily mean he will ever see 300 carries again in a season. It made sense for the Titans to feed Henry a ton of carries in the last year of his deal or on the franchise tag since they could let him walk if his body ever broke down. Now that Henry has been given a $25.5 million guaranteed deal and $50 million over four seasons, it makes more sense to reduce his workload to get the longest amount of production out of him.
Evans, like Henry, is a one-cut runner who finds his gap and gets vertical. Evans will have an excellent chance to be productive as a rookie whenever Henry needs a break. If Henry were to get injured, Evans would have a chance to see an expanded role behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Currently, Darrynton Evans is being drafted at RB57 in NFFC leagues and has an ADP resting in the 14th/15th round. He is well worth that late-round investment given his skill set, the Titans’ run-heavy play style, and the upside he would provide if Derrick Henry struggles after the wear and tear of a 300-carry season.
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