The running back position is crucial in fantasy football, but it can also be one of the most volatile in dynasty leagues.
With a high turnover rate at the position, fantasy managers must always consider their depth and build a buffer. That might mean stocking potential to enable a trade during the season or just having a next-man-up mentality.
Ahead of the 2024 NFL season, let’s take a look at the top RBs that dynasty managers should be stashing.
Which RBs Should Fantasy Managers Target as Stashes in Dynasty Formats?
Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens
Between the devastating knee injury and the Ravens signing Derrick Henry, there’s a chance the fantasy community forgets about Keaton Mitchell. Don’t do that.
As bad as Mitchell’s injury was, we’re talking about a 22-year-old player in peak physical condition. He’s capable of returning to his pre-injury form, and that guy was pretty good.
Mitchell has 4.37 speed and averaged 8.4 yards per carry in limited action as a rookie. Henry may be the guy right now, but he is 30 years old. When Mitchell is ready to return, he could work his way into the primary passing-down back in tandem with Henry before potentially taking over as the 1a in 2026.
It’s admittedly a long shot, but we’re talking about dynasty stashes here. Mitchell has as much upside as you could hope for.
Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
Please proceed with caution when it comes to Day 3 running backs. Every year, without fail, the dynasty community gets excited about their Day 3 darlings who were never going to matter. Does anyone remember all the DeWayne McBride hype from last season?
Ray Davis was a Day 3 pick, but he went in the fourth round. We’ve seen far more round-four RBs breakthrough than guys drafted later.
Most importantly, the Bills have a pretty shallow depth chart at running back behind James Cook. Davis could open the 2024 season as the RB2. At 211 pounds, he has the potential to be the Bills’ primary goal-line back. Not only would that give him immediate value as a touchdown-or-bust RB4, but it would put him one injury away from being a viable fantasy starter.
Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears
To be clear, I do not think Roschon Johnson is a good stash at all. It’s just the nature of the Bears’ roster is such that they have six players who are well above “stash” level and not much else. If anyone is going to break through somewhat unexpectedly, it would be Johnson.
The Bears signed D’Andre Swift to be their RB1, but if you listen to the coaches, it seems they don’t see Swift as a three-down back. They view him more as a weapon they can use as needed. That’s great for the Bears but not so much for fantasy.
If Swift were to get hurt or struggle to produce, Johnson could stand to benefit. Given that he’s only in his second year, you could certainly do worse than stash a young running back with an uncertain ceiling.
Audric Estime, Denver Broncos
Despite not being considered a great offense, the Broncos actually have several players worthy of being dynasty stashes. I also considered Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Ultimately, I settled on Estime for a couple of reasons. First, McLaughlin is being drafted in redraft leagues this year, which pushes him mostly out of stash territory for me. I don’t believe in Mims after his dismal rookie year. Franklin is a Day 3 WR with an iffy prospect profile. Estime has the clearest path to fantasy relevance.
The Broncos are probably not cutting Javonte Williams. However, the mere talk of it raises eyebrows. McLaughlin is too small to ever be a feature back. If Williams struggles or gets hurt again, Estime would likely be the one who steps into the primary rusher role. Most importantly, he would handle goal-line carries.
Deneric Prince, Kansas City Chiefs
This is the deepest of dynasty stashes. Deneric Prince is a 2023 UDFA who was active for all of two games last season and didn’t touch the ball at all. His presence on this list is purely a product of training camp reports that say he’s been the first running back to get reps after Isiah Pacheco.
Last year, we saw Clyde Edwards-Helaire be a weekly RB2 when Pacheco was out. If Prince is in that role, that’s his upside as well.
Prince has a 96th percentile speed score and is a stout 216 pounds. Physically, he looks the part. Of course, if the talent were there, he wouldn’t have gone undrafted and not played as a rookie. But on the off chance he’s able to work his way into the RB2 role, he would at least have some trade value on dynasty benches.
Dylan Laube, Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders roster consists mostly of guys we know matter in fantasy and will never matter in fantasy. The only real unknowns are Michael Mayer and Dylan Laube. Given that the Raiders just drafted generational talent Brock Bowers in the first round, Mayer’s only path to fantasy relevance would be getting traded, which seems unlikely. That leaves us with Laube.
Right now, things look bleak for Laube. He’ll never be a three-down back, so his only path is as the primary receiving back, and Ameer Abdullah currently occupies that role. If Abdullah went down, Alexander Mattison would be more likely to take over than Laube.
But we’re talking dynasty stashes. The hope with Laube is that a running back who caught 68 passes in 10 games last year can prove his worth in practice, enabling the coaching staff to trust him as the primary passing-down back in 2025 when there’s a nonzero chance all three of Zamir White, Mattison, and Abdullah are no longer on the team.
Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
There has been way too much enthusiasm about Kimani Vidal in dynasty circles. Nevertheless, he’s a worthy dynasty stash.
