When I reviewed the backs with the most rushing attempts in the red zone last year, I was surprised by some of the players who made the list.

And below are the spots these backs are being drafted in 2016 Fantasy Football leagues.

Only three of these backs are being drafted in Rounds 1-3. But, there’s good reason for that:

• Devonta Freeman: Players are worried Tevin Coleman will have a bigger role this year.
• Adrian Peterson: He’s a clear-cut starter, but Father Time is going to catch up to him eventually. Could it be this season?
• Jonathan Stewart: The 29-year old back hasn’t had a 16-game season since 2011.
• Jeremy Hill: After recording 1,124 rushing yards in 2014, Hill regressed with 794 in 2015.
• Chris Ivory: He may be stuck in a committee with T.J. Yeldon.
• Doug Martin: Some Fantasy players are expecting Charles Sims to be much more involved this season.
• DeAngelo Williams: We know he will start at least three games, but he needs Le’Veon Bell completely out of the lineup to be worth starting.
• Latavius Murray: Competition from rookie DeAndre Washington is scaring players away.
• Frank Gore: He’s a 33-year old running back who finished with less than 1,000 rushing yards for the first time since 2011.
• Chris Johnson: David Johnson is a first-round pick and Johnson is being completely ignored.

I’m not as worried about Freeman losing a significant amount of touches to Coleman, but I haven’t been targeting Freeman in any of my big leagues. I did draft him, however, in a Scout Draft-N-Go league.

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But outside of Freeman, I own all of those players except for Stewart in at least one of my leagues. I have targeted Stewart, but I wait too long and he is drafted before I get a chance to add him to my roster.

I like Ivory better in formats like MFL10s, but he could be in for a monster year if Yeldon is injured or the committee approach doesn’t work.

Here’s some strategies I like in terms of drafting these backs:

2016 Fantasy Football Running Back Drafting Strategies

Strategy #1: Draft Peterson in Round 2, Murray in Round 4, Hill in Round 6, Gore in Round 8, and Johnson in Round 16

Strategy #2: Martin in Round 2, Murray in Round 4, Stewart in Round 7, Williams in Round 8, and Johnson in Round 16

Strategy #3: Peterson in Round 2, Hill in Round 6, Stewart in Round 7, Williams in Round 8, and Ivory in Round 9

Strategy #4: Hill in Round 7, Stewart in Round 7, Gore in Round 8, and Johnson in Round 16

There’s endless possibilities, but those are some of the pairings I like the best. I know a lot of people look past Williams because he will only start three games right now, but keep in mind how valuable he was last season when Bell was injured.

There’s nothing that says Bell will be completely healthy this season or make it through most of the games. You also have to worry about if he fails another drug test.

These are jus a few of the running backs I think can provide maximum values. If you’d like to see players at every position that I think can help your team win a championship, check out my official Udemy class.

Categories: 2016 Fantasy Football Running Backs, Fantasy Football

Tags: 2016 Fantasy Football Running Back ADP, Fantasy Football 2016 Running Back Strategy, Fantasy Football Sleeper Running Backs 2016, Running Back ADP Value 2016