The Gut Check No.606: 3 UDFA RBs with Redraft and Dynasty Value

Photo: Imagn Images

When it comes to running backs, most will tell you that I'm your Huckleberry. This is especially true when searching for an underrated or obscure commodity at the position that could give you an edge for a week, a month, a season, or even a run of quality starts for the next 3-4 years.

You should be monitoring the bottom-dwelling commodities at RB. No NFL season is kind to the health of the running back position, and 2023 has decided to emphasize this point with a vengeance. As a result, fantasy GMs are seeking potential producers at every corner of a depth chart, and they're willing to take shots on options most would have never dreamed of having on their redraft squads in August.

Dynasty GMs are a little different. They know to learn what they can about the players at the bottom of NFL depth charts, and the really savvy managers in deep leagues monitor the practice squads on a regular basis.

You are my people.

Undrafted free agents (UDFAs) are often the fantasy bottom dwellers in running back rooms who can quickly emerge as viable producers. This week, I'm examining the NFL tape of three options:

• Chris Brooks - A back I've been touting for years as an underrated player to monitor.
• Emari Demercado - A popular waiver-wire commodity this week for an offense I recommended to consider for RB depth a few weeks ago.
• Jaleel McLaughlin - Denver's most productive RB for the past two weeks who I've been touting at the RSP and at Footballguys since January.

In addition to the film, I'll share my thoughts on their re-draft and dynasty value.

Chris Brooks

It's no shocker that Miami's running back room is hurting. De'Von Achane is a twitched-up rookie speedster on the light side of the RB equation. None of the physical aspects make him a significantly greater risk for injury, but rookie runners often get banged up early in their careers because the NFL game is more demanding on the body — even when your offensive line is opening highway-sized lanes with less traffic than you'd see at 3 a.m.

Raheem Mostert is an old twitched-up speedster whose reliability rating is on par with a Jaguar. Jeff Wilson, Jr. isn't a twitched-up speedster, but his reliability for staying on the field has only been moderately better.

While Wilson is returning soon enough that every fantasy site will tell you to get him and Salvon Ahmed, the shark play is Wilson and/or Brooks. Ahmed has burst but lacks breakaway speed, short-yardage power, or difference-making vision. He's a change-of-pace runner whose best work comes against underneath zones in space.

He could function in Achane's role, but not before the Dolphins try Mostert and probably a combination of Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill before settling on Ahmed. Even then, Ahmed probably earns a fraction of Achane's already small volume.

Ahmed lacks the power, footwork, and decision-making savvy of Wilson and Brooks to retain the I-Back role in this offense.

Although this analysis of Brooks below is against the Denver Broncos, the reason I've been your Huckleberry for unsung RBs for well over a decade is that I don't scout logos or box scores. Quality evaluation of individual talents is rooted in studying how players use techniques, concepts, and physical skills to create the potential for positive outcomes for themselves and/or their teammates.

Note it's not positive outcomes but the potential for positive outcomes because good processes produce more consistent outcomes than outcomes without good processes.

Watch Brooks you'll see a strong back with excellent size, underrated feet, and an outstanding feel for how to use his blocks to set up defenders and create rushing lanes.