2024 tier-based running back rankings

We are now in the heart of training camp where joint practices and preseason games are starting to take place. With all this new information coming out of training camp, fantasy rankings are really starting to take shape right in time for draft season.

The running back position is widely considered the most important position in fantasy football. To an extent, that is true. The reason it is so important is because of how shallow the position is, and therefore how much having a top-tier fantasy running back can do for your team.

With that being said, there are still several running back gems later in the draft. Let’s take a look at the running backs from top to bottom.

All fantasy rankings, PPG, stats, ADP (ESPN and Sleeper) and snap counts are courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

Tier 1: Christian McCaffrey

1. Christian McCaffrey, San Fransisco 49ers

I think it’s safe to say that McCaffrey is not human and still deserves to be in a tier of his own. At 28 years old, I usually worry about the running back age cliff, but McCaffrey is an outlier. I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon and I think he will be elite for another three to four years.

It will likely be the same as it was in 2023 for McCaffrey – pure dominance. He has the workhorse role with elite receiving work in an efficient offense under an elite offensive mind in Kyle Shannahan. McCaffrey should not only be drafted as the RB1, he should be drafted as the first overall pick.

Tier 2: Upcoming superstars

2. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
3. Breece Hall, New York Jets
4. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

I can’t put these guys in the highest tier with McCaffrey yet, but if they all have the elite seasons I project for them I will have a hard time keeping them out of tier one next season. All three of these guys are young studs who I see having their true breakout seasons in 2024.

Robinson was a highly touted running back prospect out of Texas, which led him to get taken by the Falcons with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 draft. His talent was put on display in his rookie season as he put up 976 yards for four touchdowns on the ground to go with 58 receptions for 487 yards and four touchdowns through the air, good for the RB9 on the 2023 season. This was a stellar season for a rookie running back, and it should only get better.

Robinson was the victim of a head coach who didn’t give him enough of the workload, especially on the goal line which is what led to only four touchdowns on 214 carries. New head coach Raheem Morris has made it clear that their offense will run through him. I see him getting a Christian McCaffrey-level workload.

Hall is going into his third season in the NFL for the Jets. The only reason he hasn’t had a true breakout season is due to injury. He suffered an ACL tear just seven games into a rookie year when he proved to already be a top running back in the league. In 2023, Hall slowly looked more and more like himself throughout the season.

However, it wasn’t until late in the season that he seemed back to fully healthy. Not to mention, Hall had to deal with the worst statistical offense in the league. With all this against him, he still managed an RB2 finish on the season. Now that Hall is fully healthy, the sky is the limit.

Gibbs is the guy that I feel some don’t have in this tier. For me, talent will prevail and get him to a top-four finish. In a season where Gibbs had to split a lot of the snaps with David Montgomery but still finished as the RB10 on the season. Montgomery still has an impact on the workload but I expect Gibbs to get a lot more work, especially in the red zone. With an increased workload, I expect Gibbs to have a monster fantasy season.

Tier 3: Locked-and-loaded RB1s

5. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
6. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
7. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
8. Isaiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

This tier all shares a lot in common. They are the clear lead running backs for their team and will get the workhorse role, but they don’t have the same ceiling that any of the four running backs over them do. To me, the chances of anyone in this tier finishing as a top-three fantasy running back are low. However, I don’t see them finishing any lower than a low-end RB1.

Williams is the most exciting and most frightening running back in this tier. As a fifth-round pick in 2022, Williams’ rookie season never took off due to an immediate injury. He entered the season as the starting running back for the Rams and never looked back, finishing as the RB7 in 2023 in just 12 games. There is concern due to the possibility of 2023 being an outlier season and the drafting of rookie Blake Corum in the third round of the 2024 draft. To me, Corum was just an insurance pick. Head coach Sean McVay has always believed in an offensive system that runs through one running back. There is concern for Williams past this season but just regarding 2024, go all in on him.

Barkley and Taylor are two veterans who just don’t have the ceiling they used to. Both are still great players, but several factors are working against both running backs in 2024. Barkley is now 27 years old, and will likely start showing signs of slowing down this season. Hurts will take a lot of rushing touchdowns near the goal line away from Barkley but I expect him to have a better finish than RB13 in an improved offense. Expect a mid-RB1 season from the former No. 2 overall pick

The big knock for Taylor is Anthony Richardson. Due to Taylor missing the first four games of 2023, we didn’t get to see him with Richardson. However, one can imagine Richardson’s rushing will hurt Taylor. Not only will Richardson vulture rushing touchdowns from Taylor, but he will also limit check-downs to him as Richardson will be looking to run when he scrambles. Richardson averaged 10 rushes a game in his two full games in 2023. Let’s also hope that injuries do not affect Taylor in 2023 as it has several times in the past.

