It’s not just talent which makes a great fantasy running back. It’s a team using that talent to its fullest advantage. For many running backs, that means when their team is ahead on the scoreboard, getting volume rushing attempts, and pounding out the yards while playing keep away from the opposition.
However, not all teams can dominate their 16-game schedule. Fewer still go undefeated for the season. So the most consistent fantasy running backs are those who get usage whether or not their team is ahead or behind.

Below is a chart of what each of the backs did last season when their team was behind. The backs at the top of the list should be “scoreboard proof.”

1) Saquon Barkley, New York Giants – No surprise here. He’s great running the ball, great catching the ball and the Giants spent most of last season playing catch-up. It’s likely to be more of the same in 2019 with holes on both the offense and defense, therefore we already have plenty of evidence to be relatively sure that Eli Manning (or Daniel Jones late in the season) will continue to feed his star running back no matter the score.

2) David Johnson, Arizona – Another back who spent most of the season looking up at the opposition. However, the team has been redesigned for 2019 with a running quarterback and an offensive head coach known for putting points on the board (at least at the college level) so there are question marks for the upcoming season. Having seen how Lamar Jackson helped the Ravens’ running back corps (3.51 ypc behind Joe Flacco and 5.41 under Jackson), I think Kyler Murray does the same for Johnson and the Cardinals backfield.

3) Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams – Considering that the Rams went a league-best 13-3 and outscored their opponents by 148 points, they couldn’t have been behind that much making Gurley’s No. 3 ranking all the more impressive. If we knew he was healthy, this would be an easy choice on draft day, but the arthritic knee has to worry every fantasy owner. By contrast, the combined totals of both James White (329) and Sony Michel (164) of the 11-5 New England Patriots produced less than half Gurley’s total (1078).

4) Christian McCaffrey, Carolina – McCaffrey is heavily involved in the Panthers’ passing game and was ranked fourth in productivity when behind. He finished the year second among backs in receptions and third in receiving yards to help overcome his low volume rushing attempts. He’s also the only quality back on the roster, so rushing attempt volume isn’t in question and happily quarterback Cam Newton doesn’t steal as many touchdown on the ground as he used to when he was younger.

5) Joe Mixon, Cincinnati – The Bengals started out 4-1 before falling apart, but don’t blame Mixon, who performed well gaining half his total rushing yards and 70-percent of his receiving yards when his team was behind, which was often. With prospects still bleak for Cincinnati in 2019, you should have faith in Mixon’s ability to keep producing. Also, talk of Giovani Bernard stealing a bigger portion of Mixon’s work (and before that Jeremy Hill’s) is a yearly training camp fallacy.

6) Phillip Lindsay, Denver – The Broncos never got their offense in gear last season primarily due to the passing game’s failures. Injuries to Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders disrupted any gains from Lindsay. The passing game will be all new with Joe Flacco, Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton and rookie tight end Noah Fant joining Sanders so the ground game, led by the second-year Lindsay, should be a constant factor on offense against a tough schedule.

7) Alvin Kamara, New Orleans – When you go 13-3 you probably didn’t play much from behind, but despite that Kamara produced the seventh-best total. A slight downgrade of his backfield running mate, from Mark Ingram to Latavius Murray, should allow Kamara to amass plenty of touches even in limited time from behind. As future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees has aged he’s thrown less (673 in 2016, 536 in 2017 and 489 in 2018) and handed the ball off more. Brees is a wise old quarterback and Kamara owners the beneficiary of that wisdom.

8) Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas – Elliott is a volume rusher and the focal point of the Cowboys’ offense so ahead or behind makes little difference in his usage. Head coach Jason Garrett has proven time and again to be a conservative play caller on offense and with the solid defense the team will put on the field in 2019 is likely to continue that strategy. Give the ball to Zeke early and often and play great defense is good for the Cowboys future and Elliott’s fantasy owners.