X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

Early Summer ADP Risers at Running Back

Ah, our old friend, ADP. Average Draft Position indicates the mean position where a player is drafted over more than one fantasy football draft. You can consider it as the price you have to pay to draft and get a player on your team. A high ADP (that is actually a low-numbered ADP) means that a player is getting off draft boards early, and thus you'll need to draft him in the first rounds if you truly want him.

Low or high ADP values, though, are not gospel. Each of us fantasy GMs have our strategies and value players differently depending on what we think is the most important for them to have in terms of abilities. No matter what, though, ADPs are good to know how the "average value" of the "average GM" you'll be drafting against is for each asset (in this case, the players). By now, with free agency and the draft well finalized and just a few players left to be signed, it makes sense to go look at how ADPs are varying during the last month as we get closer to peak draft season.

In this series, I’ll highlight players at each skill position seeing significant fluctuation since the start of May using data from FFPC drafts. Today, it's time to look at three running back risers.

 

Running Backs - ADP Risers

 

Tevin Coleman, New York Jets

We have had literally no news coming out of the Jets' camp with regards to the squad rushers. We have had, though, updates on rookie QB Zach Wilson, some wideouts like Jamison Crowder (staying in town), Corey Davis (missing some practices), rookie Elijah Moore (touchdown-catching machine), and some other players. Nothing about rushers, though.

The fact that the Jets drafted an RB in Michael Carter this past draft--with a fourth-round pick--had us thinking about a great opportunity for the rook heading into 2021. The Jets, though, also feature Ty Johnson (they traded for him last year) and Tevin Coleman in their roster, after signing the latter as a free agent this very summer. Again, no news related to Carter have come out of training camp, but Coleman's ADP has been rising steadily for the past few weeks since the start of June. A 43-position bump up comes attached to Coleman's name these days, with his ADP already breaking the 200 mark.

First things first: Coleman comes with injury concerns after playing only eight games last season. Coleman's upside isn't at the level of a league-winning rusher, of course, but the Jets' backfield is still as open as it's ever gotten. Coleman was always a bargain to my eyes and even this monster 3+ round bump in his ADP (12-team leagues) still has him as a very valuable pick for those trying to fill their RB corps late in drafts.

PFF has a projection of 139+ PPR points in 2021. That would have Coleman finishing the season as the RB34, a borderline RB3 and weekly FLEX play for those who get him. That's absolutely insane considering Coleman's ADP of RB55. Only three other RBs have a positive ROI projection right now: David Johnson, Devin Singletary, and James White. Coleman has the lowest ADP of those four, and the third-highest projection among them.

 

Tarik Cohen, Chicago Bears

The Bears have stayed quiet through their camp when it comes to the running back corps. QB Justin Fields and tagged WR Allen Robinson are getting all of the headlines. That hasn't meant fantasy GMs have forgotten about the now under-the-radar Tarik Cohen, who could only play three games last season after getting injured for the remainder of it. You only need to know one thing about Cohen: he's got some receiving chops.

You know about the Konami Code, which comes down to quarterbacks with rushing prowess. There is also the Nintendo Code (?) which says that pass-catching running backs are ones who can truly make the difference for fantasy GMs. Well, that might not be the case in standard leagues, but it definitely can be considered a serious part of every PPR-draft strategy. And Cohen is right in the sweet spot. Nobody is going to outscore David Montgomery in 2021 among Bears' rushers, of course, but Cohen has everything to put up another great season to the tune of an RB3/RB4 finish thanks, mostly, to his receiving stats.

Cohen is entering his fifth year as a pro and excluding last season, he had put up four straight campaigns averaging at least 9.4 FPPG. He looked like a true hit in his sophomore season, racking up 233.9 PPR points (RB11), but he came down to earth in 2019 with an RB27 finish and only 163.9 FP. He hopes to bounce back while playing the full 2021 season.

Even having a very clear RB2 role in Chicago behind Montgomery, PFF still projects Cohen to get targeted 52 times in 2021 (18th-most among all RBs) while finishing as the RB50 over the season. With an ADP of RB50 at the time of this writing, the ROI sits at a square 1.00 at the position, but only 0.83 if we consider all players (he's projected to an overall 195th finish in PPR leagues). That means that Cohen, right now and if his current ADP-rising trends stay up, is getting into "fade" territory. I will always bet on pass-catching backs, but Cohen is starting to get too rich for my blood.

