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Imagine the first four rounds of your fantasy draft are complete. You’re excited by your team, but looked for a positional advantage by drafting one of the “elite” tight ends early and now you’re heading into the mid-rounds with only one RB on your roster. We’ve all been in this spot before - looking at your leaguemates’ teams and feeling you’re at a disadvantage because they selected 2-3 RBs early in the draft. The panic sets in and you decide you’re going to take RBs with both of your next picks, even though you don’t love the names available.

The middle rounds of fantasy drafts are filled with traps who represent a higher than normal likelihood of busting. Because of positional scarcity, RBs who have mediocre NFL talent or questionable situations inevitably rise in their average draft position throughout the offseason. We’ll take a look at what we believe the biggest traps are, and while we’ll always advocate for taking the best player available, provide RB alternatives you can select at those same pick - or later:

Darell Henderson Jr - mid 6th round (pick 55 per ESPN ADP)

• The Rams track record shows they don’t believe Henderson is a workhorse - they phased him out in 2020 after selecting Cam Akers in the second round. For him to return value on your 6th pick, you’ll need him to be a low-end RB2, which we don’t see happening on a consistent basis if he isn’t given the keys to the backfield.

• Henderson will have decent games - just like he did last year - but your ability to know when these will happen (or it’s a Xavier Jones week) will leave you frustrated.

• Given what we saw last year, it’s entirely possible the Rams sign or trade for another RB at any point and turn this into a crowded backfield.

• Alternative who is going later - Kareem Hunt is going nearly 15 picks after Henderson. While he’s also in a shared backfield, his predictable target volume, stronger offensive line and more run oriented offense will leave you with a more solid RB2/flex that you can get nearly two rounds later.

Myles Gaskin - mid 9th round (pick 84 per ESPN ADP)

• The preseason reports have not shown that Gaskin has maintained his hold on the Dolphins’ backfield as he did last year. Free agent signing Malcolm Brown started preseason week one.

• Gaskin was the beneficiary of volume (both carries and targets) last season - but watching him, he didn’t differentiate from Salvon Ahmed - who is still on the roster.

• While he was a nice surprise as a waiver wire pickup, Gaskin didn’t demonstrate a level of talent that makes him stand out from other NFL RBs. Drafting players purely based on volume (removing talent + draft or salary capital) rarely results in the return on your fantasy draft capital.

• Alternative who is going later: Mike Davis is going a few picks later in the 9th round. While he’s not an elite talent, we saw much more out of Davis in Carolina last year filling in for CMC. The backfield in Atlanta is less crowded, and we foresee Davis having a much higher floor on a week-to-week basis.

James Robinson - early 9th round (pick 82 per ESPN ADP, but rapidly rising with the Etienne injury)

• Looking at the Jaguars’ offseason, they signed Carlos Hyde in early free agency and then spent a first round pick on Travis Etienne. With new head coach Urban Meyer, the Jaguars’ moves don’t indicate a likely return to Robinson having the backfield to himself as he did last year.

• PFF ranked Jacksonville’s offensive line 23rd heading into the 2021 season - and through two pre-season games, we think they might even be worse.

• A significant part of Robinson’s value last year was his 60 targets, which turned into 49 receptions. Hyde projects to eat into most of this volume, along with siphoning carries.

• Alternative who is going later: If you’re willing to wait out the early weeks with a likely timeshare, Javonte Williams will likely be going at least 1-2 rounds after Robinson’s ADP settles. The Broncos moved up in the second round to get Williams - with a significant investment and better offense, Williams presents better value over the course of the year. If you’re not confident in Williams, it’s likely that Kareem Hunt is going later than Robinson by the time your draft happens.