Outlook: At this time last year, Pacheco was an afterthought, an unheralded seventh-round pick seemingly buried on the depth chart. The then-rookie ran hard every time he was given the chance, however, and he eventually took over as the primary back on early downs. Despite entering the month of November with just 39 carries, Pacheco would end up leading the club in rushing attempts (170), yards (830), and touchdowns (5). He added another 197 yards in the playoffs and heads into 2023 with a strong grip on the top job.

Where things unravel a bit for Pacheco in terms of fantasy value is his lack of involvement in the passing game on a team that finished fifth in the NFL in attempts (651) last year. He had one encouraging effort in the playoffs (five catches for 59 yards in the AFC Championship Game) but otherwise managed just 14 receptions in his other 19 games. As long as he remains primarily an early-down back, his upside will be capped. Consider Pacheco a strong RB3 with the possibility for more.

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Outlook: Newly-acquired running back D'Andre Swift is one of the most polarizing players in all of fantasy football. While he's certainly had moments of excellence, he's also failed to stay healthy and was unceremoniously dumped this offseason by the Lions who invested a second round NFL Draft pick on him 2020. While a move to the Eagles is certainly an upgrade from a personnel standpoint, Swift's high-level potential as a PPR running back might be limited in an offense with a mobile quarterback like Jalen Hurts. It's quite rare for mobile quarterbacks to utilize their running backs heavily in the passing game, so there's a real question right now as to whether or not the Eagles' offense is truly the right fit for a player like Swift. He's a much better pass-catcher than Miles Sanders, who left the team this offseason, which should mean that he sees more opportunities than the minimal passing game usage that Sanders got in 2022.

From a pure skills standpoint, it's tough to deny Swift's talents. He's a dynamic, versatile player who excels as both a rusher and a receiver. Last season, he had 521 rushing yards, 62 receptions, and 437 receiving yards. His ability to get out in space and make plays makes him an exciting playmaker and an intriguing fantasy option.

He'll likely start the season be the Eagles' lead running back, which is great news for fantasy managers. The Eagles' offense has a strong likelihood of being explosive and he should get plenty of opportunities to score fantasy points. He has the upside to be a low-end RB1 or high-end RB2 in PPR leagues, but there are still some risks.

Swift has missed time with multiple injuries in his career, including a shoulder injury last year. So there's always the risk that he could miss time with another injury. But if he can stay healthy, he could be one of the best fantasy running backs in PPR formats. The other risk is the presence of Hurts, who is a dual-threat quarterback who will run the ball a lot. This could limit Swift's touchdown upside. But overall, there's a strong case to be made that Swift's upside outweighs his risks, especially given his ADP which is around pick 60.

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Outlook: James Cook was one of the fantasy football community's favorite late-round sleepers, but as it turned out, fantasy managers were left snoring at his weekly box totals. A disappointing rookie season despite bad competition that included Devin Singletary and Zack Moss means that Cook didn't do enough to really stand out to the coaching staff and guarantee himself a role here in 2023.

The lack of performance wasn't necessarily due to a lack of efficiency, as the rookie running back averaged the second-highest yards-per-carry of any rookie running back, with only Breece Hall being slightly higher. He fumbled the ball just once (on his very first NFL carry) on the season and caught 21 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown. The problem seemed to primarily be opportunity driven as he saw double-digit carries just five times, including the playoffs, and none of them came in back-to-back weeks, making him an extraordinarily difficult player to start in fantasy.

Buffalo got rid of Zack Moss during the 2022 season and Devin Singletary moved on, which means that Cook should get the first opportunity to start for the Bills here in 2023. The team did at veterans Damien Harris and Latavius Murray, but neither of those players seems likely to shoulder a truly difference-making workload. Unfortunately, being the "starting running back" for the Bills hasn't exactly translated into a ton of fantasy production. For example, Singletary has started 16 games for the Bills in each of the past three seasons, but he never saw more than 188 carries and never exceeded 40 receptions in any season. Most importantly, he scored just 16 total touchdowns over those years as the Bills' starter. Much of that lack of fantasy success is due to the fact that the Bills are perfectly content with letting the offense go through Josh Allen, particularly in the red zone. Allen actually scored 21 rushing touchdowns over the past three seasons, which certainly hurt the Bills running backs who have managed to score just 28 rushing touchdowns between all of them combined over the same span.

