4 Controversial Running Backs Experts Disagree On: Javonte Williams, Quinshon Judkins & More! (Ep. 2128)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
16 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 13, 2026
Published
Thu, August 13, 2026
7
Player insights
5
Players mentioned
Topics
David MontgomeryQuinshon JudkinsJavonte WilliamsRhamondre StevensonTreVeyon Henderson
Player analysis
Player insights
David Montgomery
PositiveRole12:08
Pat Fitzmorris ranks Montgomery as a high-value play at RB23, viewing him as the undisputed early-down back for the Texans. Fitzmorris highlights the team's improved offensive line and the likelihood of run-friendly game scripts due to an elite defense.
Insight pageNegativeProjection13:50
Matt Modai ranks Montgomery at RB29, fading the 29-year-old back due to the Texans' poor offensive line, which is projected to be 30th in the league. Modai expects Woody Marks to eat into the workload, preventing Montgomery from reaching the high-volume efficiency seen in previous years.
Insight pageJavonte Williams
NegativeValue1:41
Pat Fitzmorris ranks Williams at RB17, noting his lack of pass-catching juice might lead to more work for Jadon Blue on passing downs, though he remains an unquestioned lead back in a strong Dallas offense. Matt Modai is lower at RB24, citing declining efficiency metrics (success rate, EPA, yards after contact) and a significant touchdown regression from his 11-score 2025 campaign.
Insight pageQuinshon Judkins
PositiveBreakout5:49
Matt Modai ranks Judkins at RB15, betting on his talent and volume. Despite missing training camp last year, Judkins averaged 12.5 fantasy points per game from weeks 2-13 and maintained a 69% rush rate. Modai believes he will secure goal-line work and could sneak into RB1 territory.
Insight pageNegativeInjury8:41
Pat Fitzmorris ranks Judkins at RB23, citing concerns over the Cleveland Browns' bleak quarterback situation and a major leg injury (dislocated ankle, fractured fibula) from week 16. Fitzmorris warns that lingering effects could lead to a slow start.
Insight pageRhamondre Stevenson
PositiveUsage17:20
Matt Modai ranks Stevenson at RB25, projecting a 50-50 split with TreVeyon Henderson. Modai notes that Stevenson is superior in pass protection and likely to retain goal-line duties, making him a reliable value pick.
Insight pageTreVeyon Henderson
PositiveBreakout19:05
Pat Fitzmorris ranks Henderson as a major threat to Stevenson's workload, describing him as an electric playmaker who recorded four runs of 50+ yards as a rookie. Fitzmorris believes it will be difficult for the coaching staff to keep Henderson off the field.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:25Welcome into the Fantasy Bros Football Podcast, I'm Alfredo Brown, joined by Pat Fitzmorris and Matt Modai, and today we are taking
0:31a look at four running backs that the experts are fighting over.
0:35Guys, can we make you fight like a little bit here?
0:38I don't know how aggressive this episode here is going to get, but what we're doing is taking a look at some
0:45running backs in the expert consensus ranking and we're going to compare Matt and Pat's rankings to each other and see who's
0:51higher, who's lower, and who can convince me that they are correct.
0:55So what we're going to do is we're going to have the high analyst on a player start off with this.
1:01We're talking about four running backs. Let's start off here with Javante Williams, running back for the Dallas Cowboys.
1:06His ADP is running back 16 in real time ADP.
1:09Pat, you are the high man on Javante Williams, so kick us off.
1:13Yeah, and I'm not super excited about having to make the case for Javante, Alfredo.
1:18I mean, I'm at running back 17, so I'm one behind ADP.
1:21His pass catching metrics in 2025 were just abysmal, and the lack of juice as a receiver might lead to more work
1:28for Jadon Blue on obvious passing downs. And just generally, anytime you have to make the case for a player based on,
1:34well, who else is going to take work from him, it seems like someone comes out of the fog and does take work from that player.
1:42But in a nutshell, I guess that's the case for Javante Williams, that he is the unquestioned lead back in a very
1:48good Dallas offense that has a very good offensive line and has had very little turnover.
