Every year, fantasy managers are burned by a running back (or a few), and it pushes them to vow against drafting those players ever again. Some even swear off drafting an RB until the double-digit rounds altogether. Whether through injury or ineffectiveness, nothing tilts us harder than a disappointing RB. On the other side of that coin are the bounce-back RBs, the redemption stories. We didn’t trust Jamaal Williams this time last year, and he put up 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2022. Every alarm of sensibility told us we couldn’t let another Saquon Barkley injury crush our spirits. He was RB5 overall in PPR and now is awaiting his fair compensation. It’s ok to close your eyes and plug your nose to select an RB. We play a game with an insane amount of variable factors and random luck. If you take the plunge with these four RBs, their painful 2022 season has good odds of making you smile in 2023.
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4 Bounce-Back Running Backs
Javonte Williams (DEN)
The Broncos have a star in former North Carolina product Javonte Williams. His terrible knee injury last season came on the heels of a thunderous breakout. Javonte’s fantasy upside didn’t die. In fact, his recovery has gone better than expected, and he enters camp without the dreaded Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) designation. The Broncos need a return to play from Williams so as not to need to lean on the very mediocre Samaje Perine for too long. After an understandably slow start, I expect a massive return to form by midseason for the young Tarheel in what should be a balanced and effective Sean Payton offense.
James Cook (BUF)
To be fair, James Cook didn’t necessarily disappoint many last season. His ADP was well into the later rounds, with his role as a rookie far from hashed out in the powerful Buffalo offense. Those responsibilities still really didn’t get off the ground in 2022. Devin Singletary was an inefficient mess, and the Zack Moss–Nyheim Hines team swap only landed the Bills a better punt returner. Still, Cook was underutilized in all but two games where he cracked the top-15 RBs in PPR. Known as an electric receiver and smooth operator in space, Cook’s target share was alarmingly low in Ken Dorsey’s offense, and they were hard-pressed to find big plays outside of Stefon Diggs‘ marvelous form on the outside. Look for an expanded role as a receiving weapon this season, especially since Singletary was replaced by Damien Harris this season. Cook is plenty good enough to put up some huge PPR performances.
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