 

Jamaal Williams, Detroit Lions

A couple of weeks before reaching June, Lions OC Anthony Lynn declared that he would call Williams a "classic 'A' back". Take that for what you want, but it all looked like Williams (free-agent signing by Detroit this offseason) was going to make things tough for D'Andre Swift and build a 50/50 backfield. In a surprising twist, Detroit got into the Todd Gurley sweepstakes, and even more surprising was to hear Swift saying that he was all-in on adding Gurley to an already-crowded backfield. What the hell was going on?

As things stand, Swift is still the RB1 followed by Williams in the pecking order as RB2. Gurley, though, could still end up on the Lions' roster and thus make things murkier when it comes to roles and opportunities. If you look at the ADP evolution chart above, you can clearly see all of those storylines developing and reflected in it. Steady rise up to the start of June, and then a slow bump down that keeps ongoing.

Williams was able to raise his ADP from around 150 to nearly 115 in two weeks thanks to Lynn's comments and he has stayed above the 120-ADP waters since then. That can change quickly, though, with the outside chance of Jamaal plummeting back to his early-days 150 ADP if Gurley is actually signing with Detroit. Jamaal projects to an RB44 finish, yet his ADP of RB42 is already higher than PFF's projection. I would need a really steep fall in ADP to consider drafting Williams for 2021 with Swift already in town--let alone if Gurley is added to the equation.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jeff Petry4 mins ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Khris Middleton11 hours ago

Available For Wednesday's Game
Giannis Antetokounmpo11 hours ago

Cleared For Wednesday
Damian Lillard11 hours ago

Upgraded To Available On Wednesday
Nikola Jokic12 hours ago

Unavailable On Wednesday
Miles McBride13 hours ago

Ruled Out For Wednesday
Karl-Anthony Towns13 hours ago

To Play On Wednesday
Andre Drummond13 hours ago

Sidelined On Wednesday
Alexandre Sarr13 hours ago

Ruled Out On Wednesday
Bub Carrington13 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Kyle Kuzma13 hours ago

