One of the finest traditions in fantasy during the social media era has been the way we all unite as a collective to excoriate the NFL coaches who refuse to give every possible touch to our pet players.
For years, we raged at Melvin Gordon and the succession of coordinators who continued to use him in tandem with younger, flashier runners. We raged about Thomas Jones. We raged about Mark Ingram. We raged about Willis McGahee.
And in our rage, friendships were forged. Truly, the cycle of rage and renewal is one of the greatest aspects of the fantasy experience.
Each season, some way-too-familiar veteran running back becomes the target of our collective fury, as does his head coach or OC. Our mission today is to rank and tier these potential fantasy buzzkills. As I see it, there are two who stand out from the rest…
TIER ONE
- Rhamondre Stevenson
- J.K. Dobbins
These situations are going to get ugly immediately within the fantasy community, possibly before camp season is behind us. There is simply no way these two veteran backs — who are only 27 and 26 years old respectively — will not have recurring roles. And all of you know it’s gonna happen. There is zero doubt. TreVeyon Henderson and R.J. Harvey are definitely not stepping into 300-touch workloads, not if things go according to plan. Few modern NFL teams intend to operate that way.
Let’s please not make it weird for Dobbins with a bunch of #freeRJ tweets.
TIER TWO
- Travis Etienne
- Najee Harris (and/or other weird vet)
Etienne was actually a well-hyped young player just three seasons ago, as was Tank Bigsby the following year. But those guys are clearly now dust. JAGs. Washed. Any carry not belonging to Bhayshul Tuten will be treated as an act of criminal negligence.
TIER THREE
- Jerome Ford
- Braelon Allen
- Javonte Williams
- Rachaad White
The only reason Allen wasn’t placed in a higher tier is because I’m not totally sure if the hipsters think he’s blocking Breece Hall, or if Hall is blocking him. You guys are wild. (Hall is irrefutably very good. Allen is fine, too. Definitely gonna play.)
Williams was everyone’s favorite missed-tackle machine just a couple seasons ago, but he is now almost indistinguishable from late-stage Melvin. Life comes at you fast (but Javonte does not).
TIER FOUR
- Aaron Jones
- David Montgomery
- D’Andre Swift
- Tyler Allgeier
- Rico Dowdle
- Ollie Gordon
Any or all of these players could be slotted in a higher tier, but five of them are vets who are undeniably useful — not spectacular, but useful. The sixth is a promising, 225-pound bulldozing rookie…
Awesome first run for Ollie Gordon pic.twitter.com/dWJjHv8mzf
— Jake (@FinsCentral) August 10, 2025
…who might just become a huge nuisance to anyone drafting De’Von Achane. We can be sure that someone will emerge to annoy the Achanists. You have been warned. Ollie might just be something like a slower, beefier Mostert, in the best possible way.