Pacheco is getting a much-deserved tier jump for the 2024 season in my rankings. Last year, I let Pacheco’s seventh-round draft capital keep me off of him. I will not allow that to happen any longer. He has proved that he is extremely talented and the Chiefs have decided they will just allow their talented back to lead their rushing attack, no matter where they drafted him at.

The departure of Jerrick McKinnon is more important than people realize. McKinnon was the Chiefs' primary third-down back for the past couple of seasons. Once McKinnon got injured late last season, Pacheco assumed more of that passing-down work and thrived. He had four targets in Week 16 and seven targets in Week 17. The Chiefs let McKinnon walk in the offseason. Clyde Edwards-Helaire will likely get some passing-down work, but not enough to affect Pacheco for fantasy.

Tier 4: Upside backs with a wide range of outcomes

9. James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
10. Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars
11. James Cook, Buffalo Bills
12. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
13. Kenneth Walker, Seattle Seahawks

When I say that this group of running backs has a wide range of outcomes, I mean that I could see any of these guys finishing 2024 as a mid-RB1 or a low-end RB2. Luckily, I have enough confidence with all of these backs to be about a low-end RB1.

Conner being as high as RB9 for me is probably a shock for most reading this. I will admit, I’m extremely high on him. It’s become clear that rookie Trey Benson will not be much of a factor in Conner’s workload in 2024. On top of that, Conner from an efficiency standpoint had his best year in 2023. Conner averaged 16.85 PPG with Kyler Murray under center in 2023, and that included averaging 19.9 PPG from Week 13 on. I expect big things from Conner in 2024.

Etienne is still a low-end RB1 in 2024, but he is someone I don’t expect to come very close to repeating his RB3 finish from 2023. Without his three-week streak of having two rushing touchdowns a game, he wouldn’t be close to that. Outside of that three-week streak, he only had a rushing touchdown in four other games.

Etienne will still be good in a workhorse role, but I just expect him to have some negative touchdown regression due to his inconsistency. Cook is the opposite of this. When Ken Dorsey took over as offensive coordinator in Week 11, Cook was a much more vital piece of the offense, averaging 16.7 carries and 3.7 targets a game. With this, he only had two rushing touchdowns in the whole season, though was still the RB12 on the year. I expect positive touchdown regression for Cook in 2024.

Henry will certainly be the lead back for the Ravens in 2024, but I think Justice Hill will be a lot more involved than people think. Similar to Tyjae Spears for the Titans with Henry in 2023, Hill averaged 35 to 50 percent of the snaps in the majority of games in 2023. Hill is just the Ravens' third-down back. Henry is still going to be great, but with Hill taking passing down work and Lamar being the scrambling quarterback he is, I expect Henry to get 20 or fewer targets.

Unfortunately, Henry is 30 years old. He probably won’t be as good as the rusher as he was in his younger years when he got minimal targets but still was amazing for fantasy. Although I could be proven wrong and Henry finishes higher, the Ravens' offense is uber-efficient for running backs.

Walker has been somewhat of a disappointment for fantasy in his first two seasons, only finishing as the RB18 and RB19 on the season. However, I expect him to be a lot more efficient under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. He won’t explode or anything, but a low-end RB1 or high-end RB2 finish is very attainable. How involved Zach Charbonnet is in the offense is something to monitor.

Tier 5: “The Dead Zone”

14. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
15. Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
17. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
18. Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
19. Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders
20. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
21. Gus Edwards, Los Angeles Chargers
22. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
23. D’Andre Swift, Chicago Bears

Yes, I understand that not every running back in this tier is being drafted in “the dead zone” in drafts. However, White, Mixon, Jacobs and Achane are the only ones who really aren’t being drafted in the fifth to eighth-round range. This is just the tier where it gets a little murky for me. I wouldn’t trust any of these guys as my RB1. They should all make solid RB2s, but many of these backs have the possibility of completely falling off and finishing outside of RB2 status, too.

I was really worried for Stevenson at the start of the offseason. Antonio Gibson had just signed with the Patriots and Stevenson was entering the last year of his deal without a new contract. Shortly after, New England signed him to a four-year contract, which restored my faith in him. I believe in the talent enough to have him as a high-mid RB2.

