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Draft Masters - FFL: Preseason | NFL: Week 1

RB Strength of Schedule

Thu Jun 2 10:47am ET
By JEFF PAUR
Sr Fantasy Writer

Related photo caption below

Williams setup for breakout year


Using our rules for our money leagues, we came up with a schedule strength ranking for the running back position. We are using our fantasy defenses report to calculate the rankings. This report can be found in all of our leagues under the "reports" heading. We took the schedule of each team and entered the average number of fantasy points allowed to running backs last season from all of their opponents to get our fantasy points allowed number. This is a good indication of the running backs with the most favorable schedules for fantasy scoring for the coming season.

  2022 RB SOS  
1. Atlanta Falcons 380.2
2. Houston Texans 382.1
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 384
4. Philadelphia Eagles 386.7
5. Cincinnati Bengals 388
6. New York Giants 392.5
7. Carolina Panthers 393.2
8. Las Vegas Raiders 394.1
9. Pittsburgh Steelers 395.7
10. Washington Commanders 396.7
11. Los Angeles Chargers 397.3
12. Los Angeles Rams 397.8
13. San Francisco 49ers 398.2
14. Minnesota Vikings 398.5
15. Dallas Cowboys 399
16. New York Jets 399.2
17. New Orleans Saints 400.9
18. Seattle Seahawks 401.3
19. Kansas City Chiefs 401.4
20. Tennessee Titans 401.6
21. Baltimore Ravens 401.9
22. Green Bay Packers 404
23. Indianapolis Colts 404.7
24. Jacksonville Jaguars 405.8
25. Arizona Cardinals 406.8
26. Cleveland Browns 407
27. Detroit Lions 407.3
28. Buffalo Bills 410.6
29. New England Patriots 411.2
30. Denver Broncos 413.3
31. Chicago Bears 417.3
32. Miami Dolphins 421.2


The Dolphins have the best schedule for fantasy running backs this coming year. The problem is you just aren’t sure the back that will lead that team in carries. But these guys might be worth taking a chance on because of this schedule. Whoever emerges could be a productive fantasy asset. David Montgomery is intriguing on a team that lacks weapons in the passing game and gets the second easiest schedule for fantasy backs. Montgomery might have his best season to date. Javonte Williams is pegged as a breakout candidate by many and having the third most favorable fantasy schedule for running backs makes that even more of a possibility. The Patriots have a host of backs that should get carries and could all produce well with their favorable running back schedule. And the Bills duo of Devin Singletary and rookie James Cook could do some damage this year. 

Running backs with challenging fantasy running back schedules include Cordarrelle Patterson, Leonard Fournette, Miles Sanders and Joe Mixon. Patterson is one guy that is a concern because of his finish to last year, stumbling at the end of the season after a great start. And now Patterson gets the most challenging fantasy schedule for running backs. Fournette is setup for more work with Ronald Jones gone, but that might not lead to a lot more fantasy points with this schedule. Lastly, Saquon Barkley has been a bust in recent years and his team has the sixth toughest schedule for fantasy backs. Barkley could have more tough sledding this year. 

Take a close look at this entire ranking when figuring out your fantasy rankings for the coming season.

We also wanted to look at playoff schedules for fantasy running backs. So we crunched the numbers of all the schedules from Weeks 14-17, which is the fantasy playoffs for most leagues. We know you have to get to the playoffs first, but knowing the running backs with the easiest playoff schedules doesn’t hurt by any means, especially in the big money contests. 

  2022 RB PLAYOFF SOS  
1. Los Angeles Chargers 345.7
2. Houston Texans 364.5
3. Atlanta Falcons 368.8
4. Cleveland Browns 369.3
5. Philadelphia Eagles 372.9
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 376
7. Cincinnati Bengals 378.5
8. Green Bay Packers 380.3
9. Denver Broncos 384.5
10. Pittsburgh Steelers 388.9
11. New York Giants 390.5
12. Las Vegas Raiders 394
13. Arizona Cardinals 395.3
14. Dallas Cowboys 397.2
15. New Orleans Saints 400.7
16. Minnesota Vikings 403.7
17. Miami Dolphins 404.1
18. Washington Commanders 407.5
19. New England Patriots 407.9
20. Tennessee Titans 409.4
21. Chicago Bears 412.6
22. Indianapolis Colts 415.8
23. Baltimore Ravens 416.7
24. Los Angeles Rams 418.3
25. Jacksonville Jaguars 419.6
26. Seattle Seahawks 424.5
27. Kansas City Chiefs 424.7
28. Detroit Lions 425.2
29. New York Jets 430.6
30. Buffalo Bills 433.2
31. San Francisco 49ers 433.3
32. Carolina Panthers 442.6


Christian McCaffrey has big injury concerns, but his celling is as high as any back in the game. He also has the easiest fantasy playoff schedule for running backs. This makes him a huge risk/reward pick for fantasy teams. McCaffrey could be a difference maker in the playoffs if he can stay on the field. Elijah Mitchell is another intriguing back for the coming year, getting a chance to start from day one and having the second most favorable fantasy schedule for running backs. Rookie Breece Hall is expected to be the Jets lead back and could have a great finish to his season with a very favorable schedule to end things. And D’Andre Swift has a favorable regular and playoff fantasy schedule. Swift is another back that battles injury issues, but could be a monster this year if he can stay on the field all season. 