1:53Javante was 10th in rushing attempts last year, 9th in rushing yardage, 8th in rushing touchdowns, and his ADP is RB 16.
1:59Yeah, Moda, you're lower on Javante Williams here, running back 24, so what's got you, I mean, 7 spots lower than Pat
2:06and 8 spots lower than ADP, so what's got you that much lower on Javante?
2:10Yeah, I don't love being this much off of ADP, and I feel like Debro has just been hyping him up the
2:17last couple days, which I don't love either. But the biggest thing for me, there's two.
2:21It's touchdowns and it's efficiency. He had 11 touchdowns last year.
2:25I have been projected for 7. If I give him another 11 touchdowns, not 7 plus 11, but give him 11 touchdowns,
2:31he's right back at ADP, so that's really the only thing here.
2:35And last year, 8 of his 11 touchdowns came within the first 8 weeks, 2 touchdowns a week 1, which is gangbusters after that, only 3 after that.
2:43And if you look, weeks 9 to 17, he averaged 11.09, half-point PPR points per game.
2:48They would have put him at the RB 25.
2:50His efficiency went down, and like every advanced stat that I look at, success rate, EPA, yards after contact, against a better schedule for opposing running backs.
2:58So that's really why I have him that low.
3:01And yeah, I mean, it goes against fantasy football tenets of like take players on good offenses and take 3 down running backs.
3:07But like Pat said, doesn't do much in the receiving game, so that's why I have him where I do.
3:13Yeah, and I'm really close to ADP as well.
3:16I'm actually right on ADP at running back 16 with Javante Williams.
3:20So I'm not quite as low as you, but I'm not quite as high as Debra.
3:24I think I'm going to agree with Pat on this one.
3:27Javante just remains a valuable running back. It kind of goes back to our lesson we always talk about is don't hate the player, hate the ADP.
3:35And I think at the right ADP, if Javante's there at the right time, I'll be taking him in drafts.
3:41But he's not a guy that I'm actively targeting, if that makes sense, especially in that area.
3:46Let's go to our next running back on here.
3:49And it's Quinshawn Judkins, who's got a half PPR ADP of running back 21.
3:53Oh, no. Oh, baby. Oh, talk to us about your running back 15, Quinshawn Judkins.
3:57Yeah, another one we're going against fantasy football, just like everybody says, take good, take running backs on bad offenses.
4:03To me, I believe in the talent. I actually really do.
4:07I loved him as a prospect last year coming out of Ohio State.
4:10And really, it's just opportunity. Last year, if you look, he had that illegal situation that we're not obviously going to get into.
4:17But he missed basically all training camp. Not basically, he did.
4:20He signed on September 6th, right before week one.
4:23Week one, he had 10 carries. Then he got hurt week 14, had eight carries.
4:27If you look at weeks two through 13, which is a pretty big chunk of the season, he averaged 12.5 fantasy points per game.
4:34That's above what Javante did the second half of last year.
4:38And that's RB 16, if you just extrapolate that out to the entire season.
4:42He was fourth in total carries behind James Cook, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, averaged over 17 per game.
4:47I get it, different coaching staff. But one, that at least with the Ravens, third highest run offense in the NFL over the last three years.
4:55Sure, that'll come down on a worse team. But it's just, it's volume and he's going to get all the goal line work.
5:02You know, last year, he only played 50% of the snaps in that stretch, but he had 69% of the team's rush rate.
5:08And I think that's going to be similar this year.
5:11So I'm not going to sit here and tell you he's going to be an RB1.
5:16But I believe just on volume alone, he could sneak into the RB15, which is where I have him.
5:21Pat, you're the low man here at running back 23.
5:24I tend to agree with you. So I'd love for you to just, you know, confirm my priors.
5:30Tell me why I'm right with Quinshawn Judkins here.
5:32I do like that Judkins has sort of a workhorse profile.
5:36The issue is just that the Browns offense could very well be the worst in the league this year.
