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May’s Top 5 Rookie RBs for Building Your Dynasty
Are you looking to build a dynasty in fantasy football? Check out May’s Top 5 Rookie RBs based on RotoHeat’s Dynasty Rookie Rankings to see who could be the future TE for your team for years to come.
With the NFL draft in the rearview mirror, we finally get the opportunity to look at the 2023 rookie class with draft capital and landing spot in place. The Top 5 Rookie RBs in this article are the consensus ranking from Brad, Kraig, Thomas, and myself.
As noted these Top 5 Rookie RBs are based on our Rankings. Click the links for our full, up-to-date, Dynasty SuperFlex Rookie Rankings (2023) and our 1QB PPR Dynasty Rookie Rankings (2023) over on the website.
Top 5 Rookie RB #1: Bijan Robinson – Atlanta Falcons
Bijan Robinson at the top of the rankings should come as no surprise. Everywhere you look this offseason Bijan is mocked to be the 1.01 in rookie drafts regardless of format.
Selected with the eighth pick in the draft, Robinson has the draft capital we seek, and being selected by Atlanta he has a favorable landing spot as well. Atlanta likes to run the ball. They led the league in rush attempts, were third in total yards, and fourth in yards per carry at
Adding Bijan should do nothing but elevate those numbers. Robinson’s lateral agility and elusiveness are special. He plays with great pace and balance and frequently makes defenders miss in tight, confined spaces. His balance is next level and it plays a significant part in his success because even when defenders are able to make contact with him, he tends to bounce off of them and continues to work up the field to pick up positive yardage.
Top 5 Rookie RB #2: Jahmyr Gibbs – Detroit Lions
Jahmyr Gibbs was projected to be a late-round one, early-round two pick in the NFL Draft. The Detroit Lions decided he was worthy of the 12th selection. It’s a reach in my opinion, but hey nobody in the Lions organization called me prior to making the selection.
Gibbs is a rock-solid prospect and one that all four rankers here at RotoHeat have ranked 2nd overall in our rookie rankings. Gibbs possesses great hands and should be a great weapon in the Lions passing game. He can evade tackles at the line and turn on a dime, then show off his speed by bursting to the second and third level of the defense. Gibbs has been compared to backs like Jamaal Charles, Christain McCaffrey, and Alvin Kamara. Pretty good company to keep. Should Gibbs reach that level of productivity you will be one happy dynasty manager.
Top 5 Rookie RB #3: Kendre Miller – New Orleans Saints
Every year there are a few rookies that I find myself developing a fantasy crush on, this year my list includes New Orleans Saints RB Kendre Miller. Fresh a 1,500-yard from scrimmage season at TCU, Miller is poised to be a significant contributor for the Saints.
Kendre Miller’s 6’0″, 210-pound frame should help him succeed in the NFL. The biggest knock on Miller’s game is that he isn’t active in the passing game. He caught only 29 passes in 3 seasons at TCU, while those 29 receptions went for 229 yards and 1 score, that isn’t something that will really help out fantasy players in PPR formats. I’m targeting Kedre Miller at the beginning of the second of 1QB rookie drafts and in the middle of the second in Superflex rookie drafts.
Top 5 Rookie RB #4: Devone Achane
Devone Achane just happens to be another of my 2023 rookie fantasy crushes this season. Speed is the name of his game, he possesses game-breaking speed with the ability to turn any play into a trip to the house. After being selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 84th pick in the NFL Draft, Achane finds himself in an offense that leverages the speed of its players. In addition to his speed, he cuts well, is very elusive, and has great vision.
Achane is pound-for-pound one of the best backs in this draft class. Now nobody ever calls a big man the best pound-for-pound anything. Size matters at the running back position and size is the one area in which Achane does not excel. Achane is listed at 185 pounds, historically fantasy-relevant running backs are 200+. Despite his size, I am still all in on the former Aggie. He is the type of player I see being an outlier at the NFL level.
Top 5 Rookie RB #5: Zach Charbonnet – Seattle Seahawks
Rounding out May’s Top 5 Rookie RBs for Building Your Dynasty is Zach Charbonnet. I must really like this running back class because Charbonnet is another crush of mine. I had him as my RB3 before the draft and after being selected by Seattle with the 52nd pick in the draft he slides to RB5.
I don’t want to make too much about the landing spot, but compared to the backs above him in this article, it’s hard to ignore. The collective groan from the fantasy community, when Charbonnet landed in Seattle was deafening. I am a fan of Kenneth Walker as well, but the presence of both these talented backs caps their upside for fantasy production barring injury.
Both backs have similar skill sets, and the one area in that Charbonnet is likely to surpass Walker is the passing game. He has good hands and is a solid route runner. He projects as a back with the upside to become a 40-catch back at the NFL level and that keeps Charbonnet on the list of backs I am happy to add to my dynasty rosters.
Thank you for reading May’s Top 5 Rookie RBs for Building Your Dynasty
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