As NFL fans, we always love to discuss the best offensive skill players in the NFL. It’s a hobby type of thing, where we can debate with our friends/co-workers about who the best players are at their positions.
Running back definitely qualifies as one of the most hot-button topics, with quite a few being eligible to take the top spot.
Knowing this, I set out to rank the top 50 running backs in the NFL, accounting for career longevity, running skill, and pass-catching ability.
NFL Running Back Power Rankings 50-41
50. Latavius Murray, Buffalo Bills
49. Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
The former TCU standout didn’t test during the pre-draft process due to a serious MCL sprain suffered during the season, but it seemingly didn’t matter to the Saints, as they gave him Day 2 draft capital despite it. Look for him and backfield-mate Jamaal Williams to be a dangerous duo this season.
48. Ezekiel Elliott, Free Agent
Depending on where he signs, Elliott could vulture most of, if not all, the goal-line work in that backfield. He slowed down noticeably in his last season with the Dallas Cowboys, but he can still power his way into the end zone.
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47. Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens
46. Leonard Fournette, Free Agent
45. James Cook, Buffalo Bills
Cook is the main passing-down back for the Bills, and should be expected to carry a bit more of a workload in his sophomore season in the NFL.
We should, however, temper expectations for him in that role though, as the Bills drafted Dalton Kincaid to essentially play both tight end and slot receiver for this team, and that could take away a few targets for a team that does not dump off to the running back often (Josh Allen checked down the fifth-fewest times in the NFL in 2022, per PFF)
44. Samaje Perine, Denver Broncos
43. Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders
42. Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
This ranking more takes into account Charbonnet’s skill set than his long-term fit in Seattle, as he will be heavily competing with incumbent Kenneth Walker, as well as Day 3 pick Kenny McIntosh, who profiles as a pass-catching RB option for the Seahawks.
41. Devin Singletary, Houston Texans
NFL Running Back Power Rankings 40-31
40. D’Onta Foreman, Chicago Bears
39. Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Allgeier rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, only for the team to turn around and give Bijan Robinson top-10 draft capital. While that hurts Allgeier’s expected numbers this season, he’s still a talented back who will be solid when the Falcons put him on the field.
38. Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
37. Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins
36. Jeff Wilson, JR., Miami Dolphins
I grouped both Dolphins running backs together since they had nearly identical stat lines last season, and both of them have played well foiling off each other in their respective roles.
Wilson is a bit more of a pass-catcher than Mostert, but I still expect both to be featured similarly to last season.
35. Rashaad Penny, Philadelphia Eagles
I had to throw in the Eagles’ new early-down grinder. Penny has been the rusher in terms of efficiency; he ranks first in yards per carry over expected among all running backs over the last couple of seasons.
When healthy, he’s an absolute stud and should pick up right where Miles Sanders left off.
34. Brian Robinson, Washington Commanders
33. Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams
It’s difficult to gauge what the Rams’ plans are for Akers, but with them not adding a back until Day 3 (Zach Evans), Akers has the inside track to a potential three-down role once again this season.
It’ll be interesting to see if he’s able to unlock the massive talent he possesses a year removed from Achilles’ tendon surgery.
32. Damien Harris, Buffalo Bills
31. Elijah Mitchell, San Francisco 49ers
NFL Running Back Power Rankings 30-21
30. D’Andre Swift, Philadelphia Eagles
Everyone will have their eyes glued to Swift’s new start in Philadelphia, while probably not knowing that this is a homecoming for him. He went to St. Joseph’s Prep and might feel a little more comfortable in his home state.
Swift is one of the most talented backs in the league, but he wasn’t used correctly by Detroit’s staff.
29. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
28. Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears
The situation with Herbert is interesting. While he looked better than his now-former backfield mate David Montgomery at most times last year, the Bears were clearly not sold, adding D’Onta Foreman in free agency and Roschon Johnson through the draft.
Both players can handle carries, too, so this could be a strong three-headed monster of a backfield.
27. Jamaal Williams, New Orleans Saints
26. Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
When healthy, Williams is an absolute tank and a strong runner who bounces off tackles and bull-rushes his way to yards after contact.
However, his ACL injury suffered last season has been rumored to be more complicated than a clean ACL tear, so it remains to be seen if Williams bounces back to his old form. If he does, he could easily wind up in the top 10 of this list.
25. Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers
In a new situation for the first time in his career, Sanders joins a young offense with some untested pieces.
However, he’s a strong runner who eclipsed 1,200 rushing yards last season, so look for him to be busy behind an offensive line that was sneaky-good at times last year.
24. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
23. A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers
In a perfect world, Dillon is leading his own team and not splitting work with another talented back in Aaron Jones. He is an extremely strong runner with low contact balance at nearly 250 pounds, and he’s a surprisingly good receiver for that weight.
The Packers enjoy using both of their backs in a near equal split, so look for Dillon to get plenty of run with new QB Jordan Love entering the equation full time.
22. J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens
21. Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans
If you talk about a back who came out of the NFL Draft pretty much unscathed, Pierce’s name will likely come up a good deal.
Outside of picking up Devin Singletary in free agency, the Texans largely left the position alone, signifying that they trust Pierce to be the bowling ball that moves the offense down the field. He had a strong rookie season last year and will look to build on that.
NFL Running Back Power Rankings 20-11
20. James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
Conner also escaped the NFL Draft without a lot of competition.
Now, the Cardinals aren’t expected to be good this season, but Conner is a solid running back who excels at both running and pass-catching.
19. Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
Walker took some time to get going in his rookie season, but once he did, he was an absolute wrecking ball. He’s a talented back who provides more in the receiving game than the zero most assumed he would contribute.
With the Seahawks drafting Zach Charbonnet, watch for Walker to be more rested and rip off more chunk plays.
18. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
Gibbs will immediately step into the role vacated by D’Andre Swift, but he’ll also work as the primary ball carrier at times ahead of David Montgomery.
Gibbs was knocked for his size being a little less than prototypical, but he runs routes like a wide receiver. He also has a ton of tread on the tires, as he only carried the ball 383 times in his college career.
17. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Kamara should probably be further up this list, given his outputs of previous seasons, but I chose to move him back a few steps given a couple factors. First off, he’s now on the wrong side of 27, which we typically start to see backs lose a step at.
Adding into that, he’s facing the possibility of a significant suspension which could cost him most of the season, so there are a lot of questions here for how he’ll look the next time we see him on the field.
16. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
Harris gets a bit of flack due to the volume he gets, inflating some of his numbers. But at the end of the day, he is a tank who does it all for the Steelers, as their backs have typically done over the years. He’s a borderline top-15 RB for me in a league that has seen a rapid decline in the number of workhorses.
15. Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars
Etienne is a curious case, and I think a lot of people would have him in their top 12 of the most talented backs in the league. I hesitate there, as I think Etienne’s prowess as a pass-catcher is overblown, and we also saw a lot of up-and-down play from him in 2022.
With the drafting of Tank Bigsby, it will be interesting to see what plans the Jaguars have for Etienne.
(Check out our NFL Head Coach Power Rankings to see what we think about Doug Pederson, who has always preferred committee-style backfields.)
14. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
When Mixon is fully relied upon, he is one of the top backs in the NFL. He has seen a decline in his yards per carry numbers, though, which has me dropping him out of my top-12 talent rankings.
Also on the table is a possible release from the Bengals, and that uncertainty is enough to give me some pause.
13. Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys
Pollard should be jumping for joy that the board did not fall in a certain way to allow the Cowboys to draft another running back. The Memphis alum should finally get to showcase what it looks like when he gets a three-down workload.
So far in his career, he has backed up Ezekiel Elliott, but now Pollard’s skill set can be utilized fully.
12. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
The NFL as a whole underestimated Stevenson when he was drafted, but now he has a full season of being the workhorse back under his belt.
Stevenson has the three-down skill set, being a surprisingly nimble pass-catcher for almost 230 pounds.
11. Breece Hall, New York Jets
Hall is coming off an ACL tear last season, but prior to that was showing us some pretty impressive things as a rookie.
The sophomore has a three-down skill set and, despite the Jets drafting Israel Abanikanda, should continue to hold that role for the most part.
NFL Running Back Power Rankings 10-1
10. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
What can be said about Bijan that hasn’t already been said? He’s possibly the best prospect at the position in years, and possesses the crucial three-down skill set.
He’s probably under-ranked at No. 10 here, and will see opportunities early and often in Atlanta.
9. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers
Jones is always underrated in lists like these. He’s a bit undersized at 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, but runs extremely craftily and is one of the better route runners at the position in the league.
Going into yet another season with A.J. Dillon taking some heat off his back allows him to stay healthy and contribute solidly for the Packers.
8. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
Cook is one of the toughest runners in the NFL. Despite dealing with multiple injuries over the past couple seasons, he continues to put up solid numbers for the Vikings.
His contact balance is one of the best in the NFL, and he’s still an above-average pass catcher.
7. Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
Jacobs responded in a BIG way last season after the Raiders declined to pick up his fifth-year option, putting up career numbers all across the board. That could continue again after the Raiders did not make any significant changes to the RB room and brought in Jimmy Garoppolo, which may allow Jacobs to see a little bit more volume.
Jacobs is a three-down back who can completely take over games if given the chance.
6. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
There’s a strong case to be made that Ekeler is the best combo back in the NFL. He’s most likely the best pass-catcher at the position, as we’ve been watching him run stellar routes out of the backfield since his rookie season as a UDFA.
He takes a small hit due to the possibility he gets moved out of LA due to contract issues, but he’s still a strong option.
5. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
Year after year, Chubb continues to impress us with how great of a pure runner he is.
The Browns have never given him a full three-down back’s workload, but with Kareem Hunt now gone, I wonder if he gets a chance to showcase his underrated pass-catching ability.
4. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
People thought Barkley was done being an elite option after tearing his ACL in 2020 and having a slow season in 2021. Not to worry, as he returned to his elite talent level with more than 1,600 scrimmage yards in 2022.
2022 Coach of the Year award winner Brian Daboll is a creative mind and assuming that Barkley works out his contract with the Giants, he should post top-5 RB numbers for the next few seasons at least.
3. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
At this point, it’s hard to argue with any of the top six or so backs on this list. Taylor would appear to have the most questions after last year’s injury-filled campaign. Did he have too much volume in his record-setting 2021 season?
The additions of HC Shane Steichen and QB Anthony Richardson should help, as Steichen guided Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders to career years. When healthy, Taylor is one of the best pure runners in the NFL.
NFL Bet Pick: Jonathan Taylor Lead NFL in Rushing Yards (+800)
DraftKings Sportsbook
2. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
There’s nothing left to see about Henry that doesn’t leave me awestruck. He’s nearly 30, yet continues to put up astounding statistical seasons despite a foot injury in 2021 that could have derailed everything.
He is possibly the best pure runner to step foot on the gridiron and did not show any signs of slowing down last season with by FAR the best receiving season of his career.
1. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Finally, we reach the top dawg. McCaffrey quite simply is the cream of the crop. San Fran mortgaged its draft capital to acquire him last season, and it paid off as he contributed everywhere.
Kyle Shanahan’s method of moving running backs in and out of the formation will benefit McCaffrey in terms of allowing him to stay fresh and help avoid those pesky soft-tissue injuries, but when he’s on the field, he is the best back in the NFL.