Will Play On Wednesday
Jalen Suggs13 hours ago

Out For Thursday Versus Minnesota
Zion Williamson13 hours ago

Sitting Out Versus Portland
Trent Miner14 hours ago

Set For First Career Start On Wednesday
Aaron Gordon14 hours ago

Ruled Out Wednesday
Beck Malenstyn14 hours ago

To Remain Out On Thursday
Jiri Kulich14 hours ago

Out Week-To-Week
Thatcher Demko14 hours ago

Unavailable Wednesday
Nikola Jokic14 hours ago

Questionable For Wednesday Versus Clippers
Elias Pettersson14 hours ago

A Game-Time Call Against Capitals
Jonathan Drouin14 hours ago

Out Wednesday
Paolo Banchero14 hours ago

Expected To Return On Friday Versus Bucks
Aaron Ekblad14 hours ago

A Game-Time Decision Wednesday
Kawhi Leonard15 hours ago

Out Versus Denver
Davis Thompson15 hours ago

Starts 2025 Season Well
PGA15 hours ago

J.T. Poston Disappoints At The Sentry
Chris Kirk15 hours ago

Sputters At The Sentry
Billy Horschel15 hours ago

Looks Forward To Sony Open
Brian Harman15 hours ago

Gets 2025 Started With A Rough Start
PGA15 hours ago

Cameron Davis Finishes Strong At The Sentry
Keegan Bradley15 hours ago

Starts 2025 Season Well
NFL16 hours ago

Bill Belichick Has No Plans To Return To The NFL
Deebo Samuel Sr.16 hours ago

49ers Plan To Bring Deebo Samuel Sr. Back Next Year
Zay Flowers17 hours ago

Absent From Wednesday's Practice
Braxton Garrett18 hours ago

To Miss 2025 Season Following Elbow Surgery
Taylor Pendrith19 hours ago

Is A Dark-Horse Pick For Sony Open
Jalen Hurts19 hours ago

Expected To Practice On Wednesday
Eric Cole20 hours ago

Looking For Bounce-Back Performance At Sony Open
Zay Flowers20 hours ago

A Long Shot To Play On Wild-Card Weekend
Sahith Theegala20 hours ago

A Big Name To Stay Away From At Sony Open
Nick Dunlap21 hours ago

Looks To Bounce Back At Sony Open
Tom Kim21 hours ago

Making Season Debut At Sony Open
Deni Avdija22 hours ago

In Danger Of Missing Wednesday's Contest
Jerami Grant22 hours ago

Remains Unavailable Wednesday
Ben Simmons22 hours ago

Iffy For Wednesday
D'Angelo Russell23 hours ago

To Miss Second Straight Game
Karl-Anthony Towns23 hours ago

Questionable To Face Raptors
Hideki Matsuyama23 hours ago

Looks To Make History At Waialae
Sean Monahan24 hours ago

Exits Tuesday's Game Early
Filip Chytil1 day ago

Exits On Tuesday With Upper-Body Injury
Brock Faber1 day ago

Sustains Injury On Tuesday
Steven Stamkos1 day ago

Exits Early On Tuesday
Evgeni Malkin1 day ago

Sidelined With Upper-Body Injury
Josh Morrissey1 day ago

Day-To-Day With Lower Body Injury
Tanner Scott1 day ago

Mets Meet With Tanner Scott
Justin Verlander2 days ago

Signs One-Year Contract With San Francisco
NFL2 days ago

Ashton Jeanty Declares For 2025 NFL Draft
Joey Daccord2 days ago

Activated From Injured Reserve
Colin Miller2 days ago

To Miss At Least Two Weeks
Justin Faulk2 days ago

Rejoins Blues Lineup Against Wild
Igor Shesterkin2 days ago

Remains Out On Tuesday
Chris Kreider2 days ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Jacob Middleton2 days ago

Available Tuesday
Troy Terry2 days ago

Uncertain For Tuesday's Action
Tua Tagovailoa2 days ago

Dolphins Have "No Concern At All" About Tua Tagovailoa's Long-Term Health
Las Vegas Raiders2 days ago

Raiders Fire Head Coach Antonio Pierce
David Montgomery2 days ago

Expected To Return For Divisional Round
Tyreek Hill2 days ago

Dolphins Say Tyreek Hill Did Not Request A Trade
Brandon Woodruff2 days ago

Hopes To Be Ready By Opening Day
Zay Flowers2 days ago

Not At Tuesday's Practice
Luke Clanton2 days ago

A Player To Watch At Sony Open
Thomas Detry2 days ago

In Solid Form Ahead Of Sony Open
Russell Henley2 days ago

A Course Horse At Sony Open
Stephan Jaeger2 days ago

A Risky Option At Sony Open
Kurt Kitayama2 days ago

Makes 2025 Debut At Sony Open
Maverick McNealy2 days ago

Looks To Stay Hot In Hawaii
Sepp Straka2 days ago

A Safe Option At Sony Open
Michael Thorbjornsen2 days ago

A Dark Horse At Sony Open
Tennessee Titans2 days ago

Titans Retaining Brian Callahan As Head Coach
Tennessee Titans2 days ago

Titans Fire GM Ran Carthon
Brent Rooker2 days ago

Signs Five-Year Extension
Nolan Arenado2 days ago

Red Sox Emerge As Strong Candidate To Land Nolan Arenado
Christian Watson2 days ago

Packers Confirm Torn ACL For Christian Watson
Ezekiel Elliott2 days ago

Signing With Chargers
Michael Lorenzen3 days ago

Signs One-Year Deal With Kansas City
Gavin Lux3 days ago

Traded To Cincinnati
Kyler Murray3 days ago

"100 Percent" Chance That Kyler Murray Will Start For Cardinals In 2025
Brock Purdy3 days ago

Wants Contract Done Sooner Than Later
Christian McCaffrey3 days ago

"Definitely Close" To Being Fully Recovered
Jayden Daniels3 days ago

Commanders "Not Concerned" With Jayden Daniels' Leg Soreness
Amari Cooper3 days ago

Bills Hopeful Amari Cooper Will Be Available In Wild-Card Round
Chicago Bears3 days ago

Bears Seek Permission To Interview Mike McCarthy For Head-Coaching Job
Luis Arraez3 days ago

Yankees Talking With Padres About Luis Arraez
Clayton Kershaw5 days ago

Intends To Pitch In 2025, Expected To Return To Los Angeles
Charlie Morton6 days ago

Signs One-Year Deal With Baltimore

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Patrick Mahomes - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Best Potential Matchups For Super Bowl LIX

The NFL playoffs have arrived, which means we're just a month away from Super Bowl LIX, which will be played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. There are 14 teams that could play in the Super Bowl, with 49 potential combinations of teams that could play in the Super Bowl. While every potential matchup […]


Justin Herbert

PrizePicks NFL DFS Prop Picks - Over/Under Props for Super Wild Card Weekend (Saturday Slate)

Hello everybody, and welcome to our PrizePicks NFL DFS prop picks for Super Wild Card Weekend - Saturday Main Slate! The 2024 NFL season is now through the holiday season and gearing up for the playoffs, and our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great DFS plays we can look to take advantage […]


