Shawn Siegele looks at a couple of inexpensive rookie running backs to stockpile in dynasty leagues and consider in deep best ball formats.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve focused on evidence-based methods for crushing your rookie drafts and creating the permanent championship window. The PCW is the foundation of our Dynasty Workshop series, and it’s not based on any single tactic. Rather, it’s the accumulation of a lot of small advantages that lead to powerhouse dynasty teams.

In earlier parts of the series, we looked at the five reasons to trade down in your rookie draft and a few instances where you absolutely shouldn’t. We re-selected every rookie draft of the last seven years to uncover the secrets to avoiding busts and landing risers.

Over the last seven years, 37 first-round picks have fallen out and been replaced by other prospects. The rags-to-riches players share key characteristics. We used that information to help us locate deep sleepers who could be the next Chase Claypool or the next Terry McLaurin.

Now it’s time to focus on the RB position. The 2021 class isn’t a strong one after the Big 3, but there are some interesting prospects. In fact, we find a couple of guys who look very similar to Phillip Lindsay and Myles Gaskin. Lindsay and Gaskin possessed traits that reality GMs should have taken more seriously because they lead to NFL – and fantasy – production.

Want to dive into all of the below-the-radar prospects who are suddenly relevant rookie drafts? Check out Zachary Krueger’s Post-Draft Sleeper Cheat Sheet. 

Dead Ringers for Lindsay and Gaskin to Round Out Your Sleeper Portfolio

If you prefer to hear the re-draft exercise in the soothing tones of an excellent Irish podcaster, Colm Kelly and I went through all seven drafts on this week’s edition of Overtime. After finishing the process, this is the central question:

What was the profile of RBs who made the jump into the first round?