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
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Running Back Stat Sleepers - Missed Tackles Forced

Antonio Losada dives into RB broken tackles data to find the running back position's best draft sleepers for 2020 fantasy football leagues.

Plunging into the world of football analytics is without question a great way to find fantasy sleepers for the coming season. Especially in the case of running backs, considering overall elusiveness is arguably the best way to determine how good (or bad) a player's performance was. And that's what this is all about.

I will be looking at advanced rushing data from Pro-Football-Reference.com, and on top of that crossing those numbers with 2020 projections (via PFF) and ADP values from FFPC drafts up to this date in order to find the best sleepers poised to have big seasons this year given their 2019 numbers. All of it will be focused on how many missed tackles these players forced, how often they broke tackles relative to volume, and their tendency to accumulate yardage after contact.

Average draft position will play a role as well, considering many of these players can be had at a deep late-round bargain. Let's get to it!

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

2020 Missed Tackles Forced Sleepers

Ronald Jones II, Tampa Bay Buccanneers

Jones finds himself in a similar situation to what Damien Williams had in Kansas City (before he opted out of the 2020 season). The Bucs have the GOAT-quarterback in tow after signing Tom Brady this spring and they also drafted a rookie running-back this past draft in Ke'Shawn Vaughn, which would keep Jones' touches limited. Last season Jones rushed the ball 172 times for 724 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 4.21 YPC.

Looking at broken tackles data, though, Jones excelled while on the field avoiding being brought down and racking up yards. Jones broke 23 tackles all year long (1.43 per game) and got 415 yards after contact, the 17th-most in the NFL. That doesn't sound too good until you consider Jones' volume compared to the rest of RBs. Jones' average of 2.4 yards after contact per attempt ranked 13th and he was the only rusher (along with Alvin Kamara) to cross the 400-yards-after-contact barrier on fewer than 200 rushing attempts through the year.

Only four players were able to finish the 2019 season with fewer rushing attempts per broken tackle: Kamara, Williams, and Aaron Jones. Ronald Jones ranked fourth with 7.5 rushing attempts and is currently the RB33 in ADP and 104.3 overall player getting off draft boards. Even battling Vaughn for touches, Jones should be a great target for you on every fantasy league given his efficiency.

 

Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills

Although the sample size is not the largest, I have to admit that I fell in love with Singletary last season. The rookie played in just 12 games and rushed the ball only 151 times for the Bills, but he was a beast at it. In 151 carries he reached 775 yards (two touchdowns). Although he ranked 29th in rushing attempts, Singletary finished with the 24th-highest yardage and his 5.13 YPC ranked third only behind Raheem Mostert's 5.64 and Gus Edwards' 5.35 (both of them logged fewer rushing attempts, though).

Although Singletary had more yardage gained before contact (413 yards) than after it (362), his numbers were pretty balanced through the season with just 51 yards of difference. The most encouraging thing about Singletary's game, though, was his raw broken tackles number: 20. For someone on relatively low volume, that was an incredible amount of BTs. Only 13 other rushers had 20+ broken tackles in 2019 yet all of them had 171+ rushing attempts, which is to say at least 20 more opportunities of breaking tackles.

Translated to a per-attempt basis, Singletary only needed 7.6 attempts per broken tackle, which ranked him as the fifth-most efficient tackle-breaker in the league. Although Singletary's ADP has caught up lately (he's the RB23 and 68.4 overall), he's still a cheap asset acquirable for not an overly high price and with all of Buffalo's backfield for him to exploit in 2020.

 

Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings

This is more a flier, I know, but we're discussing sleepers here, aren't we? Cook played 14 games last season with Mattison being his backup and appearing in 13 games himself. In those games, he finished with 100 combined rushing attempts for 462 yards and a single touchdown, averaging 4.62 YAC. Yes, that per-carry yardage was higher than Cook's 4.54-mark.

Mattison only broke 11 tackles through the year, but those 11 BTs came in just 100 carries and he was able to finish the season as the eight-best player at it with an average of 9.1 attempts per broken tackle, virtually one per game.

While it is still unclear how much of a presence Mattison will have next season, you can be sure he will exploit his chances out on the field. Mattison could very well be one of the best handcuffs at the running back position, yet he's only the RB37 off draft boards these days with an ADP of 120.8 overall.



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
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Trade Up One Spot In First Round To Select Jihaad Campbell
A.J. Puk

Likely To Miss Multiple Months
Marquis Grissom Jr.