5:41Their quarterback situation is bleak. They added talent to their offensive line in the offseason, but now the offensive line is comprised
5:48of a bunch of guys who've never played together before.
5:51And Judkins is coming off a pretty major leg injury.
5:54He dislocated his right ankle and fractured his fibula in week 16.
5:57I know he's looked good in camp videos, but it wouldn't be stunning if he got off to kind of a slow
6:04start due to some lingering effects of the injury.
6:06But really, mostly this is about not wanting to hitch my wagon to the Cleveland Browns offense.
6:11Yeah, I mean, that's that's gonna be the main thing for me.
6:15Not wanting to hitch my wagon to that Browns offense.
6:18They've got so many other new weapons added in there as well.
6:21And I think, too, it depends on how you're looking at upside.
6:25Yeah, he'll probably get a lot of those goal line carries.
6:28How often they're going to be near the goal line.
6:31Then how often they're going to be in passing situations where maybe he's coming off the field.
6:36So I'm going to lean the pat once again here.
6:39Moda, we're falling behind, man. 0 for 2. I think I think you could pick up some ground.
6:44Maybe maybe maybe in the back half here. Sure.
6:47Yeah, against ADP. I get it. That's OK. You know, no problem.
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7:21All right. We got two more running backs that we're going to talk about here really quickly in this little bite size episode.
7:28We've got our next running back on this list, David Montgomery.
7:31He's got an ADP of running back 23. Pat, you're the high man on Montgomery.
7:35So let's talk. What makes you like him? I think he's in sort of a situation similar to Javante Williams.
7:41He's the undisputed early down back for the Texans.
7:44Another pretty good team. Granted, the Cowboys do have a better offense and better offensive line, but the Texans have an elite defense.
7:51So they're going to be in a lot of games where they're either winning or the score is close.
7:56That means a lot of run friendly game scripts.
7:59And the Texans offensive line has been kind of a mess the last two years, but it seems to be in better shape this year.
8:06They added Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith and free agency, and they spent a first round pick on Keelan Rutledge, who's a very good run blocker.
8:14It's interesting to me that Montgomery's ADP last year was RB 22, and he was sharing a backfield with Jameer Gibbs.
8:20And now his ADP is RB 23, and he is the unquestioned number one back on his team.
8:25I'm just leaning into the volume here. Yeah, I mean, I can see the argument for that.
8:30Yeah, Moda, I can also see the argument for a guy who just wasn't really all that efficient as the year went on last year.
8:38So you've got him running back 29. What's got the nine spot gap between you and Pat here?
8:43Yeah, a couple of things. For me, I feel pretty good about fading a 29-year-old running back coming off of a team
8:50where he had one of the best offensive lines, now going to a terrible offensive line.
8:54They did make some changes. I get that. But, you know, the Fantasy Pros article where they did their offensive line ranking still has them at 30th.
9:02They have the Browns at 28th. So, you know, the third worst for the Texans.
9:07Last year, 31st in run blocking, 29th in yards before contact, 28th in stuff rate.
9:11And again, 30th ranked projected offensive line. And, you know, I think a lot of people are just comparing Montgomery to Mixon back in the couple years ago.
9:19Mixon was good. He needed 17 and a half carries per game to get that.
9:24I don't necessarily know if Montgomery is going to get all that work.
9:27And Mixon wasn't efficient if you just look at like his metrics.
9:31So I'm basically projecting the same efficiency for Monte than Mixon had.
9:35Just not quite as much volume. I don't think Woody Marks is totally going to go away.
9:40That's at least what I've seen out of camp.
9:42I think Marks is probably going to get more than the RB2 got that year with Mixon.
9:47So that's why I have him where I do.
9:50Without spoiling the next player that we've got on this list, Modai, can you list some of the running backs that you have ahead of David Montgomery?
9:58Because I actually like both your guys' points. Like I think I might be a little too high, but at the same time, I get it.
10:05Could you maybe give us some of those names?
10:08So, yeah, guys I have right ahead of David Montgomery.
