As a dynasty owner, one must think beyond the upcoming season and more into the future of their franchise.
One important area of focus for every dynasty owner should be which players are entering a “contract year”. The possibility of free agency not only impacts the player themselves, but their current, former and/or future team’s depth chart and the players that currently make that up.
NFL Players who are entering a contract year have that extra incentive to showcase their ability to play in the NFL in hopes of earning that blockbuster contract and therefore should be strongly considered by dynasty owners when making final roster decisions during the off-season.
This four part series continues with five running backs who are entering the final year of their contract and hoping to capitalize on a solid year of production before they become an unrestricted free agent and have all the leverage unless a team choose to assign the franchise tag to buy them another year at an inflated cost.
Dalvin Cook (Minnesota Vikings):
Dalvin’s biggest opponent is his ability to stay healthy because if he can do that, he is easily a top-five running back in the NFL but that his been the question mark with him……can he stay healthy for a full season? The Minnesota Vikings would love to know the answer to that question as they are about to be faced with a decision that they would love to answer sooner than later as Dalvin enters the final year of his contract.
Outlook for 2020:
Cook needs to prove that he can stay healthy for a full season as the Vikings acquired a young and promising back last year when they selected Alexander Mattison in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Averaging over 4.5 yards per carry while displaying the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, Mattison is a threat to steal some touches from Cook if he is not able to stay healthy which will, in turn, lower the limit the Vikings will be willing to offer Cook. If Cook is able to prove he can stay healthy, the Vikings are likely to shell out some cash and give him a new contract. Otherwise, he may be the next
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Joe Mixon (Cincinnati Bengals):
Mixon had a slow start to his career but came on strong at the end of the 2019 season finishing the year with 1100+ yards and 5 TD’s on the ground to go with 35 receptions, nearly 300 yards and 3 TD’s through the air.
Outlook for 2020:
If Joe can build on his strong finish last year and show some better consistency throughout the year, then he is on pace for a big payday. Unfortunately for him, his production is limited by how much the team feels the need to use him which has hurt his value significantly.
The Bengals are going through some changes which I feel will result in the team needing to rely on a strong rushing attack on offense which most certainly benefits Mixon meaning he should have every opportunity to prove his worth and earn another contract that will likely add a digit to his bank account and some more points to his fantasy owners weekly scores.
Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints):
As the Saints come marching back in 2020 with Drew Brees, Alvin will be hoping that Drew looks for him early and often out of the backfield in the passing game as that is where he has been the most productive and made his mark in the NFL…..catching the ball!
Outlook for 2020:
Kamara rushed for a respectable 797 yards and 5 TD’s as a change of pace back while catching 81 passes out of 97 targets for another 533 yards and a TD. While some look at last year as a down year for Alvin, his rushing and receiving stats were not far away from the year before but his touchdown total was down significantly making his stats a bit misleading last year.
With that said, I can only see Alvin’s production staying on par for fantasy owner’s as he will have another year with Drew Bree’s steering the ship and feeding him the rock which will only help his situation with earning a new contract and staying in The Big Easy for a few more years if not longer.
Aaron Jones (Green Bay Packers):
The end of the 2018 season left many wondering which running back for the Packers would earn the lead role heading into the 2019 season. It didn’t take long for Aaron to answer those questions as he finished the season with over 1500 total yards, 49 receptions and one shy of 20 total TD’s. Not bad for a guy who was a question mark months before.
Outlook for 2020:
While fellow teammate Jamaal Williams is also in a contract year, it would be foolish to think that Jones will allow a door to open for Williams to walk through unless Jones were to suffer an injury that would automatically open that door. If Jones continues the pace he was on last year in 2020, he will leave no option for the Packers but to sign him.
Phillip Lindsay (Denver Broncos):
Phillip had a decent season with nearly 1200 yards from scrimmage, 35 receptions and 7 touchdowns but is it enough for the team to be content at the position. I have to think that is not the case.
Outlook for 2020:
Denver has been rumored to be working out plenty of running backs this offseason but I do believe that is simply a ploy to keep other NFL teams guessing as the NFL Draft approaches. They are not likely to retain Devonte Booker, leaving Royce Freeman, a 2018 third-round draft pick, and un-drafted Phillip Lindsay to battle it out for snaps on offense. This has “running back by committee” written all over it so this is a big year for Lindsay, the former Colorado Buffalo and hometown favorite, to prove he can shoulder the load for the Broncos backfield.
In Summary:
With veteran prospects such as Melvin Gordon, Derrick Henry, Adrian Peterson and LeSean McCoy possibly hitting the market this year along with a promising 2020 rookie Running Back class, NFL teams will have some difficult decisions to make next year meaning dynasty fantasy football owners will need to pay close attention as well.
A few other Running Backs worth mentioning who are entering the final year of their contract are James Conner (Steelers), Tarik Cohen (Bears), Mark Ingram (Ravens), Marlon Mack (Colts) and Chris Carson (Seahawks) among many others who will have dollar signs peeking through their face mask as they take a handoff or catch a pass in 2020. Will they be able to hold off the Jaylen Samuels and Rashaad Penny’s who are waiting for that opportunity to take over the lion’s share of carries for their team?
What a year 2021 will be for running backs looking to extend their career after what looks to be a promising year for rookie running back prospects in 2020. Do you sell today and hope the best for tomorrow or do you hold and hope they prosper in 2021?
There are questions such as these prior to the start of every NFL season and it’s never too early to start thinking about next year if you are an owner of a dynasty fantasy team so don’t fall asleep while others are still on the clock working to better the future of their dynasty team.
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