With 2023 Fantasy football draft prep underway, running back has been a popular topic of discussion. Top running backs like Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley failed to secure long-term contracts this offseason, potentially setting up bitter contract disputes. However, depth at running back remains a top priority in the 2023 Fantasy football rankings and the next-man-up nature of the position demands that you attack RB early and often with your 2023 Fantasy football picks. Who are the under-the-radar running backs you can use to build a deep roster capable of surviving inevitable Fantasy football injuries at the position? Who are the 2023 Fantasy football sleepers you should target in the 2023 Fantasy football PPR rankings?
Before crafting your 2023 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2023 Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Cowboys running back Tony Pollard would dramatically outperform his eighth-round Fantasy football ADP in PPR leagues. The result: Pollard supplanted Ezekiel Elliott as the most productive option in the Dallas backfield and finished the season with 1,378 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns. He finished as the No. 8 running back in PPR formats and finished ahead of Aaron Jones and Dalvin Cook, who both had top-10 overall ADPs.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, also identifying A.J. Brown as another sleeper in 2020 and players like Julio Jones and JuJu Smith-Schuster as Fantasy football busts last season. Additionally, it's called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.
The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The 2023 Fantasy football PPR rankings and 2023 Fantasy football standard rankings update multiple times daily, so you're always getting the best Fantasy football advice.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2023, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2023 Fantasy football sleepers
One of the 2023 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Cardinals running back James Conner. The veteran had nearly 1,100 total yards and eight touchdowns in his second year in the desert. However, he had 18 total touchdowns the prior year, with similar yardage, as he went from the RB5 in 2021 to the RB19 in 2022.
With quarterback Kyler Murray (knee) unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2023 season, the Cardinals will lean on the run game. Conner stepped up when Murray was hurt last year, as he scored six touchdowns across six games in which Murray was injured. Also, the team made no major offseason additions to the running back position and drafted a road-grading offensive lineman in the first round to help with the run game. Conner is slotted as a top-15 Fantasy back per the model, which puts him ahead of Najee Harris, despite the latter having an earlier 2023 Fantasy football ADP.
Another sleeper that SportsLine's Fantasy football rankings 2023 have identified: Broncos running back Javonte Williams. A second-round pick out of North Carolina in the 2021 NFL Draft, Williams made waves as a rookie by out-touching veteran Melvin Gordon and piled up 1,219 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns.
The Broncos had designs on Williams being their top option in 2022, but his season was cut short by a torn ACL. He should be recovered in time for Week 1 and there aren't any clear challenges to his status as the No. 1 back for 2023. Denver's offense should also be generally upgraded as they transition from Nathaniel Hackett to new head coach Sean Payton, which is why the model ranks Williams as its RB21 despite the fact that he's been the 29th back off the board on average. See which other Fantasy football sleepers 2023 to pick here.
How to find proven 2023 Fantasy football football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a surprising running back you aren't even thinking about being taken in the middle rounds of 2023 Fantasy football drafts. This running back is listed as a shocking top-10 option ahead of superstars like Jonathan Taylor and Joe Mixon. You can only see who it is, and the 2023 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2023 Fantasy Football sleepers should you target? And which RB shocks the NFL with a top-10 performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2023 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Tony Pollard's huge season, and find out.