Rachaad White is a player I’m not high on. I think he volumes his way to mid-RB2 status, but I believe his role is much more at risk this season. His production as a pass catcher merely balances out his status as an inefficient rusher. Due to the risk baked in with his inefficiencies, I see him as a good RB2 because of his pass-catching, but his high Round 3 ADP is high.

Achane is another running back I’m lower on than most. Yes, he can be great. If there is one team that Achane can work on, it is the Miami Dolphins. We all saw last season how quick he is and is one cut away from a big play. On the other hand, we all saw how easily he could get injured. At 5-foot-9, it is difficult to have any trust in his frame. If you want to take Achane as your RB2 for his upside, I think that is fine. He is just going way too high to take him as an RB2 comfortably with the other players going around him.

Kamara and Mixon are both aging running backs who are past their glory days. Luckily for Kamara, he will likely get enough dump-offs from Derek Carr to PPR his way to mid-RB2 status. Mixon’s situation seems to be a lot worse than people think. Yes, he is going to be the lead back on a young, electric offense led by CJ Stroud. However, he is now going to the team with the most offensive line combinations – which is not a good thing at all – out of any team in the league in 2023.

Mixon also has earned a good chunk of his fantasy scores in the air the past couple of years, totaling 60 and 52 receptions in 2022 and 2023. I see this number going down to the 30s when you take into account that the Texans have three good wide receiver options while Stroud tends to keep his eyes peeled downfield for as long as he can before settling for a check-down or scramble. Mixon has also been very inefficient recently in his career. Singletary proved last season the Texans’ lead back can be good for fantasy, but I’m not sure Mixon can be any better than an RB2 with a low floor in 2024.

Zamir White is a running back that we don’t know much about. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and that draft capital usually doesn’t bode very well for running backs. After the first season and a half of his career, it looked like he was just going to be a backup in the NFL. However, once Jacobs stopped participating in Raiders games starting in Week 15 of last season, head coach Antonio Pierce decided to test White out and give him the workhorse role for the last four games of the season, and he impressed everyone. He was not only efficient — averaging 4.67 yards per carry in those four games — but he was also great for fantasy, averaging 15.1 PPG. Pierce has made it known that White is the clear lead back for the Raiders in 2024.

Montgomery is still a good running back who will be involved in one of the most high-powered offenses in the league. I just see his volume going down some to give Gibbs more of the workload. If he plays all 17 games, I see more of a 180-190 carries and 15-20 targets season. Still a solid workload, just not as much as the past couple of seasons. He will still likely get more of the goal-line work than Gibbs. Due to all this, Montgomery is a decent RB2 option, just expect him to have a low floor week to week, and don’t be surprised if he falls to RB3 status.

Edwards is maybe my favorite value in fantasy football this season. He is being drafted as the RB37, going as an RB4 in the late tenth round in ADP. I see him more as a mid-low RB2 for fantasy this season. Edwards has always been an extremely efficient player, and in 2023 he finished as the RB25 with under 200 carries and 13 touchdowns. Granted, he was on the Ravens offense, which bodes extremely well for running back efficiency. However, I still expect him to be efficient on the Chargers offense and get an extremely upgraded workload.

Chargers’ new head coach Jim Harbaugh loves to run the ball. As the 49ers head coach in 2011-2014, Harbaugh’s offense never failed to rank less than top ten in rushes in a season. This didn’t stop when Harbaugh became the head coach for the Michigan Wolverines, as his offense in college every year except for one in a nine-season span averaged 37 carries a game. A concern some people may have for Edwards is the fact that he is 29 years old but in his five-year career, he has only totaled 699 carries. This isn’t much wear and tear, which makes me confident he won’t break down this season. Harbaugh has also voiced that Edwards is the bell cow back for the Chargers.

Jacobs and Swift are in similar situations to me. Jacobs in just 2022 led the league in rushing yards and was the RB3 on the season. In 2023, he looked nothing like that version of himself, only averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Due to his down season, the Raiders decided to move on and Jacobs joined a new team with the Green Bay Packers. It is a good offense, but sometimes running backs just lose a huge step and never come back to where they were, and I see that being the case for Jacobs.

Swift is coming off a good year in 2023 on the Eagles, but it’s clear that NFL teams do not value him as a premier back. He simply does not have the vision and contact balance to be a top NFL running back. Even though he projects as a low-end RB2, I am not confident in him it is possible that he just completely falls off the map of the fantasy football world.