The Chargers project to be a very run-heavy team under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Their backfield consists of 29-year-old plodder Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins, who is recovering from multiple lower leg injuries.
Vidal only has sixth-round draft capital, which puts him behind the eight-ball. However, he does have 4.46 speed and lead-back size at 213 pounds.
Vidal was immensely productive in his final year at Troy, rushing for 1,661 yards and 15 touchdowns in 14 games.
Regardless of Dobbins’ health, Vidal could open the season as the Chargers’ RB2, and that means he’d be one injury away from a fantasy-relevant role.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Blake Corum is probably too good to count as a pure stash. However, there is absolutely no one else on the Rams worth rostering outside of the obvious guys. I considered Demarcus Robinson, but he’s 30 years old. It would be disingenuous to call a guy who will be out of the league within three or four years a stash.
The Rams are committed to Kyren Williams as their lead back… for now. As we’ve seen in the past, head coach Sean McVay has no issue switching his allegiance at running back. If Williams gets hurt, Corum will get a chance to make serious inroads toward a fantasy-relevant role.
Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins
The dynasty community is well aware of Jaylen Wright’s potential. With 4.38 speed at 210 pounds, Wright is the perfect fit for head coach Mike McDaniels’ run scheme. His problem is there are two guys ahead of him who were very good last year in De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert.
Achane is not going anywhere but struggled with injuries as a rookie. Mostert is 32 years old and has also had difficulty staying healthy in the past. All it would take is for one of these guys to miss time for Wright to be on the fantasy radar. Throw Wright on your bench or taxi squad and see if he gets his chance to make an impact.
Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings really tried everything to avoid making Ty Chandler the guy. They pushed the replacement-level Alexander Mattison as the starter. When that didn’t work, they traded for Cam Akers, who they immediately installed as the RB2, pushing Chandler further down the depth chart.
It took injuries to both Akers and Mattison for Chandler to finally get a chance. When he did, he put up 24.7 fantasy points in his lone game with an 80% snap share.
Once again, though, the Vikings are trying to push Chandler down, bringing in Aaron Jones as their RB1.
Jones will be 30 years old this season and is coming off a year in which he dealt with a lingering hamstring strain. Chandler has no competition for the RB2 role. He’s one injury away from starting. Keep him on dynasty benches.
Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
The reports out of Saints training camp regarding Kendre Miller have not been good. It does not sound like he’s a threat to Alvin Kamara or even to Jamaal Williams as the RB2. Yet, he remains the best choice to stash on the Saints.
Miller is still just 22 years old. He was productive in college and has a three-down skill set. His problem is he can’t stay healthy.
Well, Kamara and Williams are both 29 years old. The Saints want Miller to be their lead runner. He just needs to prove he can do it. Right now, it doesn’t seem likely. But that also makes the cost to acquire Miller low. He’s still worth stashing to see what happens.
Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants
For the first time in five years, the Giants’ starting running back won’t be Saquon Barkley. This is uncharted territory for the modern Giants. Ambiguity spawns opportunity.
Devin Singletary is locked in as the team’s RB1… for now. As well as he played last season, Singletary isn’t exactly some otherworldly talent. He’s good enough. If someone else in this backfield steps up, that player could easily take Singletary’s job.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. may be a fifth-round pick, but he has 4.48 speed and weighs 209 pounds. He has the skill set to handle a heavy workload.
Given his draft capital, he’s fighting an uphill battle. That makes him cheap to acquire in dynasty. Throw him on your bench and hope for the best.
Braelon Allen, New York Jets
In a different location, Braelon Allen might be one of the more sought-after running backs from this year’s rookie class. Unfortunately, he landed on the Jets where he has absolutely no chance of overtaking Breece Hall as the starter.
Allen is a throwback bruiser, weighing a stout 235 pounds. Despite his size, he ran a 4.51 40-time. He’s currently the favorite to be the RB2 behind Hall. If Hall were to go down, Allen could step into RB2 value.
The long-term upside may not be apparent, but stranger things have happened. Allen is well worth stashing in dynasty leagues.
Elijah Mitchell, San Francisco 49ers
I considered putting Ricky Pearsall here, but it felt unfair, as he’s more than just a dynasty stash. Elijah Mitchell, though, is often forgotten because he’s behind Christian McCaffrey.
There is only one reason to stash Mitchell — benefiting from a CMC injury. Just two short years ago, McCaffrey was viewed as injury-prone. After playing in almost every game for two straight seasons, it seems fantasy managers may have forgotten how they felt about McCaffrey during his final two seasons in Carolina.
The RB1 for the 49ers is always going to be valuable in fantasy. Mitchell averaged 15.0 fantasy points per game as a sixth-round rookie in 2021. We already know he can do it. Stash him in the event he gets the chance to do it again.