There are many repeat teams near the top of the list of the toughest fantasy running back schedules, including the Texans, Falcons and Eagles. You might just want to steer clear of players on these teams. Things might not work out well for them. The team with the toughest fantasy running back schedule in the playoffs, though, is the Chargers. Austin Ekeler is a top-five draft pick this year. He gets a ton of work in the passing game, so having a tough running back schedule isn’t a huge concern. But it is something to keep in mind when picking early in drafts. If you are debating between Ekeler and another high-profile back, you might want to lean the other way because of this playoff schedule.  

Jeff Paur is a two-time finalist for FSWA Fantasy Football Writer of the Year and won the FSWA award for Best Fantasy Football Article on the Web in 2011. He also was the most accurate expert in 2012, winning the FSTA Fantasy Football Accuracy Award. If you have any questions for Jeff, email him at jeff@rtsports.com. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffpaur.

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Jordan Travis May 3 8:20pm ET
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New York Jets rookie quarterback Jordan Travis (ankle), who was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round last week, won't take part in offseason workouts but should be cleared for training camp at the end of July, according to head coach Robert Saleh. The Jets took the Florida State star as a developmental prospect who can learn behind Aaron Rodgers and veteran backup Tyrod Taylor. Travis suffered a gruesome, season-ending ankle injury on Nov. 18 and required surgery. He rode a stationary bike on Friday during part of practice. "He's a tremendously talented young man and extremely gifted, especially athletically. He's got a lot of work to do for sure, especially with tying his lower half to his arm and all that good stuff, but he's a gifted athlete," Saleh said. Travis threw for 8,643 yards and 65 touchdowns while finishing his career with 17 straight wins for the Seminoles.

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Tyreek Hill May 3 5:13pm ET
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Malachi Corley May 3 4:50pm ET
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Dawuane Smoot May 3 4:30pm ET
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The Buffalo Bills signed linebacker Deion Jones and defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot on Friday, according to NFL.com. The team moved on from several veterans on both sides of the ball this offseason, so Jones and Smoot could compete for playing time in 2024. Jones, a former second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, earned Pro Bowl honors in 2017, but he hasn't lived up to his breakout campaign. In 109 games with the Falcons, Browns, and Panthers, he has racked up 731 tackles, 12 sacks, five forced fumbles, and 13 interceptions. Smoot, a former Jaguars third-round pick, spent the first seven seasons of his career with Jacksonville and compiled 23.5 sacks through his first 99 games.

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Aaron Rodgers May 3 3:10pm ET
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Jalen Tolbert May 3 3:00pm ET
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Daniel Bellinger May 3 2:30pm ET
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Mac Jones May 3 2:30pm ET
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Jayden Daniels May 3 2:20pm ET
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Eric Gray May 3 2:20pm ET
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Najee Harris May 3 1:13pm ET
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Eric Stokes May 2 11:50pm ET
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The Green Bay Packers declined the fifth-year option for cornerback Eric Stokes on Thursday, according to a source. The 29th overall pick in 2021 out of Georgia, Stokes played well in his rookie season but has battled injuries the last two years. He will now be slated for free agency next spring and can make a case for a big payday if he can stay healthy in 2024. The 25-year-old played in 16 games (14 starts) as a rookie in 2021 and had a career-high 55 tackles (43 solo), an interception and 14 passes defended. However, he's played in just 12 games (11 starts) since then and has 26 solo tackles in that time. Stokes played in just three games last season. Despite his injuries the last two years, he's expected to be a starting cornerback for Green Bay in 2024 if he's healthy.

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Caleb Farley May 2 11:40pm ET
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The Tennessee Titans plan to decline the fifth-year option on cornerback Caleb Farley (back), according to a source. It was the expected move for the Titans after Farley played in just 12 games (two starts) since 2021. The former 22nd overall pick in 2021 out of Virginia Tech will now hit the free-agent market after the 2024 season. Farley missed all of the 2023 campaign due to a back injury and has a total of 14 tackles (13 solo) and one pass defended in his 12 games with the Titans in 2021 and 2022. The 25-year-old defensive back will be trying to stay on the field in 2024 with Tennessee and be productive in what is now his walk year before hitting the open market next spring.

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The Los Angeles Chargers have signed free agent wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. to a one-year, $5 million contract, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Chark reportedly visited with the Chargers prior to last week's NFL Draft. He could play a key role in Los Angeles after the team parted with both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason. Right now, their current depth chart is headlined by Chark, Quentin Johnston, and Joshua Palmer, as well as up-and-coming rookies Ladd McConkey and Brenden Rice. Chark spent last season with the Carolina Panthers, catching 35 passes for 525 yards and five touchdowns over the course of 15 games. While the Chargers lack a true alpha receiver at the moment, they have plenty of raw talent at the position, which could make it difficult for Chark to carve out a role. For now, fantasy managers should monitor his performance throughout training camp before they consider selecting him in drafts later this summer.

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Rondale Moore May 2 10:50pm ET
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Kadarius Toney May 2 10:30pm ET
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The Kansas City Chiefs have declined their fifth-year option on wide receiver Kadarius Toney, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. By doing so, the Chiefs will opt against bringing Toney back for $14.345 million in 2025. Instead, he'll finish out his rookie contract in Kansas City this season before hitting free agency next March. Toney had a fifth-year option due to his status as a former first-round pick. He has been a massive disappointment since the Giants selected him in the 2021 NFL Draft. Toney totaled 760 receiving yards, 119 rushing yards, and four total touchdowns through his first three seasons, and he also struggled to stay healthy, playing in just 12 games for the Giants and 20 for the Chiefs. He remains an inferior receiver to Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, and Xavier Worthy, leaving Toney on waivers in most redraft leagues.

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