Jonathan Taylor Leads The Way For Second Year Running Backs

• Jonathan Taylor’s rushing total is set at 1275.5 yards.
• Cam Akers is listed as RB10 this season with his rushing yard total at 1100.5 yards.
• J.K. Dobbins' rushing yard total is 1050.5 yards.
• Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s yard total is set at 900.5 yards.

LAS VEGAS — The NFL regular season is just under 9 weeks away and that means that the fantasy football draft season is even closer. One of the major storylines of fantasy drafts this year is which second-year running backs in the league will see a rise in their fantasy value.

With that, online sportsbooks have rushing yard totals for different second-year running backs such as Jonathan Taylor, Cam Akers, J.K. Dobbins, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire in which fantasy owners can use to get a hold of how high their value is projected to be.

2021 Running Back ADP

• ADP #5 - Jonathan Taylor
• ADP #15 - Cam Akers
• ADP #27 - J.K. Dobbins
• ADP #31 - Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Jonathan Taylor Fantasy Value

Jonathan Taylor Rushing Yard Total

• Over 1275.5 Yards -115
• Under 1275.5 Yards -115

Starting with Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, no other second-year runningback back has higher expectations than him. He is going into the season as RB7 on different fantasy boards being that the Colts have made it clear that he will be their RB1 come Week 1.

The Colts offensive line is believed to be amongst the best in the league will certainly help him hit his NFL player prop. Even with some late-season injuries in 2020, the Colts finished as the seventh-ranked line in the league last year.

With a new injury-prone quarterback in Carson Wentz, it is hard to imagine this offense not running the ball to take some pressure off of him.

Taylor came close to hitting his Over mark putting up 1,169 rushing yards last year. In 2021, he will be given all the trust being that Nyheim Hines is primarily used as the Colts passing down back and Marlon Mack is coming off of a torn ACL.

Cam Akers Fantasy Value

Cam Akers Rushing Yard Total

• Over 1100.5 Yards -115
• Under 1100.5 Yards -115

Cam Akers has been named the Los Angeles Rams RB1 and he is ready to take off with this opportunity. Akers' fantasy value has skyrocketed now that the Rams have moved on from a three-back committee leaving him as the clear-cut number one option.

Akers’ backfield mates include Darrell Henderson who is questionable to start the season after coming off of IR and Xavier Jones who has not seen the field yet in his career. Also, the Rams offensive line was the third-best in the league in 2020.

There is no taking away that Akers fantasy value is high this year due to the depth behind him, however, bettors should not be running to take his Over. Rams offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell, comes from a background of being a quarterback coach and with an upgrade at QB1 this season in Matthew Stafford, O’Connell will look to utilize him the best way he knows how.

J.K. Dobbins Fantasy Value

J.K. Dobbins Rushing Yard Total

• Over 1050.5 Yards -120
• Under 1050.5 Yards -110

With the Baltimore Ravens having one of the more explosive offenses in the NFL, many would think that J.K. Dobbins is in line to have himself a nice second-year bounce. However, since 2014, only two Ravens running backs have gone Over 1,000 rushing yards with Justin Forsett in 2014 and Mark Ingram in 2019.

With the Ravens running game led by Lamar Jackson, who rushed for his second consecutive 1,000+ rushing yard season in 2020, Dobbins’ leap could come, but not as high as many would have thought.

Hurting both his fantasy value and odds on hitting the Over as well is also that offensive coordinator, Greg Roman is known for his offensive schemes in the passing game and quarterback game having been a tight end and quarterback coach for six seasons.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Fantasy Value

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Rushing Yard Total

• Over 900.5 Yards -115
• Under 900.5 Yards -115

There is no hiding that the Kansas City Chiefs offense is arguably the most efficient in the NFL with Patrick Mahomes leading the way. However, Mahomes could be the brick wall that stands in front of Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s production being that he is the best QB in the league right now.

Something that bettors should take into consideration though is that his rushing yard total is set lower than the rest of the running backs on this list. With that, CEH put up 803 yards last season and now with an extra game added to the season, his total is more than reasonable to hit.

As for his NFL fantasy value, although Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce handle the bulk of offensive snaps, this could open up lanes for CEH up the middle of the field all season long with the defensive focus on the outside.