Fantasy Football Draft Targets: Aaron Jones, James Conner, Isiah Pacheco

Although running backs are given a bad name in the real NFL as a forgotten position amongst positions, a great running back can make or break your fantasy football draft and season. Most teams deal with committees at the running back position. So, finding the correct player within these committees to elevate your fantasy football team is the difference between possibly making the playoffs or winning it all. Here are all of our recent must-have fantasy football draft targets at the running back position. Below we dive into a few notable names.

Fantasy Football Draft Targets

Here are running backs to target at different stages of your fantasy football drafts. These are players to keep on your radar as potential fantasy football draft targets.

Aaron Jones (RB – MIN)

The Minnesota Vikings threw the ball 68.7% of the time inside the 20-yard line. They no longer have Kirk Cousins; instead, they will turn to Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy. That percentage will need to return to the norm, which is why the Vikings brought Aaron Jones into the mix.

From Week 15-20 last season, Aaron Jones showed he can still handle the load, averaging 21.6 touches per game. He also averaged 120.3 total yards. The Vikings need that type of production, and they don’t believe that Ty Chandler can produce such numbers, so Aaron Jones is here to help elevate this offense through the ground game with his league-best 35.9% stuff%*

*Stuff percentage is a percentage of carries that are “stuffed.” A “stuff” run is any run that does not result in a first down or touchdown, less than four yards on first down, or less than three yards on any other down.

Isiah Pacheco (RB – KC)

One of the biggest winners from the NFL Draft was Isiah Pacheco. The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t address the running back position, forcing us to fade Pacheco. Therefore, in 2024, expect more of his forceful runs to keep the defense honest against Patrick Mahomes and the gang.

Isiah Pacheco’s I5% sits at 60% while his stuff% is 13 best at 44.9%. Pacheco is a North/South runner, the type of runner I want on my fantasy team.

Whenever I can add a workhorse back who seems to gain positive yards on every touch, I run to the podium to draft them.

James Conner (RB – ARI)

Although James Conner is aging, in 2024, he can help you win your fantasy leagues. He sports the 10 best Stuff% while averaging 16 rushing attempts per game. The issue is most people consider him “injury-prone.” The problem is most running backs average 13-14 games a season due to injury. James Conner was right on average. Even with Trey Benson being drafted to Arizona, we believe he is a year away from truly taking the crown in Arizona.