Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jordan Mason, and Three More Running Back Sleepers to Target in Fantasy Football Drafts

We covered what it means to be a “sleeper” yesterday in our quarterback article, so I won't bore you with the details again today. But in a nutshell, we landed on a sleeper being a player with upside who has a clear path to significantly outperforming their ADP.

There is no shortage of running backs who are set up to outperform their ADP, but there are five sticking out to me right now as I look through our preseason rankings. You can get most of these players toward the middle-to-end of your draft, so let’s dive in and take a look at the running back sleepers you should be targeting in your fantasy football drafts.

RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders

Jacory Croskey-Merritt is easily the buzziest player in the fantasy community right now and has gained more draft momentum than any seventh-round draft pick in recent memory. With Brian Robinson on the trade block and Austin Ekeler battling Father Time, Croskey-Merritt has a chance to step into a starting role for the Commanders. Currently ranked around RB50, Jacory (Bill) Croskey-Merritt has the most upside of any sleeper on this list as he could immediately become a weekly fantasy starter if things fall into place for him.

RB Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings

Mason is currently being drafted in the RB30-35 range, which is probably where he deserves to be. However, he’s one Aaron Jones injury away from becoming a weekly RB2 like he was for a period of time last season when Christian McCaffrey went down with injury. Mason was an absolute stud during the first month of 2024 and hit the 100-yard rushing mark in three of his first four games. He’ll also be playing in another high-powered offense with the Vikings this season, and will still have some value even if Jones stays healthy all year. And if anything happens to Jones, Mason will have no trouble improving his draft value by at least 10 positional spots.

RB J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos

The R.J. Harvey hype train was full-steam back in April and May, but it’s gone off the tracks since Dobbins was signed by the Broncos. While Dobbins has had some not-great injury history, he’s still just 26 years old and put up 905 rushing yards with nine touchdowns in a relative timeshare last season. Harvey will obviously figure into the equation in Denver, but Dobbins is currently being drafted in the RB35 range and has the potential to return top-25 value. The former Raven and Charger is currently more of a flex option, but he could easily become a weekly RB2 if Harvey experiences any injury issues.

RB Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears

We’ll have to keep an eye on roster cuts here as there have been rumors that the Bears might release Roschon Johnson and elevate Monangai to the backup running back role. Like Mason, he’s a bit of a David Montgomery-type and could fill that role to begin the season in head coach Ben Johnson’s offense. And if injury-prone D’Andre Swift misses time, Monangai stands to inherit a high-value role in Johnson’s aggressive attack. Currently sitting at RB60 in our running back rankings, the seventh-round pick provides a high-ceiling at minimal draft capital. The Bears rookie is an easy pick-to-click at the end of your draft.

RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns

It feels strange to call Judkins a sleeper considering his second-round draft spot, but his off-the-field situation has inserted some uncertainty to his situation. While there’s obviously a massive risk in drafting Judkins considering he could be facing a suspension (and still hasn’t signed a contract), there’s also quite a bit of upside if things fall into place the right way. Judkins is currently ranked as low as RB40 on some rankings sites, but would likely be ranked in the RB15-20 range if we knew he’d be playing all season. If Judkins plummets in your draft, he’s a very worthwhile lottery ticket as the Browns don’t have much in terms of running back talent.