The Bills are almost certain to remain one of the league's most pass-happy teams, which can mean a lot of scoring, but it can also lead to some frustrating weeks for fantasy managers who start their running backs. Cook is currently being drafted outside the top 30 at the running back position, so his cost isn't likely to be a killer for fantasy teams. Still, he's someone whose upside is probably limited unless Josh Allen has an injury that somehow allows him to continue to pass the ball at a high level but doesn't allow him to be quite as mobile as he normally is.

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Outlook: Jonathan Taylor's 2021 season was simply historic as he finished with 1,811 rushing yards for 18 touchdowns and 360 receiving yards for two more scores. His 377.1 fantasy points (PPR) was the most among running backs and the fourth-most across all positions. In just his second season, Taylor was the runner-up for the AP Offensive Player of the Year award.

However, the former second round pick out of Wisconsin only played 11 games in 2022 due to numerous injuries, recording 861 rushing yards for four touchdowns and 143 receiving yards. Taylor's 152.4 fantasy points (PPR) was the 31st among all running backs. His struggles also stemmed from the Colts having two head coaches and a multitude of injuries on both sides of the ball.

The cleanup process began when the Colts hired Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as their head coach this offseason. Former Eagles running back Miles Sanders had the best season of his career in 2022, and earned Pro Bowler honors under Steichen's system. This could mean that the already-proven Taylor may be a large focus point in Steichen's new offense. Given a rookie is likely to be starting at quarterback, the offensive gameplan should be to constantly feed Taylor the ball, giving him the potential to exceed his historic 2021 season and return to No.1 on the fantasy football draft board in 2024.

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Outlook: Outside of a 175-carry, 603-yard effort as a rookie with Washington back in 2017, Perine had seen modest usage during his NFL career. With Joe Mixon banged up in Cincinnati last year, however, the former Sooner put together his best professional campaign: 681 total yards and 6 TDs. While those are modest numbers, it earned Perine a two-year, $7.5 million deal in Denver to come in and pair with Williams as Payton's top-two runners.

Payton effectively deployed Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara as a one-two punch in New Orleans, though it's hard to view Perine as being on the same level as either of those backs in their prime. While Perine is entering his age-28 season, which is a bit long in the tooth for an NFL back, his mileage is low having played complementary roles throughout his career. An effective receiver out of the backfield, Perine is a quality RB4 that might overdeliver that valuation.

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Outlook: Dillon has been a strong fantasy asset since taking over the 1b role in this backfield in 2021. The Packers have been very consistent in his usage as his touch totals (221 and 214) and production have been near mirror images of each other the last two seasons. Better in standard leagues due to his short yardage touchdown potential and presence of Jones soaking up most of the backfield targets, Dillon is an elite FLEX and has great standalone value as well. He's one of the few backs in fantasy worth drafting as a borderline starter that has a direct line to elite usage if Jones were to suffer an injury.

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Outlook: Coming off a rookie season in which he gained 1,219 total yards and scored seven times while splitting touches with Melvin Gordon, Williams appeared poised to overtake Gordon as the lead back and ascend to RB2 territory entering 2022. Instead, he averaged 84.3 yards per game through three weeks without a touchdown before suffering a torn ACL in Week 4. In terms of timing, that gives the third-year pro a little less than a year between the injury and the 2023 season opener.

It's hard to gauge how quickly someone will bounce back from an injury of that type, and perhaps more crucially it's nearly impossible to determine when they'll return to form. For example, Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins returned from his own torn ACL in Week 3 last year, lasted four games and then missed two additional months following a clean-up procedure. So, while the team has expressed optimism about Williams' recovery, even going as far as saying he could be ready for camp, that very much belongs under the "believe it when you see it" category.

Considering his solid but not elite production and health concerns, Williams belongs in that midrange or low-end RB3 category with the possibility for more.

