Outlook: Outside of Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, the 2023 draft class at running back wasn't considered particularly strong, though Charbonnet was certainly in the conversation for best of the rest. Whether there was value with the rookie in Round 2 is debatable, but the Seahawks took Walker 11 picks earlier in 2022, so they feel it's a place to target a running back. While it's dangerous to look at collegiate production as a measure for pro success, Charbonnet finished third in the country with 152.7 yards from scrimmage per game last year, making plays as both a runner and receiver.

At 6-foot, 214 pounds, the UCLA product has a good mix of speed, balance, and power, allowing him to break arm tackles and run away from defenders. He's capable as a pass catcher, and if his blocking is up to snuff, he could see passing-down duty early on. Barring an abysmal camp, Charbonnet should enter 2023 as the No. 2 back in Seattle, and fantasy owners can target him as an RB4.

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Outlook: Since entering the NFL in 2018, Chubb has never finished worse than 15th overall in non-ppr scoring, providing fantasy owners with a rock solid RB1 over the last four years. As a near lock for double digit touchdowns and almost 1500 total yards, Chubb has a chance to be even better in 2023. With Kareem Hunt gone in free agency and only late round picks sharing the running back room, Chubb has a real chance to threaten his career high 329 touches from last season. With Watson more comfortable, the offense should move at a much quicker pace, and red zone scoring should increase after Chubb had the 9th most red zone carries in 2022. Chubb is never going to catch a boat-load of passes, so his PPR value is diminished, but there aren't many backs in the NFL that offer Chubb's weekly consistency, and week-winning upside.

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Outlook: In many ways, Conner is reminiscent of the old Leroy Hoard quote, "if you need one yard, I'll get you three, and if you need five yards, I'll get you three." The 233-pound back is a bruiser that does his best work in short-yardage and goal-line situations -- that includes 26 touchdowns in two seasons with the Cardinals. He's not particularly explosive, however, and durability is an annual concern as he has never missed fewer than two games in six NFL campaigns.

On the plus side, Conner is underrated as a pass catcher, averaging 41.4 receptions over the last five years. That should be appealing to the risk-averse McCoy, whose primary job is to avoid killer mistakes. Despite his issues staying healthy, Arizona has invested little in depth at the position, which means Conner is likely staring down a heavy workload for as long as he can handle it. At this stage it'd be hard to advocate you should even consider selecting any of his backups, which include names like Keaontay Ingram, Corey Clement, and Ty'Son Williams.

With five-year averages of 1,066 combined yards and 10.4 touchdowns, Conner projects as a possible top-20 fantasy back, though there are sure to be weeks where you'll need to cover for his absence.

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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: 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: After missing the entire 2021 season and more than half the games in 2022 with lingering issues, this is a big year for the 4th year back. There is no denying that Dobbins oozes talent and big play ability. He averaged well over 5.5 yards per carry in his career, and after getting a clean-up procedure done in Week 7, Dobbins returned in Week 14 to dominate the rest of the season, averaging 88 yards on the ground in the final five games. His combination of power and speed is similar to Nick Chubb, and with the added threat of the passing game, Dobbins will never see a stacked box.

Dobbins has also been the darling of the offseason, and seems to be everyone's breakout candidate at running back. As a coordinator at Georgia and the Tampa Bay Bucs, Todd Monken's system seemed to favor a lead back. This would be a huge break from the Greg Roman days of a 3-headed backfield, and just another reason to be high on Dobbins. With a check box in the talent, scheme, and health category, what's not to like about him? If Jackson and Gus Edwards steal a few less touchdowns down at the goal-line, Dobbins should easily threaten double digit touchdowns, and has nowhere to go but up in the receiving category.

Every arrow seems to be pointing up for the former Buckeye, but like that annoying tag on a new t-shirt, something is nagging at me. His contract situation could be an issue, but this will likely be a non-story come late July as he has absolutely no leverage. For me, it's still the volume. In order to truly enter elite (Chubb) territory, he's going to have a see 50-75 more touches than he's ever had in his career and STILL maintain that elite efficiency, or have a boatload of touchdowns. While there is certainly a path to an RB1 finish, I think he should be treated as a high end RB2 with a RB1 upside.

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Outlook: The Miami Dolphins signed running back Chase Edmonds last offseason, but traded him to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 1. Three weeks later, he'd be sent to the IR for the rest of the season and was then cut by the Broncos on March 10. He finished last season with 68 carries for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

The Buccaneers picked him up just six days after his release to add depth to their running back room. It's still uncertain if Edmonds will win the RB2 job as he battles with Ke'Shawn Vaughn in camp. However, Edmonds has a couple more years of experience which should give him the edge. With that being said, Edmonds is not a target in most drafts and will likely be a waiver wire pickup should something happen to Rachaad White.

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Outlook: Edwards looked rusty at times in his return from his own torn ACL, and was a near fantasy non-factor after Dobbins returned fully healthy in Week 14. Despite averaging at least 5.0 yards per carry in every season of his career, Edwards has always felt like a marginal player. While he fit perfectly in the run-based Greg Roman scheme, and likely got more carries than he would have on most other teams, I think his time as a standalone fantasy player are over. Edwards has averaged a little over four receptions per season, and is a one trick pony in an offense that's trying to evolve. He'll undoubtedly play an important role for the Ravens in a practical sense, but in fantasy, his value rests solely as a handcuff to Dobbins.

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Outlook: Kansas City used a first-round pick on Edwards-Helaire in 2020. In three years with the club, the LSU product has averaged 541 yards rushing, 193 yards receiving, and 5.7 combined TDs. He's also missed 17 of 50 games, including back-to-back years of appearing in just 10. Given his struggles to stay healthy and declining production, it should come as no surprise that the Chiefs elected not to pick up his fifth-year option, setting up CEH for free agency after the season.

The days of drafting Edwards-Helaire outside the deepest of leagues are over. While there's always some degree of upside for a player of CEH's talent, his uncertain role and durability concerns make him no more than a watch-list candidate.

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