Dynasty startup drafts are easily one of the best experiences in all of fantasy football. Everything is available to you as you seek to carefully craft the best roster possible. Sometimes, the picks are easy, but as you get deeper into the draft, you'll be faced with tough decisions.

In this piece, I'll be breaking down four backfields with multiple teammates ranked in the same area as well as giving you who I think is the best pick of the bunch from each team.

Let's decode these tricky dynasty backfields.

How To Approach 2025 Running Back Committees In Dynasty Fantasy Football

Jacksonville Jaguars

Travis Etienne (RB33)

The Jaguars suddenly have a logjam at the RB position and it's headed by Travis Etienne. After a lost rookie season, Etienne showed out well in Years 2 and 3, topping 220 carries and 1,000 yards in each. Year 3, however, was special as he scored 11 rushing TDs and also hauled in 58 receptions.

Despite playing in 15 games last year (Year 4) compared to 17 games in 2023, Etienne saw his production plummet. Tank Bigsby out-carried him 168-150 and scored seven TDs to Etienne's two.

It sounds like new head coach Liam Coen has a better plan for how to utilize the 26-year-old veteran, but the damage might have already been done for dynasty managers.

Bhayshul Tuten (RB34)

The shiny new toy is most certainly Bhayshul Tuten and his current dynasty value of RB34, one spot behind Etienne, reflects that.

Drafted in Round 4, Tuten is the RB6 in our Rookie RB Model. He's also an athletic specimen. Tuten scored in the 97th percentile or higher in burst score, speed score, and the 40-yard dash where he ran a 4.32.

I promise I'm not just following the hype but Tuten would be my pick of the Jaguars backfield options in dynasty startup drafts at his current price. He's three years younger than Etienne and has the metrics and profile to be a productive player in Coen's offense.

Yes, Etienne will likely get the first crack at the lead role, but expect some splash plays from Tuten before too long.

Tank Bigsby (RB41)

That leaves Bigsby as the cheapest of the bunch. As mentioned, he out-carried and out-scored Etienne last season while playing one more game. He was also vastly more efficient with his rushing attempts (4.6 YPC compared to 3.7 for Etienne).

I like Bigsby if he can maintain his usage near the goal line again this year. As you can see, he dominated Etienne in the short down and distance snaps and rushing attempts inside the five-yard line.

However, Bigsby offers you virtually nothing in the passing game. In 33 career games over two seasons, he has just eight receptions. He's fine at his price point if you miss out on the other two players but give me Tuten at his price point.

Arizona Cardinals

Trey Benson (RB28)

Candidly, I was very wrong on Trey Benson last season. I assumed age would eventually catch up to James Conner and that Benson would be in a prime position to post a strong rookie season on a good offense.

I was very wrong. Benson rushed just 63 times, scored just once, and only saw six targets in 13 games played.

However, I'm admittedly biased away from drafting RBs on the wrong side of 30 years old in startup drafts. That means I'm leaning toward Benson here at his current price point.

Last year may have been a relatively weak RB class, especially when you compare it to the 2025 class, but Benson was still the RB2 in our Rookie RB Model. He's talented and young, and his environment has only gotten better with additional threats to his backfield usage.

James Conner (RB31)

Conner, on the other hand, ground out another low-end RB1 finish on the back of 200+ carries, 1,000+ rushing yards, and eight TDs. He continued to be involved in the receiving game as well. His 414 receiving yards were the most he's had in a season since 2018.

Conner is good, but he's no Derrick Henry. Perhaps most telling is that Conner has never played a full season in his eight-year career.

I mentioned that I don't draft RBs over 30 years old on principle. However, I am more than willing to TRADE for them in established dynasty leagues. This is because they are generally devalued by dynasty managers and can be acquired for below what they can offer in a one-to-two-year window.

I may not be pushing "draft" on Conner in any startups, but I am still interested in leagues where I have win-now teams needing an extra piece.

Tennessee Titans

Tony Pollard (RB36)

The Jaguars may have one of the more interesting backfields to follow but the Titans have one of the more intriguing offenses now that Cam Ward is their QB1.

Even so, both Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are almost equal in their dynasty values as of this writing.

Starting with Pollard, all we ever wanted was more opportunity when he was in Dallas. He finally broke out in 2022 with his first 1,000-yard rushing season. In fact, he's now topped 1,000 rushing yards in three consecutive seasons.

It's also fun to see how his rushing attempt count has steadily increased throughout his six-year career:

86. 101, 130, 193, 252, 260

Head coach Brian Callahan has mentioned that the team may manage his workload a bit this season, and, at the age of 28 (already), it's not an ideal situation long-term.

Tyjae Spears (RB39)

Moving over to Spears, he's been disappointing through his first two seasons. However, the offseason hype surrounding him has been very positive.

After dealing with injuries last year, he's healthy and has been a full participant in offseason workouts. He's also drawing praise from his team which never hurts.

Spears was the RB5 in our Rookie RB Model back in 2023, right next to De'Von Achane. I'm not saying there's going to be a correlation there but it's worth remembering how strong his profile was coming into the league.

As one of the more elusive runners in football and with plenty of involvement in the passing game, if health is no longer an issue for him, I much prefer Spears over Pollard in my startup drafts as their respective price points.

Dallas Cowboys

Jaydon Blue (RB40)

That leaves us with the Dallas Cowboys, who selected Jaydon Blue in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Blue, only 21 years old, didn't stuff the box score at Texas, but his 4.43 speed is enough to get him on the field more often than not.

Blue checked in at RB14 in our Rookie RB Model and could even see him on special teams reps as a returner this season.

The Cowboys RB room of Blue, Javonte Williams, and Miles Sanders figures to be murky at best this season.

Javonte Williams (RB46)

Williams, for me, will always be one of the biggest "what ifs" at the RB position. After a promising rookie season, he tore his ACL in 2022 and was never the same in his last two seasons with the Cowboys.

Now with Dallas, he'll look to compete for a starting job with Blue and Sanders.

On paper, Williams has the pedigree and profile to be their RB1. He says he's finally feeling like himself again, now two years removed from his knee injury, and he's still only 25 years old.

Up to this point, I've taken the youngest RB on each team but I'm breaking that trend this time. Williams is still young enough to have a successful second-career in Dallas and he has the traits to be a viable producer for your dynasty teams as well.

Join Our Newsletter

Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.

Email Address

Subscribe

By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.