Tier 6: Late round gems

24. Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins
25. Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
26. Jonathan Brooks, Carolina Panthers
27. Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
28. Brian Robinson, Washington Commanders
29. Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
30. Zack Moss, Cincinnati Bengals

All of the backs in this tier I’m actually fans of for fantasy, and all except for Jones are late-round gems that managers should be happy to draft. Most of these guys are probably in the flex range, but if you decide to make a zero-RB or Hero RB team, building one of these backs would suit as a fine RB2 in that scenario.

Mostert is coming off a 2023 season where he was the RB5. His skill set is perfect for the Dolphins, and I see him still having a sizeable role in the Dolphins running back pie. Due to my concerns of Achane’s frame, I still see him finishing as an RB2, likely low-end. He is great value in the mid-seventh round.

Warren is another back that I see in a timeshare in 2024. He may not be the starting running back on his depth chart, but I see him as the better fantasy running back for his Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though he’s not the starter on paper, he will still likely see around fifty percent of the snaps, just like in 2023. I could even see him earning more than that. I see Warren building on his RB22 season in 2023, with a good chance to have another RB2 year.

Brooks was drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft out of Texas by the Carolina Panthers as the first running back taken in the whole draft. If it wasn’t for him coming off an ACL tear, I’d have him higher than this. I see him starting the year off with a smaller share of the workload, but slowly building it up until he gets the full reigns as the workhorse back later in the season. Head coach Dave Canales has raved about Brooks, and once his body is ready I see Canales giving him the lion's share.

Jones is the one back in here that isn’t considered a late-round gem because he is going in the fifth round in ADP. I still believe he is a talented running back, but I don’t think he will get as much work in the Vikings offense as people think. He will still be efficient, but due to his age and injuries last season, I think the Vikings will look towards more of a committee-style running back system, with Jones at the head and Ty Chandler getting more work than people see coming.

Robinson is a back who could finish above this ranking and end up as an RB2 in 2024. However, there is a chance that the Commanders' running back room be a two-man split between Robinson and Austin Ekeler, even with the latter aging, which we will talk about later. Due to this split, Robinson will likely lose a lot of the receiving work which will keep him at a low floor.

Wow, I almost forgot how good Ford was for fantasy in 2023. He finished as the RB16 on the season and was the lead back for the Browns. Now, I don’t see him being as good in 2024, but while the Browns wait for Chubb to get healthy, Ford should lead the pack. Even if Chubb doesn’t play at all this season — which I didn’t rank him because I honestly have no idea if he will — Ford is more of an RB3. He should still be a week-to-week flex option. D’Onta Foreman should be the goal-line back and therefore stealing a lot of touchdowns from Ford.

As of now, Moss is the RB1 on the depth chart for the Bengals, and I see that remaining for all of the 2024 season. Much like last season when he was the lead back for the Colts, I see Moss as a week-to-week flex option with spike week potential.

Tier 7: Flex options stuck in committees

31. Ezekiel Elliot, Dallas Cowboys
32. Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
33. Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
34. Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
35. Devin Singletary, New York Giants
36. Austin Ekeler, Washington Commanders
37. Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
38. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
39. Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
40. Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings
41. Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys

I wouldn’t exactly be hyper-targeting any backs in this tier, but they are all great running backs to have on your bench for plug-and-play flex options.

Miller is someone whose talent many really believe in for good reason. Just last week he could have been as high as RB25. Unfortunately, he suffered another hamstring injury in training camp, and head coach Dennis Allen’s response is what has turned me off of Miller. Allen told the media that “it's hard to make the team in the training room” when regarding Miller. I still believe in the talent and am therefore willing to take him as a possible late-round value even before his 14-round ADP.

The other backs in this tier I’d be most excited about taking are Elliott, Pollard, Wiliams and Singletary. They could all become late-round values. I also see Hubbard putting up solid fantasy numbers early in the season while Jonathan Brooks’ workload continues to increase.

Tier 8: Backups with the potential to earn larger roles

42. Tyrone Tracy, New York Giants
43. Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos
44. Marshawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers
45. Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
46. D’Onta Foreman, Cleveland Browns
47. Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
48. Antonio Gibson, New England Patriots

There is not much to discuss here, as these are all just backups with the potential to earn larger roles as the tier title says. However, I want to bring up Tracy as many are actively targeting him with one of my last picks in drafts. He is an older running back prospect out of Purdue but is very explosive. Don't be surprised if he surpasses Singletary as the Giants' lead back sometime in the season.