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Fantasy Football: Top 15 Running Backs to Target in 2019

By Cullen Jekel

Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams (26) (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams (26) (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers  (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers  (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

FANTASY FOOTBALL RUNNING BACKS TO TARGET IN 2019

NUMBER 7 – JAMES CONNER

If you saw James Conner‘s 2018 breakout coming and used a flier pick on him last season, well done. Take a bow. That’s one heck of a pick. His rollicking sophomore season took me by surprise, but it was a welcome one.

To recap: In late 2015, while playing college ball for Pittsburgh, Conner was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Eventually, he beat it, and returned to football. Then, Conner played incredibly sparingly behind Le’Veon Bell in 2017 after being selected in the third round. But last season, during Bell’s ugly season-long divorce from the Steelers, Conner stepped up, and in a big way.

In 13 games (12 starts), Conner averaged 4.5 yards per carry as he rushed for a total of 973 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also successfully replaced Bell in the receiving game as, out of the backfield, he caught 55 passes for 497 yards and one touchdown.

Now, the backfield is solely his, as Bell departed in free agency. The Steelers also parted ways with wide receiver Antonio Brown. Alongside wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, Conner will be a primary weapon for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh’s dynamic offense.

Surefire first-round running back.

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