RB Rankings

Much like Christian McCaffrey going from Carolina to San Francisco or Derrick Henry swapping Tennessee for Baltimore, the switch from the Giants to the Eagles made a huge difference in Barkley's output. He's always been a high-volume RB, but efficiency was an impossible task at times in New York while dealing with lousy blocking and poor QBs. It turns out Barkley is a lot harder to tackle when he has an elite offensive line and competent passing game giving the defense something additional to worry about. He improved from 3.9 YPC in his last year with the Giants to 5.8 in 2024, propelled by a sharp increase in big plays. Barkley's carries of 20-plus and 40-plus yards, respectively rose from seven and zero in 2023 to 17 and seven last year. It's likely not sustainable for Barkley to average a 40-plus carry every two or three weeks like he did in his first season with Philadelphia, but the conditions that made him so productive remain intact, as it will always be profoundly difficult for defenses to show a proper amount of respect to Barkley, QB Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia wide receivers at the same time.

Almost everything about Henry is implausible, and while other running backs might have been subjected to rules of physical decline by now, Henry showed no signs of slowing down even after turning 30 years old last year. Indeed, Henry's 2024 season was the most explosive yet in his nine-year, Hall of Fame career, including career highs in carries of 20-plus yards (19) and 40-plus yards (five). With the speed-rushing threat posed by Lamar Jackson serving as a lightning rod on the edge, defenses found themselves spread too thin to account for Henry as an inside runner. When defenses sold out to slow the resulting damage from Henry, they found themselves lacking personnel to deal with the contain-breaking threat posed by Jackson. Perhaps defenses come up with some kind of solution, but it generally appears to be an issue of insufficient resources – namely, it appears to require more than 11 defenders to control the space that Jackson and Henry combine to threaten before any given snap. As always, the main limitation with Henry is that he won't play much in passing situations and won't catch many passes relative to the other running backs taken early in fantasy drafts.

Robinson was a rock in 2024 and demonstrated league-leading fantasy upside, crossing the rare combined threshold of 300 carries and 60 receptions, with plus efficiency both as a runner and receiver. That he accomplished this even in a somewhat dysfunctional Atlanta offense makes it worth pondering what Robinson might do if the Falcons were to improve. Even if things don't get better with Michael Penix at quarterback, Robinson already demonstrated in 2024 that he doesn't need good luck to compete for the RB1 distinction in fantasy. Robinson has produced with uncommon efficiency and elusiveness from scrimmage despite facing crowded boxes, pushing for 5.0 yards per carry despite posting just five carries of more than 20 yards. Robinson has yet to log a 40-yard carry in the NFL -- a trend that seems unlikely to persist given the abundance of other explosive indicators. Robinson has the speed to split safeties (4.46-second 40-yard dash) and the size (5-11, 215) to run them over, and he's already shown a volume ceiling that few backs can match. Adding a few more big plays on similar volume might be enough to make Robinson the top scorer for fantasy in any given year.

Gibbs' rookie season was already excellent and set him up for even higher expectations in 2024, yet it's safe to say Gibbs exceeded those expectations. He held up for all 17 weeks, including a three-game span in the fantasy playoffs when Gibbs took on a workhorse role while David Montgomery (knee) sat out. It's true that Gibbs wouldn't have had quite as many touches in 2024 if not for Montgomery's injury -- and in general the Lions prefer dividing touches between the two RBs -- but Gibbs was so dominant in Montgomery's absence that it may impact the workload split for 2025 under new offensive coordinator John Morton. As much as Gibbs' carry count might decline if Montgomery stays healthy, it's worth remembering that (A) Gibbs will likely always be among the league leaders in yards and touchdowns per carry, slightly offsetting any volume limitations, and (B) Gibbs showed a new level of pass-catching upside in 2024 and might push for 60-plus catches after logging 52 in both of his NFL seasons.

Size-adjusted athleticism is generally an important variable when evaluating NFL running back prospects, so despite excellent production in college it was a major strike to Irving's draft stock when he logged poor workout numbers last spring at just 192 pounds (4.55-second 40, 29.5-inch vertical, 115-inch broad jump). Exceptions occur to every rule, though, and while other running backs might have failed with his athletic profile, there's something unique about Irving that allows him to transcend the otherwise concerning indicators in his testing. His strong skill set was always clear at the collegiate level, where he stood out for both Minnesota and Oregon before the Buccaneers made him a fourth-round pick last spring. The main limitation with Irving pertains to his usage upside rather than his per-touch effectiveness. Playing at 192 pounds hasn't deprived Irving of the power necessary to thrive between the tackles, but it remains to be seen whether he can physically hold up as a workhorse. Irving went over 20 carries in a game just twice in college, so it might be asking a lot for him to maintain the rushing workload he shouldered in his six final healthy games of 2024 (18.8 carries per game).