Notches Fifth Save At Double-A
Buffalo Bills

Bills Address Secondary And Take Maxwell Hairston With 30th Overall Pick
Félix Bautista

Felix Bautista Records Third Save
NFL

Eagles, Chiefs Swap First-Round Picks
Washington Commanders

Josh Conerly Jr. Goes At No. 29 Overall To Commanders

Giants Trade Up For Jaxson Dart At No. 25
Detroit Lions

Tyleik Williams Taken By Lions At No. 28 Overall
Shane Smith

Tosses Five Shutout Frames
Roman Anthony

With Home Run No. 5 On Thursday
Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Go With Malaki Starks At No. 27 Overall In NFL Draft
Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Takes Donovan Jackson No. 24 Overall
NFL

Rams Trade The 26th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Falcons
Andrés Muñoz

Andres Munoz Secures Ninth Save
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Trade Back Into First Round To Draft James Pearce Jr. At No. 26 Overall

Matthew Golden Selected No. 23 Overall By Green Bay
NFL

Texans Trade The 25th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Giants
Jakob Marsee

Up To 18 Steals At Triple-A

Omarion Hampton Taken No. 22 Overall By Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Selects Derrick Harmon At No. 21 Overall
Denver Broncos

Broncos Build Secondary By Selecting Jahdae Barron At No. 20

Buccaneers Add Emeka Egbuka At No. 19
Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Select Grey Zabel At No. 18
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Take Shemar Stewart 17th Overall
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Select Jalon Walker At 15th Overall
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Select Walter Nolen At No. 16 In The NFL Draft

Tyler Warren Heads To Colts At No. 14
Jeff McNeil

Activated From Injured List
Brett Baty

Optioned To Minors
Zack Gelof

To Begin Rehab Assignment Next Week
Ryan Walker

Remains Giants Closer
Kumar Rocker

Heads To Injured List
Brent Rooker

Resting For First Time This Season
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Isaiah Stewart

Remains Out For Game 3
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Bryan Woo

Picks Up Third Win, Strikes Out Eight On Thursday
Cade Cavalli

Moving Rehab Assignment To Double-A
Paul DeJong

Having Surgery On His Nose
Royce Lewis

Starting His Rehab Assignment On Friday
Tyler O'Neill

Out On Thursday With Sore Neck
Cole Ragans

Pulled Early On Thursday With Groin Tightness
Jackson Holliday

Retreats To Bench Against Southpaw
Jake Mangum

Rays Place Jake Mangum On 10-Day Injured List With Groin Strain
Linus Ullmark

Attempts To Overcome Playoff Struggles Thursday
Anthony Cirelli

A Game-Time Call Thursday
Logan Thompson

Comes Up Big In Game 2
Connor McMichael

Strikes Twice In Wednesday's Win
Anze Kopitar

Tallies Four Points In Game 2 Victory
Adrian Kempe

Notches Two Goals, Two Assists In Wednesday's Win
Tyler Seguin

Gives Stars Series Lead With Overtime Winner
Gabriel Landeskog

Delivers Six Hits In First Game Since 2022
Tyler Herro

Scores Game-High 33 Points In Wednesday's Loss
Donovan Mitchell

Fires In 30 Points In Game 2 Win
Paolo Banchero

Notches 32 Points In Game 2 Loss
Jaylen Brown

Posts 36-Point Double-Double Wednesday
Jalen Green

Erupts For 38 Points In Game 2 Victory
Brandin Podziemski

Limited To 14 Minutes Wednesday
Jimmy Butler III

Set For MRI Thursday
Brandin Podziemski

Upgraded To Available
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Michael Porter Jr.

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Davion Mitchell

Moves Into Starting Lineup Wednesday
Brandin Podziemski

Picks Up Questionable Tag
Al Horford

Starts Game 2
Michael Porter Jr.

Practices On Wednesday
Jayson Tatum

Out On Wednesday
Isaiah Stewart

May Miss Another Game Thursday
NYI

Cal Clutterbuck Announces Retirement
Pavel Zacha

Recovering From Small Procedure
Nikolaj Ehlers

To Miss At Least Two More Games
Miro Heiskanen

Still Out On Wednesday
John Klingberg

Enters Oilers Lineup For Game 2
Evander Kane

To Make Season Debut Wednesday Night
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Posts Team-High 26 Points In Tuesday's Loss
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Notches 27 Points Despite Poor Shooting
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Pascal Siakam

Scores Team-High 24 Points In Game 2 Win
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF