It’s a new year. Relying on 2023 alone when creating your fantasy football rankings for 2024 is dangerous, as much has changed across the landscape. Here is my early look at the running back position and how I see the players stacking up for the upcoming season.
Ranking the Top Fantasy Running Backs
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | WR | TE | DEF | K
1) Christian McCaffrey | San Francisco 49ers
2) Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons
3) Breece Hall | New York Jets
4) Saquon Barkley | Philadelphia Eagles
5) Jahmyr Gibbs | Detroit Lions
6) Jonathan Taylor | Indianapolis Colts
7) Derrick Henry | Baltimore Ravens
8) Kyren Williams | Los Angeles Rams
9) Travis Etienne Jr. | Jacksonville Jaguars
10) Isiah Pacheco | Kansas City Chiefs
11) De’Von Achane | Miami Dolphins
12) James Cook | Buffalo Bills
13) Rachaad White | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14) Joe Mixon | Houston Texans
15) Josh Jacobs | Green Bay Packers
16) Kenneth Walker III | Seattle Seahawks
17) Alvin Kamara | New Orleans Saints
18) James Conner | Arizona Cardinals
19) Aaron Jones | Minnesota Vikings
20) Zamir White | Las Vegas Raiders
21) D’Andre Swift | Chicago Bears
22) Brian Robinson Jr. | Washington Commanders
23) Najee Harris | Pittsburgh Steelers
24) Javonte Williams | Denver Broncos
25) Rhamondre Stevenson | New England Patriots
26) David Montgomery | Detroit Lions
27) Ezekiel Elliott | Dallas Cowboys
28) Zack Moss | Cincinnati Bengals
29) Nick Chubb | Cleveland Browns
30) Tony Pollard | Tennessee Titans
31) Jonathon Brooks | Carolina Panthers
32) Gus Edwards | Los Angeles Chargers
33) Jaylen Warren | Pittsburgh Steelers
34) Devin Singletary | New York Giants
35) Raheem Mostert | Miami Dolphins
36) Tyjae Spears | Tennessee Titans
37) Austin Ekeler | Washington Commanders
38) Chase Brown | Cincinnati Bengals
39) Zach Charbonnet | Seattle Seahawks
40) Tyler Allgeier | Atlanta Falcons
41) Jerome Ford | Cleveland Browns
42) Blake Corum | Los Angeles Rams
43) Chuba Hubbard | Carolina Panthers
44) Antonio Gibson | New England Patriots
45) Khalil Herbert | Chicago Bears
46) Trey Benson | Arizona Cardinals
47) Kendre Miller | New Orleans Saints
48) Ty Chandler | Minnesota Vikings
49) Dameon Pierce | Houston Texans
50) Justice Hill | Baltimore Ravens
51) Rico Dowdle | Dallas Cowboys
52) Roschon Johnson | Chicago Bears
53) MarShawn Lloyd | Green Bay Packers
54) Jaleel McLaughlin | Denver Broncos
55) Braelon Allen | New York Jets
56) AJ Dillon | Green Bay Packers
57) Elijah Mitchell | San Francisco 49ers
58) Keaton Mitchell | Baltimore Ravens
59) D’Onta Foreman | Cleveland Browns
60) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | Kansas City Chiefs
61) J.K. Dobbins | Los Angeles Chargers
62) Bucky Irving | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
63) Miles Sanders | Carolina Panthers
64) Kenneth Gainwell | Philadelphia Eagles
65) Alexander Mattison | Las Vegas Raiders
66) Jaylen Wright | Miami Dolphins
67) Jamaal Williams | New Orleans Saints
68) Ray Davis | Buffalo Bills
69) Audric Estimé | Denver Broncos
70) Israel Abanikanda | New York Jets
Who Are the Best Running Backs To Draft in Fantasy?
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
Is there a better bargain at the running back position right now? Despite playing in three fewer games last season than as a rookie, Pacheco touched the ball 66 more times. Volume is one thing, but in playing with the Chiefs, those touches come with plenty of quality — he had 18 more touches inside the red zone in 2023 than in 2022.
As a sophomore, Pacheco saw his fantasy points per rush stabilize, a nice accomplishment given the spike in volume, and his points per opportunity (rush attempts plus targets) more than doubled.
READ MORE: Fantasy Football RB Busts 2024
Pacheco’s ADP is being suppressed, I assume, as a result of Kansas City bringing in Hollywood Brown and drafting Xavier Worthy. This team always ranks among the leaders in pass rate over expectation (first last season), a style of play-calling that scares me less now than it did 12 months ago when it comes to evaluating Pacheco’s upside (targeted on 18.4% of routes last season, a nice increase from 9.5% the year prior).
His positional ADP is fine, but Pacheco’s spot in the hierarchy of all players is a little out of whack (fourth round), and I’m happy to take advantage!
Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders
Both Austin Ekeler and Robinson are being drafted in that Round 9-10 range after the first 30 or so backs are off the board. I think that’s nuts.
Yes, Ekeler is the one with the impressive fantasy résumé and has won you leagues in the past. That’s helpful if you’re playing in a reverse dynasty league that rewards you for past performance. Considering I just made up that format, I’m going to assume that’s not the case and that you’re drafting players to help you this season.
I’m going to heavily lean on my expected point metric to demonstrate the trajectory of these two backs.
This stat looks at every single opportunity (rush or target) a player gets in a given year and assigns a value that is calculated based on average NFL RB production from that spot on the field. In short, it tells us what an average back would do with a specific role and how our studied player did when compared to those numbers.
Ekeler Production Compared to Expectation
- 2017-19: +23.5%
- 2020-22: +14.2%
- 2023: -21.1%
Your eyes didn’t lie to you last season. Ekeler simply wasn’t himself, and now he finds himself in a role without certainty.
NFL coaches don’t use my expected points metric to make decisions, but these numbers suggest that there is no decision to be made. Here’s your full list of running backs who had 150+ carries, 40+ targets, and overachieved expectations by at least 10% last season:
- Christian McCaffrey: +23.0%
- Brian Robinson Jr.: +15.2%
- Breece Hall: +13.4%
- Kyren Williams: +11.4%
The industry is suggesting that we have a committee, but that might be holding onto the past — giving us a nice buying window.