The 2024 fantasy football season is now over, and hopefully, there are many champions among our readers. Before a bunch of you check out until the summer, let’s take a way-too-early look at what the top 12 running backs for 2025 fantasy leagues might look like.
2025 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Why Bijan Robinson over Saquon Barkley? Because we need to predict what will happen, not just do what last happened.
The Atlanta Falcons didn’t take some massive leap forward offensively after moving on from Arthur Smith and Desmond Ridder. Yet, Bijan Robinson still managed to prove he was as good as advertised.
Robinson’s opportunity share went from a paltry 52.3% in 2023 to nearly 70% in 2024. Treated like the lead back he is, Robinson averaged 20.1 fantasy points per game, finishing as the overall RB3. With a full offseason to develop, this offense should be even better during Michael Penix Jr.’s second season. Robinson has 20-touchdown upside in 2025.
2) Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
Given how well running backs performed compared to wide receivers and the reactionary nature of fantasy managers, Saquon Barkley will likely get the nod over Ja’Marr Chase in most 2025 fantasy drafts. It just won’t be unanimous the way Christian McCaffrey was in 2024.
Barkley became the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. Despite losing a number of touchdowns to the Tush Push, he still managed to score 13 on the ground and two more through the air. His 22.2 fantasy points per game led all running backs.
3) Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
David Montgomery is good for Jahmyr Gibbs. We cannot feel confident that Gibbs would make it through a full season if he touched the ball 400 times. But if we ever get a full season of Gibbs with an entire backfield to himself, we’re talking 2006 LaDainian Tomlinson-level upside.
I feel confident calling Gibbs the most electric player in the game. In some ways, he reminds me of 2017 Tyreek Hill. We knew Hill didn’t need volume to be a WR1…but what if he got it? We certainly found out, and it was glorious. That’s where Gibbs is at.
In some ways, Gibbs may end up overvalued next year due to Montgomery missing the end of the 2024 season. Fantasy managers are very reactionary, and the last thing we will remember is Gibbs melting faces over the final month of the season.
With that said, it’s not as if Gibbs wasn’t still elite with Montgomery. His Week 18 eruption pushed him over 20 fantasy ppg, but he was firmly around 18 with Montgomery. He’s well worth a mid-first-round selection.
4) Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
Death. Taxes. Derrick Henry.
Simply put, Henry is built different, which is why he can do what he’s doing at over 30 years old. No running back over the age of 30 has ever rushed for more yards than Henry’s 1,921, which was second in the league behind Barkley.
Henry ran for a league-leading 16 touchdowns (tied with Gibbs, plus he had two more through the air). It’s the third time in Henry’s career he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns.
We saw Henry’s efficiency decline over his previous three years, but he looked fine physically. As it turns out, the reason for the decline was, in fact, the Tennessee Titans’ deplorable offense.
This year, Henry was back to averaging over 5.0 yards per carry, setting a career-high 5.9.
At this point, I am willing to go down with the ship on Henry. I will believe he is done when I see it. This Baltimore Ravens offense is not going to suddenly get worse, and Henry remains an elite RB1.
5) De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
The argument in favor of second-round De’Von Achane was that he had the potential to break fantasy.
On the surface, he came up short. While 17.6 fantasy points per game is nothing to scoff at, we know he has legendary upside, and that’s not hitting it.
When you dig deeper, you realize that Achane did exhibit that league-winning upside, averaging 22.5 ppg in his 11 games with Tua Tagovailoa healthy. We certainly can’t bank on Tagovailoa ever staying on the field, but Achane has proven to be an elite RB1 and is well worth a first-round selection in 2025.
6) Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
It goes without saying that everything written in January is subject to change. Thus, Chase Brown’s lofty ranking hinges heavily on what the Cincinnati Bengals do at running back.
The first month of the season suggests they always wanted two guys in this backfield. Once Zack Moss went down, the Bengals didn’t really have any other choice than to keep Brown on the field as much as possible. However, it’s hard to fathom he once again sees an 80% snap share and over a 90% opportunity share like he did after Moss went on IR.
Right now, though, the Bengals only have Brown. From Week 4 onward, he averaged 18.7 fantasy points per game, which are elite RB1 numbers. So for now, he gets the benefit of the doubt.
7) Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
I’ll be candid. I don’t know what to do with Christian McCaffrey. Yet, I have about eight months to figure it out.
I’m certainly not convinced McCaffrey is done. Quite the contrary, in fact. If you told me for sure that he plays 14+ games in 2025, I’ll tell you for sure this ranking is too low.
The 2025 season will be a unique opportunity for fantasy managers, as it will be the best price we get on McCaffrey…ever. There’s virtually no chance he returns par value. Either he’s able to get healthy and he’s still Christian McCaffrey…or it’s over.
CMC around the 2-3 turn will be the best or worst pick in every fantasy draft.
8) Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I am all in.
Look at how the season finished. Bucky Irving completely reduced Rachaad White to an obvious passing-down role. Essentially, White became a pass blocker, not even touching the ball in the final game of the season.
Meanwhile, Irving averaged 16.9 fantasy points per game from Week 6 onward, which included Week 14 when he left the game early after scoring just 2.8 points. Remove that game, and he’s at 18.2.
This isn’t a situation like 2023 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had no choice. They had options. Both White and Sean Tucker have proven capable of handling volume when asked, yet they chose to feature the rookie.
In Year 2, it will be even better.
9) Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
After it was all said and done, Jonathan Taylor bounced back pretty nicely in 2024. His 17.5 fantasy points per game marked his best average since his overall RB1 finish in 2021.
The Indianapolis Colts had issues last season, most notably their inability to decide which quarterback they wanted to go with. It will likely be Anthony Richardson next year, which probably isn’t great for Taylor’s absolute ceiling.
Taylor has now finished with a target share below 9% in consecutive seasons. Without receiving upside, he’s essentially a lighter version of Derrick Henry on a worse offense. Yet, he’s still an immensely talented back who possesses 20-touchdown upside.
If Taylor can get to 17.5 points per game with only 12 touchdowns, he could easily hit 20 ppg with an outlier touchdown year.
10) Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
It turns out that maybe we shouldn’t blanket fade veteran RBs changing teams. Barkley was the overall RB1, and Josh Jacobs had the second-best season of his career.
With an offensive improvement by going to the Green Bay Packers, Jacobs rebounded to average 17.6 fantasy ppg, finishing as the overall RB8. There’s little reason to think his role in 2025 won’t be the same as it was in 2024, but we can ding him some because he’s unlikely to score 16 touchdowns again.
11) Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
So much for Blake Corum being a threat to Kyren Williams. It was no surprise that Williams took a step back in 2024 after averaging 21.3 fantasy points per game in 2023. However, it’s not as if fantasy managers who drafted Williams in the second round are upset over his 17.0 ppg.
Williams led all running backs in snap share at 88.4%, and his 82.8% opportunity share was third in the NFL. As much as we’d love to see more receiving volume, Williams has an elite volume role in a good offense. He’s officially proven that his 2023 breakout wasn’t a fluke.
12) Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
The final three weeks (excluding Week 18) certainly put a damper on an otherwise superb season. Joe Mixon averaged a career-best 18.2 fantasy points per game, which included a dismal stretch from Weeks 15-17 that saw him fail to reach double-digit fantasy points in any of those contests.
Did Mixon fade down the stretch? I don’t think that was it. Rather, I think he just ran into three brutal matchups at the worst possible time.
Mixon carried fantasy managers to the playoffs, and then, just when you needed him most, he vanished. That type of performance leaves a sour taste in fantasy managers’ mouths, which could result in Mixon being a value once again in 2025.