Fantasy Football Rankings: Awesemo’s Top Three Running Backs for 2020

With the start of the NFL season rapidly approaching, it also means we are getting closer to prime fantasy football drafting season. We have all of the information that you’ll need to help take home the crown in your league, including our position-by-position fantasy football rankings. Let’s dive into our top three running backs and discuss their potential outlooks moving forward. All rankings are based on half-PPR scoring.


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Awesemo’s Fantasy Football Rankings: Top Three Running Backs

1. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers

Simply put, McCaffrey was a monster for the Panthers and fantasy managers alike last season. He carried the ball a career-high 287 times, resulting in 1,387 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. That alone is a great campaign. However, he was also deadly in the passing game, catching 116-of-142 targets for 1,005 yards and four more touchdowns. One of the keys with McCaffrey is that he rarely came off the field, playing 93.4% of their offensive snaps.

The Panthers underwent a significant change at quarterback, signing Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year contract. He’s not exactly an air-it-out quarterback, never averaging more than 224.5 passing yards per game in his career. The Panthers offense should once again be squarely on the shoulders of McCaffrey, leaving him with an Awesemo projection of 323.1 fantasy points scored this season. McCaffrey is the #1 option in Awesemo’s 2020 fantasy football rankings.

2. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys

Elliott was a rock for the Cowboys last year, playing in all 16 games. He amassed 301 rushing attempts, marking the third time in the last four years in which he has recorded at least 300 attempts. He finished with 1,357 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, both of which were stellar numbers for fantasy managers who were lucky enough to have drafted him. If there was an area of disappointment, it was his involvement in the passing game. He received 71 targets, which was down from 95 in 2018. He did make the most of his opportunities at least, catching 54 passes for 420 yards and two scores.

Heading into the 2020 season, Elliott is once again poised for a huge role. The Cowboys also have an extremely dangerous wide receiver trio of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb, which means opposing defenses won’t be able to key in on stopping the run. It also means that the Cowboys likely won’t have problems moving the ball, leaving Elliott with plenty of opportunities to score touchdowns. He already led the league last year with 61 red zone rushing attempts. His Awesemo fantasy points projection of 257.6 is a significant step down from McCaffrey, but it still means that he’s poised to be a difference maker in leagues. Elliott is the #1 option in Awesemo’s 2020 fantasy football rankings.


Mike Barner details Awesemo’s top-three RBs in our 2020 fantasy football rankings.

More Fantasy Football Rankings


3. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

The 2019 season was a year of change for the Giants with Daniel Jones taking over at quarterback for the now-retired Eli Manning. Another change that the Giants had to deal with last season was Barkley missing time with an ankle injury. He ended up missing three games and didn’t exactly look like himself in a few games even upon his return. He did at least finish the season strong, rushing for 393 yards and four touchdowns across the last three games. Also, he chipped in 11 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown during that stretch.

Heading into 2020, Barkley hopes that he can stay healthy and benefit from a full season of the more dangerous Jones under center. The Giants don’t have the flashiest of names at wide receiver, but the trio of Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate and Darius Slayton is nothing to shake a stick at, especially when you also add in Evan Engram at tight end. The Giants also took steps to fortify their offensive line during the offseason, drafting standout tackle Andrew Thomas. All of that could add up to a big season for Barkley, who checks in just behind Elliott with an Awesemo projection of 250.3 fantasy points. Barkley is the #1 option in Awesemo’s 2020 fantasy football rankings.

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Author
I’ve been covering fantasy sports since 2007. Along my journey, I’ve contributed to companies including SportsLine, RotoWire, Sports Illustrated and DraftKings. My passion for fantasy sports began by playing in traditional season-long leagues and has expanded into DFS and sports handicapping. In 2018, I was a finalist for the 2018 FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. You can contact me by e-mailing [email protected].

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