CFB: Early Top Five College Fantasy RBs for 2021

A couple of weeks ago, I ranked the top five college fantasy quarterbacks for the 2021 season. After a little bit of a break, I’m back ranking the top five running backs for the 2021 college football season now that spring football is over. 

This is the toughest list out of every position I will probably rank. You could easily shuffle guys in the top ten around and I would not complain too much. Let’s see how accurate I can get this.

*Reminder, this list is based on FANTASY value, not talent*

5. Breece Hall - Iowa State

Breece Hall lands on this list as arguably the most-decorated returning back in the NCAA. Hall has 465 career rushing attempts already to his name in two seasons for the Cyclones and is primed to tear through the Big 12 again in 2021 with one of the most talented teams in Iowa State history. Hall led the NCAA with 1,572 rushing yards in 2020 and third in total touchdowns (23) behind DeVonta Smith and Najee Harris. The junior makes up for his lack of receiving production (just 23 receptions and two touchdowns in 2020) with his high volume of carries (28 more carries than the next-closest back), with plenty of room to improve in that spectrum in 2021. Better efficiency and receiving should shoot Hall higher up on this list.

4. Max Borghi - Washington State

This might be a generous ranking, but I think Borghi’s 2019 season was good enough to project the senior RB on the more optimistic side for 2021 despite only playing in one game a year ago due to injury. Do you know how many running backs have caught more passes in a season (86) than Max Borghi did in 2019 in the last decade? That would be zero. He was one of only two running backs in the country that year to have a PFF grade of over 80.0 as both a runner and a receiver while having the lowest drop rate (2.3 percent) and broke more tackles after the catch than any other back in the nation. All that was in the Mike Leach Air Raid offense, which now resides at Mississippi State, but I trust a good offensive mind like Nick Rolovich to utilize Borghi as his predecessor did.

3. Deuce Vaughn - Kansas State

This dude is a bowling ball. 5’5 168 of downhill explosiveness. Vaughn was one of the best true freshmen across college football, toting seven touchdowns on the ground and two through the air. While he didn’t get a full season workload (just 123 carries), the efficiency was there both on the ground (5.2 ypc) and through the air (17.4 yards/reception). That’s a higher per-reception production than Heisman winner DeVonta Smith and the second-highest mark of any running back in the country (Rachaad White). While that number might go down as the volume gets higher, the efficiency is still among the country’s best. Per PFF, only UNC’s Michael Carter and Vaughn had PFF grades of at least 85.0 as both a runner and a receiver.

2. Tank Bigsby -  Auburn

Speaking of true freshmen with cool names, Bigsby debuted as one of the best pure runners in college football when he emerged from a crowded Auburn backfield. I’ll imagine he’ll get a much bigger share of carries in 2021 (maybe crack 200 carries?) and build on his underwhelming receiving numbers (11 catches for just 84 yards). Although, as a runner, there might not be a better runner in the whole sport. Only Javonte Williams and Khalil Herbert had higher running grades than Bigsby, and both those guys are now in the NFL. If new coach Brian Harsin doesn’t trust Bo Nix to push the ball down the field, it will be on Bigsby to carry the load for the Tigers.

1.Bijan Robinson - Texas

Steve Sarkisian has to be drooling at the potential Robinson showed in his true freshman 2020 campaign, and so should fantasy owners. We saw how much Sark enjoyed using Najee Harris as much as possible in 2020, giving Harris nearly 300 total touches both on the ground and through the air on his way to 30 total touchdowns and nearly 1900 total yards. It’s a tall task to ask Robinson to score 30 touchdowns in his true sophomore season, but you don’t need that to break into the All-American conversation. Sark knew to utilize his best players as much as possible (Harris and Smith) and force-feed them the ball. That’s what we should see with Robinson. He averaged nearly nine yards AFTER contact in his last four games of 2020, that’s just insane. If the volume of touches is there for Robinson, he has a great chance to keep this spot all season.

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson