Fantasy Football: The Top 10 Rookie Running Backs for 2018

9) Kalen Ballage, Miami Dolphins

Average Draft Position: Undrafted
Projected Fantasy Points: 53.13 (RB66)

Kalen Ballage was taken by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round, and while it's certainly not a horrible landing spot, Ballage's path to rookie-year volume isn't a smooth one.

Kenyan Drake emerged as the Dolphins' top back over the latter part of last season, and he did it by getting insane volume. Over the final five games, Drake racked up 444 rushing yards and 2 scores on 91 carries, adding 17 catches and 150 yards (on 28 targets) as a pass-game weapon.

He owned a monopoly in the backfield, averaging 18.2 carries per outing in that five-game span. Among running backs with at least 10 games played in 2017, only two dudes -- Ezekiel Elliott and Le'Veon Bell -- logged more than 18.2 carries per game. The safe money is on Drake seeing lower usage in 2018.

That's where Ballage comes in. But Miami has Frank Gore in the mix, too, and our metrics project Miami to have the league's third-worst offense in 2018. So not only will Ballage possibly have to bide his time to see a meaningful role, his upside could be capped by a weak offense.

Early reports out of Miami have been singing Ballage's praises, though, so if Drake's unlikely 2017 breakout proves to be a fluke and Father Time finally chases down Gore, Ballage could be a fantasy factor this fall.