4 Running Back Sleepers

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Sleepers and busts can massively tilt your fantasy football season in any direction, as we know. 

You can just as easily win your league if you pick the sleepers that burst into the top tier as if you pick league-winning production in your first pick, which makes researching your quarterback, pass catcher, tight end, and running back sleepers of paramount importance.

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Every year, there are players who go outside the top 20 for whatever reason, and picking the correct sleepers out of the rest can go a long way. Using our Footballguys' Average Draft Position and Rankings tools, I'll identify some of my favorite running back sleeper candidates in fantasy drafts this season.

To be clear, we define sleepers as players who we think will perform better than most expect and be undervalued at their average draft position.

RB Sleeper: Tyjae Spears, Tennessee (ADP: RB34)

Relegated in his rookie season to backing up Derrick Henry and giving him breathers on passing downs, Spears didn't get to show his full range of talents that had him drafted on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, but he should get that chance this season. Spears and Tony Pollard will helm the new-look Titans' backfield. But Spears, who has gotten consistent positive buzz all preseason according to our Footballguys Preseason Reports, will have plenty of opportunities to show his skills.

Spears truly looks the part as a running back who could work on all three downs, as he showed his potential last season by posting a 26.3% Juke Rate (4th in NFL), a 7% Breakaway Run Rate (5th), and 4.58 Yards Created per Touch, courtesy of Player Profiler. He is going eight spots behind Pollard but deserves to be right there next to him, as he should outperform his ADP.

RB Sleeper: Chase Brown, Cincinnati (ADP: RB35)

The case for Brown all offseason long has been relatively simple: he's younger than Zack Moss, who the Bengals brought in ostensibly to replace the departed Joe Mixon, and he carries more passing-down upside than the former Bill. Sure enough, as the summer went along, Brown has garnered more and more time spent running with the first team in preseason and training camp, and while Brown's ADP has risen, he's still going five slots behind Moss' according to Footballguys' ADP and qualifies as a sleeper for me.

Brown made a living on a few big plays last season. While he didn't see much work, he still put up a very respectable 0.91 Fantasy Points per Opportunity score, ranking 12th among RBs in 2023. The former Illini back is someone you should be targeting as your third or fourth back, and he can provide flex value right out of the gate.