A first look at the position that dominated in 2024
Welcome to Part II of my preliminary rankings and tiers for each major position for fantasy. My quarterback rankings dropped a few days ago, and you can find the rest of my preseason fantasy content here. Wide receiver and tight end will follow, and I’ll update them all in August. Hopefully, these initial looks will help you to start thinking about player values and draft strategies.
Before we get to the rankings and commentary, here are two general thoughts about the RB position.
1. 2024 was the year of the running back. Don’t be distracted by what happened with consensus No. 1 pick Christian McCaffrey last season. Running backs stayed remarkably healthy in 2024, and very few starters lost their jobs during the season. The result was the best overall season for backs in quite some time. We had a 2,000-yard rusher, a 1,900-yard rusher, 11 backs with at least 1,500 total yards, 16 with at least 1,000 rushing yards, and eight with at least 15 total TDs. I don’t have a research department to look it up, but you have to go back a long, long way to find a season with similar totals hit (if ever). My guess is we’ll see some regression in 2025 and especially with lots of rookies poised to share or even lead multiple backfields. I also think last year’s results will push running backs up draft boards this season. In recent seasons, more wide receivers have creeped into Round 1 of drafts than ever before, but I think this year you’ll see a lot of first rounds that are at least 50% running backs.
2. Rookies will be a big factor. Last season, fourth-round pick Bucky Irving and fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy, Jr. were the only rookie backs to clear 500 rushing yards. Pay no attention to that. This season is going to be different, as multiple rookies are poised to have significant backfield shares right out of the gate, and more will have opportunities as the season goes on. It’s a very strong class, plus there are a lot of older backs who are penciled in as starters. I expect some injury regression to the norm for the position, in general. Rookie backs often take a few weeks to get going, as pass protection is trusted to veterans to start. I’ve got ten rookies ranked in my Top-55 RBs, and I’m not an outlier. This could be the year of the rookie running back.
I’ve organized the running backs into tiers, as I do at every position. You should do the same. To reiterate what I said in the quarterback column, everyone wants the best players, and a tiered approach allows fantasy managers to have a great view of (a) ranges of players who can be expected to have similar fantasy production, (b) where the drop-offs are between those ranges, and (c) how many players in a range remain available at any given time. Tiers really help when position runs come, and they facilitate more effective drafting, regardless of whether you use a snake or auction format.
My running back rankings and tiers are for Half-Point PPR. In Full PPR, the backs who catch a lot of passes climb the rankings. Season-long rankings shown are on a Fantasy Points Per Game (PPPG) basis and exclude the final week of the season.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Tier I – The Top Dogs
1. Saquon Barkley
2. Bijan Robinson
3. Derrick Henry
4. Jahmyr Gibbs
5. Christian McCaffrey
Commentary: A lot of rankers have knocked Barkley from the No. 1 spot, but I haven’t. Yes, no RB1 has repeated in almost 20 years, and yes, he had almost 500 touches last season including playoffs, and the next-year history of guys with that kind of workload isn’t good. Plus, he’s now 28. So what? He’s in a perfect situation and I think he has the best chance to finish as the RB1 this season, so he stays at the top spot for me.
Henry over Gibbs? That’s crazy, I hear you say. No, it isn’t. He actually finished slightly ahead of him last season (RB2, 18.6 FPPG, vs. RB3, 18.3 FPPG), and that was with Ben Johnson in Detroit, David Montgomery missing multiple games late in the season, and it was also before the Lions lost two of their offensive line starters. Henry shows no signs of slowing down, and like Barkley is in a terrific situation, with an extremely mobile QB that keeps defenses from stacking the box.
McCaffrey is the wild card here, and his range of outcomes is the widest of any starting back on the board. If you do draft him, I strongly suggest nabbing Isaac Guerendo a round or two before his ADP, as insurance.
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Tier II – More studs
6. Devon Achane
7. Ashton Jeanty (R)
8. Josh Jacobs
9. Jonathan Taylor
10. Bucky Irving
Commentary: Most people will be happy with any of these backs as their RB1. Jeanty’s ranking is very high for a rookie, but like Ezekiel Elliott in 2016 and Barkley in 2018, he’s in a great situation to dominate touches early, and has the talent and skillset to be an all-purpose producer right away. Achane carries some risk as his success is so closely tied to the health of his starting quarterback. In the 11 games that Tua Tagovailoa played last year he was the RB1, but in those he missed, he was just another guy. Taylor has an RB1 season on his resume, while Jacobs has an RB3 season on his, and both are true three-down workhorses. Irving was the RB6 from Weeks 10-17 last season as a rookie, and should build on that in an excellent offense.
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Tier III – Solid RB1s
11. Chase Brown
12. Kyren Williams
13. Kenneth Walker
14. Breece Hall
15. Chuba Hubbard
16. Alvin Kamara
17. James Conner
18. James Cook
19. Joe Mixon
Commentary: There should be some great performers in this tier, but with each back, there are just enough lingering concerns to keep him off the tier above. A few of these guys (Kamara, Conner, and Mixon) are at the age where RBs start to break down, or slow down, or both. In the case of Kamara, he should be peppered with targets, but the Saints could be so bad that it puts a damper on his TD opportunities and upside. Walker has had issues staying healthy and Hall took a step back last season. Brown blew up in the second half last season (RB5 Weeks 8-17, after he took over the backfield), but will he get the same kind of volume? Williams had ball security issues last season and the Rams have drafted a running back in two straight drafts. I could go on, but you get the picture.
Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images
Tier IV – The Tweeners
20. David Montgomery
21. D’Andre Swift
22. Omarion Hampton (R)
23. R.J. Harvey (R)
24. Aaron Jones
25. Tony Pollard
26. TreVeyon Henderson (R)
27. Isiah Pacheco
28. Kaleb Johnson (R)
29. Quinshon Judkins (R)
Commentary: Look at all those rookies! I warned you. All five of them could and probably will lead their teams in touches, but you might need to be a bit patient (see the first part of this article). Judkins could face some discipline for an off-field incident that happened in early July, so his ranking is going to be fluid. There is real value to be had in this tier, and while most of these guys project as RB2s, it’s very likely that you’ll have at least one or two in this group that end up performing as RB1s.
Tier V – The Flexes
30. Jaylen Warren
31. Najee Harris
32. Javonte Williams
33. Brian Robinson, Jr.
34. Tyrone Tracy, Jr.
35. Travis Etienne, Jr.
36. Tyjae Spears
Commentary: The backs in this group have stand-alone value, and upside if they can command more volume than the share that’s currently projected. Williams, Robinson, Tracy, and Etienne all project as “starters” for now, but in backfields that are likely to be committees. Harris suffered an eye injury on July 4, but appears to be OK, and the Chargers didn’t bring him there just for spot duty.
Tier VI – The Sharers and Top Handcuffs
37. Jordan Mason
38. Rhamondre Stevenson
39. Zach Charbonnet
40. Isaac Guerendo
41. J.K. Dobbins
42. Tank Bigsby
43. Rachaad White
44. Cam Skattebo (R)
45. Austin Ekeler
46. Ray Davis
47. Tyler Allgeier
48. Rico Dowdle
49. Jaydon Blue (R)
50. Braelon Allen
51. Jaylen Wright
52. Jerome Ford
53. Trey Benson
Commentary: Some of the players in this tier have some stand-alone value, but in most cases an injury or some other major issue would need to occur for them to take off. 2024 notwithstanding, history tells us that this will happen, and I’m going to believe in that history. It’s hard to predict injuries, so I try to load up on a few of these players in the later rounds. Having a suddenly-relevant player stashed is a lot better than competing for him in a waiver wire stampede.
Tier VII – RB Depth
54. Jaydon Blue (R)
55. Bhayshul Tuten (R)
56. Roschon Johnson
57. Kareem Hunt
58. Justice Hill
59. Blake Corum
60. Nick Chubb
61. Kendre Miller
62. Marshawn Lloyd
63. Zack Moss
64. D.J. Giddens
65. Dylan Sampson (R)
66. Will Shipley
67. Jaleel McLaughlin
68. Raheem Mostert
69. Keaton Mitchell
70. Devin Singletary
71. Miles Sanders
72. Jarquez Hunter (R)
Commentary: For some of the higher-ranked players in this tier, what I wrote for Tier VI applies here as well. They could be an injury, suspension, or fumbling problem away from being weekly starters, and maybe even league-winners. Load up! Lottery tickets are worth holding, until you absolutely need the bench spot for something else. I could keep listing names of third stringers, but decided to cut it off at player 72, which equates to six running back spots per team in a 12-team league. In larger leagues or those with deeper benches, you’ll want to rank more RB depth.
Coming next: Wide receiver rankings and tiers, so keep it here!