Marvin Mims Jr. - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL DFS Picks

WR/CB Matchups to Upgrade and Downgrade - Fantasy Football Wild Card Round (2024)

Welcome back to our WR/CB Matchups for the Wild Card Round of the 2024 fantasy football season. Congrats to all of you who won a championship or reached the title game! For those unfamiliar, this weekly series looks at fantasy football matchups for wide receivers versus the cornerbacks who are projected to cover them. The […]


Zay Flowers - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football WR Injury Reports: Wild Card Weekend Updates For Zay Flowers, Christian Watson, John Metchie III, Joshua Palmer

The (regular) fantasy football season is over but the DFS season rolls along. A few high-profile receivers may not make your lineups due to injury. To keep close tabs on all of the news across the NFL, make sure to favorite or bookmark the fantasy football player news page. Also, download the free RotoBaller fantasy […]


Lamar Jackson - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

NFL Playoffs Rankings: Fantasy Football Draft Rankings and FFPC Playoff Challenge (2025)

Welcome, RotoBallers, to the 2025 NFL Playoffs and our continuing coverage of fantasy football playoff leagues. Fantasy football is still going strong during the NFL playoffs – including new drafts and contests forming before the Wild Card Weekend games. The NFL postseason starts with one of the most challenging and unique fantasy football playoff leagues […]


David Montgomery - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Will David Montgomery Play In The Postseason? Injury Update For Lions RB

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (knee) suffered an MCL injury in Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills. While it was initially reported that he would be placed on injured reserve and his season would be over, we haven't seen that yet. "Monty" has now played in 14 games this season, rushing 185 times for […]


Travis Kelce - Fantasy Football Tight Ends You Must Have in 2024

12 Biggest Fantasy Football Busts Of 2024

Unfortunately, the 2024 fantasy football season is over. Hopefully, fantasy players came away with the championship trophy. While the fantasy season just wrapped up, it’s never too early to prepare for next year. The first thing fantasy players should do is look back at the 2024 season and see where they went wrong. Therefore, let’s […]


Mike Evans - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

NFL Playoff League Rankings for Fantasy Football: Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Mike Evans, Kyren Williams, Joe Mixon, Puka Nacua, Terry McLaurin

While the traditional fantasy football season is over, the start of the NFL playoffs brings various types of fantasy football contests geared toward the playoffs. Fantasy football is not over yet, so let's get to the action! Below are our 2025 fantasy football playoff league rankings to help you make the best decisions for your playoff […]


Nico Collins - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - Wild Card Weekend Matchups Analysis

In This Article hide 1. Matchups Analysis - Saturday Games 2. Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans 3. Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens 4. Matchups Analysis - Sunday 1:00 EST Game 5. Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills 6. Matchup Analysis - Sunday Afternoon Game 7. Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles 8. Matchup Analysis - […]


Bucky Irving - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

All-Waiver Wire Fantasy Football Team - 2024 Undrafted Players Who Exceeded Expectations

The casual fantasy football managers draft a team and ride it out, hoping their selections push them into the playoffs. The savvy fantasy managers utilized the waiver wire to make a good team great. Every year, undrafted players go on to be fantasy football darlings. This season was no exception. Below is the All-Waiver Wire […]


Jayden Daniels - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

2024 Fantasy Football Awards - RotoBaller Writers Picks

Greetings and welcome to the official 2024 Fantasy Football Awards Show, presented by RotoBaller. These awards are voted on by RotoBaller's NFL writers, with some goofy ones thrown in alongside the expected. We are here to celebrate the good, the bad, and the downright frustrating. Once again, I'm your host, Nick Mariano. We won't have […]


J.K. Dobbins - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Wild Card Weekend Updates for J.K. Dobbins, Justice Hill, Gus Edwards, Blake Corum

Below is our fantasy football injuries report for running backs on Wild Card Weekend, as of January 8. The injury statuses for various NFL running backs are up in the air for Wild Card Weekend, including J.K. Dobbins, Justice Hill, Gus Edwards, and Blake Corum. As the NFL playoffs get underway and fantasy football continues, […]


Puka Nacua - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Wide Receiver (WR) Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Picks for Wild Card Weekend (2024)

The second season starts today. Whether you're into DFS or postseason tournaments, we have you covered. The NFL playoffs can be tricky to predict, as defenses tend to tighten up, leaving fantasy production few and far between. Heading into Wild Card Weekend, fantasy managers have 12 teams' worth of players to choose from. Depending on […]