Daily fantasy sports participants have used dollars-spent-per-fantasy points calculations for years to help figure out what players offered the most value in building fantasy lineups when there’s a salary cap limit.
Well, BetVirginia.com – your home of Virginia sports betting coverage – used similar calculations in figuring out which NFL running backs in the real world of real money offer the best value to their franchises.
Finding Value in Running Backs
For this study, we used ProFootballReference.com to find the salary cap hit and the all-purpose yards of every NFL running back during the 2022-23 NFL regular season.
After doing the math of the dollars-per-point share for each player in the league, BetVirgina determined the 10 most value-driven RBs from last season. Salary and yards were included for all teams the player was on last season.
Washington Commanders fans, and those inclined to wager on player props at Virginia sportsbook apps, might be interested in learning that a rookie, Brian Robinson Jr., returned the eighth-best value among all NFL running backs in the NFL last season.
Most Undervalued NFL RBs of 2022-23 Season
Where Brian Robinson Jr. Ranks on List
Robinson’s cap hit for the Commanders was $856,144. For that money Washington got from Robinson 857 all-purpose yards. So meant that an all-purpose yard gained by Robinson cost $999.
The best “value” running back in the league according to ProFootballReference was New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson. He gained 1,461 all-purpose yards with a cap hit of $1,012,264 for an average of an economical $593 per yard.
Robinson, at 6 feet 1, 225 pounds, was Washington’s third-round draft pick as one of a string of Alabama running backs to hit the NFL lately.
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Robinson had a rocky road to a Commanders’ huddle. In late August, just before the 2022 season started, he was shot as he was leaving a restaurant during an armed hold-up committed by two teenagers. Robinson was wounded in the knee and the glute. Though his injuries were non-life threatening, they could have jeopardized his playing career. He missed the first four games of the season and debuted in Week 5.
For the season, he gained 797 yards and scored two touchdowns on 205 carries. He caught nine balls for 60 yards. He played in 12 games and started nine.
In 2022, Robinson was solidly consistent, gaining 70 or more yards in six games and averaging 3.89 yards per carry. His high-water mark was 105 yards on 18 carries in a Week 12 win over Atlanta, and he fumbled just twice during the year but didn’t lose any.
As Robinson enters his second season, his team has +1300 odds at Caesars Sportsbook Virginia to win the NFC East.
Value For Robinson Carries Into 2023 Season
Robinson is scheduled to make about $934,000 in base salary (cap hit of $1,146,569) in 2023, according to contract website Spotrac.
With a more normal and healthy start to his 2023 season, Robinson figures to be the starting running back for the Commanders, ahead of Antonio Gibson. Robinson’s trajectory indicates he should continue to be one of the best running back values in the NFL.
Keep following us at BetVirginia for more analysis entering the NFL season, as well as the best Virginia sportsbook promos available.
