Heading into Week 10 of the 2020 NFL regular season, the top three most valuable running backs for individual production remain unchanged from last week. Damien Harris still holds the top spot but is dealing with an injury this week. A veteran out of New Orleans makes a huge leap up the charts, and the Minnesota Vikings suddenly have not one, but two running backs added to the rankings.
About these rankings: For this ranking system, we are looking at which players are carrying the most overall value for their offenses based on their sole, individual production. Professional football is a team sport that requires gratuitous input from many different positions.
We collect this data using the Offensive Value Metric created by The (Bx) Movement. The Offensive Value Metric (OVM) was created to provide a numerical scale to measure the overall value that an individual player provides to his offensive unit. A player with a higher OVM grade isn’t necessarily a higher skilled player, but they do create more offensive production for their team than a player with a lower OVM.
OVM collects different levels of data from sources such as NFL’s Next Gen Stats and separates out the data points that are influenced solely on the individual player. That filtered data is run through a formula to create an OVM grade reflective on the amount of value the player brings to his offensive group.
2020 Top NFL Running Backs
Through NFL Week 9
#1 — Damien Harris, New England Patriots
Season: 17.12 OVM | 3.35 EFF | 39.68 8+D |
0.63 RYOE/ATT | 39.7 ROE%
Damien Harris continues to play very good football. He looked great on Monday against the Jets, and we saw his average 8+D numbers actually increase — meaning his opposition grew even stiffer. He did leave the game early due to a chest injury, but it is not expected to be serious. The Patriots will want him back healthy quickly though since their overall run game has been lackluster this season. Harris is now at 350 rushing yards for 2020.
#2 — Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens
Season: 15.48 OVM | 3.34 EFF | 34.67 8+D |
0.53 RYOE/ATT | 45.9 ROE%
Gus Edwards’ OVM grade improved as he carried a heavier workload while starter Mark Ingram was out this past weekend. Edwards has been very reliable and is playing exceptionally well for the Ravens. He’s already scored three touchdowns this season.
#3 — Mike Davis, Carolina Panthers
Season: 13.89 OVM | 4.01 EFF | 32.94 8+D |
0.63 RYOE/ATT | 38.1 ROE%
It is expected that Christian McCaffrey will be out this coming weekend against the Buccaneers, leaving Mike Davis to step up as the starter for the Panthers. His overall OVM did decline slightly this week, but he is still one of the most valuable backs in the NFL right now for individual production. It will be interesting to see what his patience behind the line can do to a Bucs defense that got decimated last week.
#4 — Latavius Murray, New Orleans Saints (+6)
Season: 13.67 OVM | 3.56 EFF | 28.40 8+D |
-0.16 RYOE/ATT | 41.3 ROE%
Latavius Murray makes a huge leap in our rankings, moving up six places from last week. Murray led the backfield in carries during the dominating win against the Buccaneers on Monday. He only totaled 39 rushing yards but looked good against a heavy run defense.
#5 — Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings (New)
Season: 13.49 OVM | 3.68 EFF | 30.43 8+D |
0.59 RYOE/ATT | 42.6 ROE%
Alexander Mattison finally makes an appearance in our top 10 NFL running back rankings after a fourth-quarter explosion last week against the Lions. He finished the day with 69 yards on just 12 attempts. Right now, he is outperforming his expected rushing output by nearly 43% — which is in the top 15 in the league for that metric.
#6 — Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings (New)
Season: 13.11 OVM | 3.35 EFF | 31.25 8+D |
1.69 RYOE/ATT | 46.1 ROE%
And speaking of Minnesota running backs: after last weekend’s monster game against the Detroit defense, Dalvin Cook firmly moved into the top 10 most valuable running backs in the NFL. Cook currently leads the league in overall rushing yards with 858 total yards — and he’s doing this while simultaneously being the fourth most defended against back in the league.
#7 — Adrian Peterson, Detroit Lions (-1)
Season: 12.71 OVM | 4.13 EFF | 26.88 8+D |
-0.48 RYOE/ATT | 26.4 ROE%
Adrian Peterson is a top-15 running back right now with his overall efficiency. He’s currently sitting at 350 rushing yards this year, averaging just shy of four yards per attempt. He did drop a spot here from last week, but we’ll see how he improves his overall production value this weekend in a revenge game against the Washington Football Team that cut him last season.
#8 — Darrell Henderson, Los Angles Rams (-3)
Season: 12.48 OVM | 3.68 EFF | 27.37 8+D |
0.54 RYOE/ATT | 48.4 ROE%
Darrell Henderson has been playing exceptionally well compared to what his expectations are, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. His rush percent over expected of 48.4% is the third-highest among all NFL running backs. He did find himself dropping three places on this list from last week, however, and he remains questionable to play this weekend after his Week 8 injury.
#9 — Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders (-5)
Season: 12.48 OVM | 4.20 EFF | 27.95 8+D |
0.02 RYOE/ATT | 44.0 ROE%
Josh Jacobs is crushing it with his rushing yards right now. His 588 yards is the third-highest in the league and he’s picking that up against a wall of defenders on nearly 28% of all his snaps. He did slide quite a bit on the rankings this week, dropping five spots, but he is still very much a top-10 most valuable running back in the NFL right now.
#10 — Jamaal Williams, Green Bay Packers (-3)
Season: 12.20 OVM | 3.65 EFF | 26.47 8+D |
0.53 RYOE/ATT | 43.3 ROE%
Jamaal Williams has just shy of 300 yards on the year but has consistently gained more yardage than expected of him. He’s outperforming his expectations on nearly 44% of his snaps and is averaging 4.3 yards per carry. He dropped three places this week, though that wasn’t his fault — he was unable to play last week due to being placed on the reserve list. However, he has been officially reactivated this week and is expected to play this weekend.
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