10:11I got I got Ramondre Stevenson. He's my RB2526.
10:14I have Jaday and Price actually ahead of him.
10:16Obviously, I do have Javante. I got Quinshawn Judkins just behind Monte.
10:20Tony Pollard, Aaron Jones, Jalen Warren. It's kind of where I have him in that range for me.
10:25And that makes sense. I think you can make arguments for a lot of those guys.
10:30And I mentioned for you to not spoil the next running back.
10:33You did not. So let's let's hear it. Our next guy up here is Ramondre Stevenson, who's got an ADP of running back 29.
10:40And Modai, you are higher on him at running back 25.
10:44So let's hear your take first. Sure. For this one, I would say I feel probably the best about Ramondre Stevenson of any of these four.
10:51I just don't think it's going to be Henderson getting the keys to the franchise or anything like that.
10:57I think it's going to be a frustrating year for fantasy managers, for Travion Henderson.
11:01Stevenson's not a bad player in his own right.
11:04RB 25 last year. Even if you look at the weeks after Stevenson got hurt, when Henderson really took over, Stevenson averaged
11:1015.1 fantasy points per game to Henderson's 12.3. I have Henderson projected for more carries, but I think it's going to be close to 50-50.
11:18I think Stevenson's going to get the goal line carries.
11:21And I'm not necessarily sure that the passing game is going to go all to Henderson.
11:25He's struggling and pass pro. The reports are not great out of Travion Henderson.
11:29So for Stevenson, he's not going to win your league, but I do think that he's somebody that can, depending on how
11:36you draft, going to provide value to your team.
11:39Pat, you're a bit lower than ADP. Not by much, but there's a decent enough gap between you and Moda here.
11:45You've got him at running back 32. Yeah, and I'm actually a longtime Ramondre Stevenson proponent.
11:49I love a big back who is the feet of a ballet dancer.
11:53I just worry about drafting a running back like Stevenson who's got this explosive playmaker behind him.
11:58I feel like there's a little bit of recency bias involved with the New England backfield because in last season's playoff, the
12:05Patriots leaned so hard in Stevenson and didn't use Henderson much.
12:08I just don't think it's the way things are going to play out this year.
12:12I mean, Henderson is just electric. This dude had four runs of 50 or more yards last year.
12:18Stevenson has had three runs of 40 or more yards over five NFL seasons.
12:22And Henderson had 10 touchdowns and more than 1,100 yards from scrimmage as a rookie.
12:26Three multi-touchdown games. He had a 148-yard rushing game and a 147-yard rushing game.
12:30I just think it's going to be hard for Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels to keep Henderson on the bench.
12:36And what if Stevenson's fumbling issues pop up again?
12:39I just don't know if Ramondre is going to be able to hold off the Travion Henderson Express for very long.
12:45I do think Stevenson has fantasy value. I just don't know if fantasy managers are going to be able to depend on him all season.
12:52Well, I'm right in between you guys here. I'm at running back 27, which is actually a little bit ahead of ADP.
12:59So MoDi, it means I agree more with you here on Ramondre Stevenson.
13:03But the funny thing is, I still have Travion Henderson pretty high.
13:06I've got him at running back 22. I think it's a little bit more about like, yes, Ramondre Stevenson's still good, but
13:13he can give us this running back 27 or running back 30 or even running back 25 season with Travion Henderson also having a good year.
13:20Like what happens to Patriots offense is just better.
13:23They want to go faster. They've got more open run lanes now with AJ Brown causing the defense to be a little more honest.
13:30I think we have something interesting here that could be brewing with the Patriots offense.
13:34Well, gentlemen, there we have it. Four running backs that you guys simply just could not agree on.
13:40I'm glad we came together. We had our peaceful moment.
13:43We talked it out. Maybe we'll hug it out someday in person real soon.
13:47But as always, I want to thank everybody for watching and listening all the way through for myself, for Pat, for MoDi.
13:53We'll see you next time. Adios. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast.
13:58If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts at fantasypros.com slash review or on Spotify.
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