Zach Charbonnet (RB3)
Charbonnet is big, strong, and fast. He looks like a prototypical running back when you watch him play. I’m not knocking the talent here, he’s got that in droves. What worries me about him is that he tends to need open space to make plays.
In today’s NFL ,space is at a premium and I’m worried that Charbonnet’s lack of quickness through the hole could be an issue. He could prove me wrong, but at RB3 I’d rather go a different direction knowing what we know at the moment.
Ultimately that’s what it comes down to. Drafting Charbonnet as the 3rd running back off the board is just a little too risky for my liking. The fact that we don’t yet know what offensive scheme he’ll be a part of worries me too. He’s definitely a first-round dynasty rookie talent, and I wouldn’t mind having him on my roster, but there are other running backs I prefer that are going after him in the early mocks I’m seeing.
Devon Achane (RB4)
Achine is currently ranked 4th in ECR right behind Charbonnet. Again, I don’t hate the talent, I just don’t love the value. Achane is smaller than most workhorse running backs and doesn’t feel like someone a team can lean on to get three yards in a cloud of dust. However, the way that the NFL is going that might not be as much of a bad thing as it used to be.
Achane is fast and shifty and can score from anywhere on the field. He’s one of those guys that you will enjoy watching as he racks up yards on your fantasy team. But will you start him in your lineup?
I feel like Achane is a perfect 1B to someone else’s 1A. Part-time running backs are becoming very common these days, but at RB4 in the rookie draft I’d really prefer drafting someone who I don’t have to worry will be splitting carries. Again, don’t hate the talent, just not a fan of his cost right now.
I completely disagree with the author on the above two players.
I have Charbonnet as the #3 rookie in this draft after Robinson and Gibbs. He is a legit bell cow who is also a very good receiver. That translates to volume touches and fantasy points.
Achane will depend some on his landing spot but before knowing I have him grouped with WRs Ngjba, Adison Johnston and Flowers at the # 4 rank in this draft.
15) Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M
There are levels to being fast. Take whatever you think is fast and put it on 2x, and that’s Devon Achane. How is this, for example? Achane’s 200m time of 20.2 was the same time as Jamacia’s Yohan Blake ran this year, and he’s a two-time Olympic and World Champion. The 40-yard record is 100% in danger, as will be every defense when Achane touches the ball.
Achane rushed for 1,100 yards with eight touchdowns in 2022 and averaged a missed tackle on over a quarter of his runs. But that doesn’t even account for the number of defenders that couldn’t even get that close because of his ability to hit the edge and burn angles.
The elephant in the room is his size. Achane is 5’9″ and listed at 185 pounds. But if he measures in at 190 and holds that weight while he plays, he could go berserk. Smaller-stature RBs don’t have a good hit rate, but none of them had Achane’s speed. I’m going to let his landing spot dictate his final ranking for fantasy football, but he could be a dangerous weapon in the NFL.
Faster than Hill and Waddle? OMG C’mon Miami.
Nice 3rd down back. Only if he gets used like Ekeler will he hold any value. Otherwise, he gets massacred.
I can see a better Mostert, especially if he comes to Miami. To team up with Hill and Waddle would be special.
Mostert is still within the “goldilocks zone” for RB’s, above 200 pounds. But Mostert only had a few moderately successful years, with last year being the first time he broke 1000 combined yards. If Mostert can stay healthy, which he wasn’t completely able to last year, although it was easily his healthiest with 16 games played, then Mostert can be a borderline RB2 for you.
Achane might be a more dynamic player, but I’m not sure he can reach Mostert level stats.