3 Running Backs With Huge Touchdown Upside in 2020 Fantasy Football

For as much as volume is the backbone of any player's fantasy football value, touchdowns are where the upside really comes. We saw that when scoring 19 touchdowns helped Aaron Jones finish as fantasy football's RB3 even though his 285 touches ranked just 10th at the position in 2019.

Touchdowns are a high-variance stat, but if we take a deep dive we can uncover some trends that highlight players who could have a Jones-like performance in 2020.

With that in mind, here are three running backs with big fantasy football upside in 2020 based on their huge touchdown potential.

1. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars

It's understandable if you're scoffing at Leonard Fournette's name after he scored just 3 touchdowns last year. Fournette is this year's poster boy for TD variance, however. He was a red zone workhorse for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and his 57 red zone opportunities (carries plus targets) were the fourth most for any player in the NFL in 2019. For context, the next player down the list who scored 3 or fewer red zone touchdowns had just 27 opportunities. On the flip side, the players with more than 45 red opportunities scored an average of 10.8 red zone touchdowns, even with Fournette dragging that average down. Fournette's efficiency may not inspire much confidence, but any player that gets 50-plus red zone opportunities is going to have a real shot at double-digit scores in any given season.

2. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns

The case for Nick Chubb is pretty similar to Fournette's. Fournette and Chubb were the only two players to see at least 45 red zone opportunities and score fewer than 7 touchdowns last year, with Chubb scoring 6 while ranking fifth in the NFL with 55 red zone opportunities. Unlike Fournette, Chubb is an explosive playmaker who also offers the ability to score from outside the red zone (as he did twice in 2019). The Cleveland Browns' offense also looks like it will be taking another step forward with the additions of Austin Hooper and Jack Conklin, meaning there should be even more red zone trips in Chubb's future in 2020.

3. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs

As a pass-heavy team, the Kansas City Chiefs may not immediately seem like an offense that could offer big TD upside for a running back. However in 2019 RBs saw 26.6 percent of the team's red zone targets, with Damien Williams finishing tied for second on the team despite missing five games. The team also took a fairly run-heavy approach in the red zone, notching 70 rush attempts to just 68 pass attempts. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the clear top RB in KC, and if any offense is a safe bet to generate a ton of scoring opportunities, it's this one.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.