The third and final preseason games begin Thursday night. Thanks to the greedy NFL owners wanting 17 regular season games, there are now only three preseason games. So, this weekend will be the end of the free looks for fantasy football managers to scout players for the upcoming drafts.

But following what is happening in training camp and joint practices is just as important, if not more so, when trying to prepare for your fantasy football draft. The vast majority of leagues will be drafting over the next week. Many people have begun utilizing the zero-RB or Anchor-RB strategy in fantasy football drafts.

Well if that is how you attack your draft, you need to know which mid-to-late round tailbacks are set to gain the most touches this season.

Top 5 Fantasy Football running backs who will gain touches in 2022

5. Khalil Herbert – Chicago Bears RB

Chicago Bears running back Khalil Herbert is not only a very solid fantasy football handcuff to have, but is likely looking at a larger role in the offense this year. David Montgomery is still there, and yes, will be the starting tailback. He's posted back-t0-back very solid years with fantasy finished RB12 and RB6 respectively.

However, to accomplish that, he was receiving between 80 and 90 of the opportunities when healthy. The new regime, which came from Green Bay, held Aaron Jones' usage to under 60 percent each of the last two seasons. If your counter argument is that they had AJ Dillon. Well, take a look at what Herbert did last year when given a chance to play.

Montgomery missed four games due to injury. In those games, Herbert finished as an RB1 twice, and a borderline flex play the other two games. Herbert finished with just 103 carries and 14 catches last season. I would not be surprised to see those numbers go to 140 and 30 this season. Don't forget, Montgomery tends to get nicked up as well, like he is right now. That would place Herbert into the immediate RB2 roster spot.

4. Nyheim Hines – Indianapolis Colts RB

Most people have probably jumped off of the Nyheim Hines train. After all, he's coming off arguably his least productive season and Jonathan Taylor absolutely dominated. But as fantasy football leagues continue to pivot to more PPR leagues, you need to be more aware of Hines.

Hines posted career lows in catches and receiving yards last year. But much of that had to do with who was under center. Carson Wentz has never been a quarterback willing to check down, and is always looking for the big play. His problem is that he isn't accurate enough to make those plays either.

The Colts brought in Matt Ryan to play quarterback. Ryan has always been among the league leaders in completions to his tailback.

I'm not crazy enough to say that this knocks Taylor from his perch as the top-ranked player. But it does bring Hines back into consideration for fantasy football managers. The Colts, outside of Michael Pittman Jr., do not have other reliable wide receivers. I would expect an uptick for Hines in that department, which puts him on the field for a few more carries as well.

3. Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Kansas City Chiefs RB

Fantasy football experts have been really down on the prospects of Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He is coming off a terrible year where he rushed just 119 times and caught just 19 passes. There are a number of reasons why those numbers are going to go up significantly this year.

His backup from last season, Darrel Williams is now in Arizona. The Chiefs brought in Ronald Jones, but recent reports out of Kansas City have him in danger of not even making the team. So far, he's averaging 0.3 yards per carry in preseason. That was not a typo.

Jerick McKinnon is still there, but he is old and struggles to stay healthy. With Tyreek Hill now opening up a ton of targets, and a bunch of new receivers needing time to develop chemistry with Patrick Mahomes, Edwards-Helaire is looking at doubling his catches from last year. 150 plus carries and 40 plus receptions is looking like his floor in an offense led by Mahomes.

2. Tony Pollard – Dallas Cowboys RB

The writing was on the wall last year. Ezekiel Elliott is past his prime. While he plodded and fell into the end zone 10 times, Pollard was by far the more explosive player. Dallas has next to no receiving options outside of CeeDee Lamb and Dalton Schultz.

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Nick Meyer ·

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Andrew Meyers ·

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Shane Shoemaker ·

The Cowboys have already toyed with the idea of using Pollard as a receiver. Pro Bowl left tackle, Tyron Smith, is now out for a couple of months, which will speed up Dak Prescott to get rid of the ball. That should also help the quicker Pollard. He's still going to spell Elliott from time to time as well. I am buying as much of Pollard at his ADP as I possibly can.

1. Travis Etienne Jr. – Jacksonville Jaguars RB

The final player on this list is a no-brainer. Travis Etienne Jr. is expected to take the starting job from James Robinson in Jacksonville.

Etienne Jr. missed all of last season with a Lisfranc injury. So, technically every touch is more than last season. But he is going to get the lions share in an improving offense. Robinson had the perfect opportunity to prove he can be their every down back last season. Instead, he proved the opposite.

Don't forget that Etienne Jr. won a National Championship at Clemson with Trevor Lawrence as his quarterback. Etienne Jr. has already impressed in camp and preseason. The offensive line is a work in progress. So he isn't a lock to be an RB1 in fantasy football leagues. But in PPR leagues specifically, he should catch a ton of passes and might rank among the league leaders. That makes a huge difference.