The best part about Dynasty Fantasy Football is the fact that when we get to January, we're nowhere close to done. There's off-season trading, rookie drafts to prepare for, and maybe even off-season waivers. And we're going to be here for all of it, starting with our updated 2023 Dynasty rankings coming this week. Late in January, we'll have Dynasty Tiers and by the time February rolls around we'll be pushing out mock drafts, mailbags, and rookie prospect profiles for the 2023 NFL Draft.
A year ago, I told you a change was coming at running back and it's hit even faster than I expected. Half of the top 12 are different than it was just 12 months ago, including four of the top six. Jonathan Taylor is the only top-12 back who didn't fall in the rankings in the past year. And truth be told, that's only because of Breece Hall's torn ACL. If Hall had stayed healthy throughout his rookie year, he'd be No. 1 right now. But I have just enough questions about his 2023 season to keep him at No. 2.
Most of the backs who have risen into the top 12 make sense. Four of them are first-year running backs and a fifth is Josh Jacobs, who is coming off of a career year. Saquon Barkley seems like the outlier. But Barkley himself won't turn 26 until February. And all indications are that the Giants plan on keeping him around. Considering the efficiency rebound we saw this year, and the likelihood that the Giants will make him the centerpiece of their offense, another two or three seasons as an RB1 seems likely. That's about all you can ask from any running back past his 24th birthday.
As for the running backs moving in the other direction, I wouldn't expect much of a rebound. In fact, I'm not sure we ever see an RB1 season again from Alvin Kamara, Leonard Fournette, or James Conner. If you aren't a surefire contender, they're hard sells, especially if you can get a late first for them. Dalvin Cook, Nick Chubb, and Austin Ekeler aren't far behind. The only advantage Ekeler has is that I still believe he could be a league winner in 2023.
Here are my updated Dynasty Fantasy Football rankings:
