Losing Faith In Two RBs

These murky situations aren't getting any clearer...

Author

Christopher Allen
August 16, 2025

When you think about it, we're all a bunch of magicians around this time of year.

We take the seemingly mundane and turn it into something else. Take Shedeur Sanders' preseason debut, for example. The performance of a fifth-round rookie started a social media inferno. And what he did was on the field for us to see. Now consider two RBs with issues keeping them off the field. 

Quinshon Judkins, the lone unsigned second-rounder drafted by Cleveland, won't face any formal charges. Some think we'll see the former Buckeye in Week 1. However, Kendall and Adam spoke with Browns beat reporter Zac Jackson of The Athletic yesterday, and the rookie still has some hurdles to clear.

"He's missed all of training camp. He's not going to play in September."

Judkins profiles as the best early-down and short-yardage option for Cleveland. But availability might be his worst ability until we know more. The Texans have a similar problem.

Joe Mixon has yet to practice after reports of him in a walking boot surfaced in the summer. The lack of insight has folks pulling him from their boards. Meanwhile, Dwain and Freedman have been practicing alchemy to weave the news into our projections.

Regardless of your position, our draft strategies should balance risk and reward. My process has been to draft complementary RBs to insulate my roster with our rankings and tiers as a guide. And while none of this is exact science, you can see the crew will be grabbing every piece of information to turn every nugget into something you can use during your drafts.

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Editors’ Picks

We had preseason games last night, and YOU might have a draft today … or this weekend … or soon! And we’ve got you covered. Use our Fantasy Life cheat sheets on draft day and catch up on the following content that we don’t want you to miss.

BONUS: Don’t forget to check out our upgraded Air Yards tool.

When David Montgomery doesn’t score, does he get you chopped? Paul Charchian answers questions to help fantasy managers avoid the blade.

Bonus points for blocking a potential game-winning FG? Let’s go! Chris Allen presents different options to boost DST points for your league.

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Month of Mock: Our Last Five Mock Drafts

It’s August, and to help you out with your draft prep, we’ve been running mock drafts all month (literally every … single … day). And it’s not just the same ones!

We’re playing with the settings to see if we can get as close as possible to your draft. While your league may be covered by our mock drafts, the best way to make sure is to do your own mock draft using Draft Champion, presented by Gopuff—our free mock draft simulator.

Just line it up with your settings and start mocking.

Speaking of mocking, here are our last five mock drafts:

Keep checking back on fantasylife.com, because we’ll keep doing mock drafts all August. ⬇️

Fantasy

Running Backs With League-Winning Upside

What defines a league winner? Often, it’s a pick well after the first round—sometimes in the double digits—that pays off during the fantasy playoffs. How about those picks still taken early(ish) and still deliver?

Dwain McFarland puts a bullseye on six running backs who could overdeliver on their draft capital and become fantasy football league winners, even though several of them are going in the first three rounds.

Most of these players have flashed, especially at the end of last season, and could lead your roster to a title. ⤵️

Fantasy

Around the Watercooler

The latest NFL news and fantasy football analysis from our merry band of football nerds:

👀 What’s too early to draft Brock Bowers? Jake Ciely joins the show to discuss this and more.

🏆 Want some Green Kegs and Spam? Can’t make up these team names.

🚀 Dwain is joined by Lord Reebs to discuss late-career wide receivers who can break out.

💥 ICYMI: Ian’s Tiers are must-read: QB, RB, WR, and TE.

📸 It’s a FLASH SALE! 

🎯 Draft Nico Collins. Thank us later.

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