2022 Running Backs Busts: Jonathan Taylor, Alvin Kamara, Najee Harris
Despite being drafted in the first round of fantasy football, Jonathan Taylor, Alvin Kamara, Najee Harris, and Dalvin Cook have all struggled substantially. They have each been complete busts through four weeks of the NFL season.
If you drafted a running back in the first round, chances are your fantasy squad isn't sitting pretty in the standings, unless of course you selected Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, or Derrick Henry. Outside of those three guys, top-tier running backs are really letting down fantasy owners in 2022. Let’s examine the top busts at the running back position and see whether these guys can turn it around or whether fantasy owners should start panicking about these first-round selections. Click here to see more!
Top Running Back Busts Through Week 4
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor has underperformed this season, especially considering he was the No. 1 selection off the board in most fantasy football drafts. His ADP was 1.33 yet he is currently ranked as the RB22 through four weeks of the season. It doesn’t help that Taylor suffered an injury in Week 4 that will keep him sidelined for the Colts’ Week 5 tilt with the Denver Broncos. Taylor’s lack of production has nothing to do with opportunity either. He’s seen 20+ touches in three of Indy’s first four games. He’s coming off a very lackadaisical effort in which he turned 20 carries into just 42 scoreless rushing yards. Taylor hasn’t produced 100 yards from scrimmage since Week 1 against the atrocious Houston Texans defense. Fantasy owners have every right to be frustrated with JT. That said, I wouldn’t trade him when his value is at its lowest. If you truly don’t believe that Taylor can get you to the promised land, wait for him to produce one of his big outings and then send out trade proposals when his value isn’t at rock bottom.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
This year, the Saints are off to a rocky 1-3 start and besides three touchdowns from Micheal Thomas and a stellar debut from rookie WR Chris Olave, the Saints have not been able to find any consistent offense.
A major reason for that has been a rib injury described as having impacted the cartilage in Kamaras’ rib cage that has now lingered on since Week 1. It was reported after the Saints’ opening game of the year that he was not playing like himself as a result of this. He did not play in Week 2 and followed that up with a much better game against the Panthers in Week 3 where he had 15 rushing attempts for 61 yards. Unfortunately he did not play in Week 4, but according to reports that have surfaced yesterday and throughout today, Alvin Kamara is feeling much better and is expected to get significant playing time for the Saints as they host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Kamara has obviously disappointed fantasy owners who picked him very early. Fortunately for Who Dat Nation and fantasy owners alike, Kamara is going to be playing big minutes. He feels good, the Saints shipped Latavius Murray to the Broncos, and Mark Ingram has been bad overall this season. If AK41 is feeling good, expect him to get big playing time this weekend as the 1-3 Saints desperately search for a win against the Seahawks. The Saints played the Seahawks last season and in that game, Kamara exploded for 179 total yards and one touchdown as the Saints took the win 13-10. The Saints are lacking some of their offensive weapons with Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas who haven’t attended practices on Wednesday and Thursday. That means that the Saints are going to keep feeding Kamara the ball. Despite the fact that he is currently the RB60, you know he’s going to break out and show fantasy owners why they selected him at the tail end of the first round.
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Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
Najee Harris has produced some fantasy production this season, but it hasn’t been consistent and it hasn’t lived up to what he produced his rookie season. Through the first four games of the regular season, Harris has 58 rushing attempts for 202 yards, 10 receptions for 48 yards, and two touchdowns. He is therefore averaging 3.5 yards per carry and 4.8 yards per catch.
While the Pittsburgh Steelers are weak at the quarterback position, they have been relying on their passing game quite heavily this season. Rookie WR George Pickens has been lighting it up and Diontae Johnson is one of the most talented route-runners in the NFL. Not to mention Pittsburgh’s favorite red-zone target in tight end Pat Freirmuth. Still, Harris saw a ton of targets last season with Big Ben under center and that’s where the majority of his fantasy production came from. The fact that he has only caught 10 balls through four games is definitely concerning. The only reason fantasy owners drafted Harris so early was because they knew he would continue to see significant volume in that Steelers backfield. Unfortunately for those owners, Harris hasn’t been able to deliver. He’s currently the RB26 despite being drafted in the first round of most fantasy drafts. Harris is the one player on this list who I’m legitimately worried about. He didn’t see a single target last week when Kenny Pickett took over Mitch Trubisky and he has a single touchdown on the season. Najee Harris owners should wait for a breakout week from the youngster and then sell him at an inflated price. This Steelers offense isn’t going to provide a ton of value for anyone no matter who is under center.
RB Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
Last but certainly not least is Dalvin Cook. Cook was widely considered a top-five running back entering the 2022 fantasy season. However, through the first month of the season, Cook is just the RB27 with 279 rushing yards, one touchdown, and nine receptions for an additional 47 receiving yards. Cook is not seeing enough work in the passing game nor is he scoring enough touchdowns but he’s still running well, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Although the Vikings will let Alexander Mattison eat into a few of Cook’s touches, Dalvin is the undisputed RB1 in Minnesota where the secondary has to respect Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Despite Cook’s relatively poor start to the season, he’s still churning out yardage and just needs to find the end zone at a higher rate. I wouldn’t worry about him quite yet.
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