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Outlook: The other piece of the remade Detroit backfield, Montgomery comes to the Lions to fill the Jamal Williams "thunder" role. Entering his 5th NFL season, Montgomery has proved to be a solid, if unspectacular back in the NFL. He's been durable, and incredibly consistent, putting up 1,000 total yards and at least seven touchdowns in each of his first four seasons. While his career rushing average leaves much to be desired, he's running behind the best line of his career, and won't have to carry the load with the presence of Gibbs. While this backfield will be an annoying committee at times, there is a TON of value to be had with Montgomery, and even if he sees a dip in total touches, he won't have those short yardage touchdowns vulture by his quarterback. While Gibbs is going to get the hype and attention, I think Montgomery can be an absolute steal, and a solid RB2 in multiple formats that you can add later in the draft.

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Outlook: Another new addition to the Philadelphia backfield is former Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny. Unlike Swift who's more of a satellite back with more limited between-the-tackles rushing ability, Penny's skill set is more in line with that of 2022 Eagles starter Miles Sanders, who rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season. Sanders was not utilized much in the passing game, but was a good enough runner to justify seeing 259 rushing attempts - far surpassing his previous career high.

Penny is a high-risk, high-reward fantasy option. The high risk comes from his history of injuries. The high reward comes from his ability to generate explosive plays on the ground, as he's been one of the most efficient running backs in the league when he's been healthy. He could deliver some huge games for fantasy owners, especially in games where the Eagles get out to an early lead and end up relying heavily on their rushing attack to close out games. Unfortunately, quarterback Jalen Hurts could also steal a good number of goal-line carries from the Penny and Swift backfield, but he did that quite often in 2022 and Miles Sanders was still able to get into the end zone 11 times, so don't be too scared off by Hurts' presence.

The big question is, can Penny stay healthy? He played just five games in 2022 and he hasn't played in more than 10 games in a season since his rookie year back in 2018. It's a gamble that fantasy owners will have to assess strongly, but if you're willing to take the risk, he could be a great value pick given that he's being selected beyond pick 100 and outside RB3 range in most fantasy drafts.

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Outlook: With Fields and the crowded running back room making the Chicago backfield a fantasy mess to avoid, Khalil Herbert is the one guy that I think has the most potential to strike gold. Much like Alexander Mattison in Minnesota, Herbert was stuck behind a vet, but when he saw starters' touches, he shined. Whatever the issue, Herbert was never given an opportunity to overtake David Montgomery last season despite being ultra efficient with a 5.7 yards-per-carry average on 129 carries. Like many teams in the NFL, Chicago has chosen to go young and cheap in the backfield, and I fully expect them to utilize a three-back rotation for most of the season. Chicago was 2nd in the NFL with 558 rushing attempts, but I expect that to drop this season as they ask Fields to take on more as a passer. While I don't think Herbert has much standalone value, his history of production when given starters touches makes him the highest upside of anyone in the backfield.

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Outlook: The Commanders' three-headed backfield situation in 2022 was an absolute nightmare for fantasy, but things got a lot more interesting when the team moved on from pass-catching specialist J.D. McKissic this offseason. While the Commanders did draft Chris Rodriguez in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, they have not otherwise addressed the position throughout the offseason and it seems likely that the duo of Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr. will split touches in this backfield.

While it was Robinson who out-scored Gibson on a per-game basis in 2022, it's Gibson who possesses the skill set that is more likely to benefit from McKissic's absence. Gibson himself has caught 36, 42, and then 46 passes in his three seasons as a pro. His reception total in 2022 put him at 13th among all running backs - a ranking that would've almost certainly been higher had he not missed the final two games of the season.

Gibson is a size-speed specimen like few others in the league which really gives him the potential for a breakout season here in 2023. The biggest thing holding back Gibson is that Robinson did show himself to be at least a viable NFL grinder as a rookie, which will almost certainly mean that he'll continue to have a significant role even if Gibson is performing better on a per-touch basis. Nevertheless, from a strict fantasy standpoint, we should tend to prefer players who have the physical upside of commanding 40 percent or more of the team's carries while also seeing 70-plus targets. That's what Gibson provides and it's why fantasy managers should take the discount on him as the Washington running back to own, even if he ends up technically starting fewer games than Robinson.

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