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With the 2023 NFL season officially over, it's time to turn our attention to the future. This pre-draft time is a busy one for fantasy football managers in dynasty leagues as they wheel and deal in an attempt to improve their position during the offseason.
Often, certain players will go under the radar in dynasty leagues. Whether it be a young player who just didn't perform as well as other young players the year before or a veteran whose win-now impact is being underrated, there are always sleepers out there for a manager to pursue.
Let's look at five running backs who can be considered dynasty sleepers heading into 2024.
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Derrick Henry - Tennessee Titans (For Now)
Alright, let's get this out of the way first. Derrick Henry almost certainly won't be a member of the Tennessee Titans next year. The uncertainty about where he lands as well as his age and past usage have pushed him down to the low-end RB2/high-end RB3 conversation in dynasty leagues.
If you're a fantasy manager in win-now mode, this is the time to strike and grab Henry before he lands somewhere good and people start to talk him back up the rankings.
2024 brings us an unquestionably loaded group of free agent running backs:
-Saquon Barkley
-D'Andre Swift
-Derrick Henry 👀
-Austin Ekeler
-Josh Jacobs
-Tony PollardWhere would you like to see each of them land?pic.twitter.com/rwKZQlADUD
— Moody (@EricNMoody) February 7, 2024
Henry had his worst season in a while, but he still ran for over 1,000 yards, finishing with 1,167 on a league-high 280 carries. He found the end zone 12 times, making it six seasons in a row with double-digit touchdown runs.
Even if Henry winds up somewhere where he loses touches overall, I can't imagine a scenario where he isn't getting fed the ball in the red zone still. Maybe he won't have another 1,500-plus yard season in him, but he still has multiple 10-plus touchdown years.
Roschon Johnson - Chicago Bears
While Roschon Johnson wasn't super impressive as a rookie, he did enough to keep my interest piqued heading into his second season, finishing with 561 yards from scrimmage and 4.9 yards per touch while splitting the backfield with Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, and Darrynton Evans.
Foreman is a free agent, so the 2024 makeup of this backfield should be a little easier to piece together, with Johnson and Herbert likely to split touches. If that's the case, Johnson has a shot to be a breakout player.
Going back and watching former #Texas/current #Bears RB Roschon Johnson’s first year in #NFL. He had a pretty dang good career opener against Green Bay in week one.
— Blake Munroe (@BlakeMunroeOTF) February 8, 2024
The 2023 fourth-round pick offers a lot of versatility as a runner and pass-catcher, plus brings some good pass-blocking chops to the table as well. If he gets a legitimate shot at touches in Chicago this season, good things can happen. The one time he had a snap rate over 50% as a rookie, he finished with 75 scrimmage yards and caught five passes.
Raheem Mostert - Miami Dolphins
Raheem Mostert is currently ranked as an RB3/RB4 borderline player in dynasty. That makes sense, as Mostert is on the older side for a running back. He'll be 32 next season.
But he's also got some fairly fresh legs for his age. 2023 was just the fourth time in Mostert's NFL career that he had 100-plus touches. His 234 touches were a career-high and he used them to post the most impressive numbers of his NFL career: 1,012 rushing yards and an NFL-best 18 rushing touchdowns.
Most rushing TDs during 2023 season:
Raheem Mostert - 18
Josh Allen - 15
Jalen Hurts - 15
Christian McCaffrey - 14
Gus Edwards - 13
David Montgomery - 13
Derrick Henry - 12
Kyren Williams - 12
Travis Etienne Jr - 11
Jahmyr Gibbs - 10— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) February 16, 2024
For a fantasy manager in win-now mode, Mostert is a great player to target. Sure, he won't be producing for you in four years, but if you can get a couple more seasons out of him at the low price it'll take to acquire him, that's a big win. The Dolphins clearly trust Mostert and want to get him high-value touches near the goal line.
Keaton Mitchell - Baltimore Ravens
At the beginning of the 2023 season, Keaton Mitchell was a popular deep sleeper, and then week after week, he remained just that -- someone people talked about but who didn't end up doing much.
That changed when Mitchell finally got an opportunity in Week 9; he had nine carries for 138 yards and a touchdown. He ran the ball well after that, but tore his ACL in December.
Mitchell might not be back to 100% by the start of the 2024 season, but if he can regain the explosiveness we saw out of him by midseason, he can be a valuable piece at running back in late 2024 and into the future.
Need Lamar Jackson and Keaton Mitchell back on the field together 🔜 pic.twitter.com/1UtRV15TeT
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) February 15, 2024
The Ravens backfield has been really messy over the last few seasons, but it makes more sense going forward. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards are free agents right now. Justice Hill has one more season under contract. This is wide open to be Mitchell's backfield.
Zach Evans - Los Angeles Rams
Zach Evans, a 2023 sixth-round pick out of Ole Miss, barely saw the field as a rookie, with nine carries for 19 yards on the year. Even with Kyren Williams missing five games, Evans couldn't crack the rotation for Los Angeles, as the team filled the gap with Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson Jr.
However, I still have a modicum of belief in Zach Evans. He's a physical runner who showed in college that he can gain some tough yards, but he doesn't offer a ton in the passing game and doesn't have breakaway speed.
Another fun pick by the Rams with Zach Evans. Has really impressive tape and massive upside. Awesome value here. So fluid and looks like he’s gliding as a runner. Good contact balance too. Really believe he can be an impact player. Look at him go: pic.twitter.com/j4LHe4mmMp
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) April 29, 2023
Still, there's a place in the NFL for a runner like Evans, someone who can get going downhill and pound out yardage. It's unclear if he'll get that opportunity in Los Angeles or not, but he's basically free in fantasy right now if you want to take a chance on him.
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