When preparing for fantasy football drafts, it’s a good idea to think about your rankings in tiers in order to map out both strategy and value. With the NFL preseason in full swing, it’s time to unveil our 2025 positional tiers.
This time we’ll cover running backs, but you can see the other positions below.
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2025 Fantasy Football Running Back (RB) Tiers
Running Backs Tier 1
| Saquon Barkley | PHI |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | DET |
| Bijan Robinson | ATL |
These are your locked-in fantasy stars. Saquon Barkley led the NFL in rushing attempts (345) and yards (2,005) last year. His situation is almost entirely unchanged a season after he averaged over 22 PPR points per game. Jahmyr Gibbs led the position in season-long scoring. He bested Barkley despite seeing nearly 100 fewer carries. His involvement as a receiver played a key role in this, though he notably played one more game than Barkley. Gibbs came up short of Barkley on a per-game basis but made up for it with back-to-back 25-point performances to close out the fantasy postseason. Bijan Robinson is the final back to top 20 points per game last year and fittingly rounds out the first tier.
Running Backs Tier 2
| Derrick Henry | BAL |
| Bucky Irving | TB |
| Christian McCaffrey | SF |
| Ashton Jeanty | LV |
| Jonathan Taylor | IND |
| De’Von Achane | MIA |
The second tier covers every other back going in the first two rounds. Derrick Henry went toe-to-toe with Barkley as a rusher, but the lack of a receiving role stopped him short of a legendary season. De’Von Achane had the opposite problem. His rushing efficiency cratered, but he operated as a de facto third receiver for the Dolphins. He led the position with 78 receptions, 592 yards, and six scores through the air. Tier 2 also gives us the opposite ends of the age spectrum with rookie Ashton Jeanty and veteran Christian McCaffrey. Jeanty, the No. 5 overall pick, was the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley. McCaffrey has a claim to the fantasy GOAT title but missed most of 2024 with bilateral Achilles tendinitis. It makes sense to dip into Tier 2 after starting your draft with a wideout in the first round.
Running Backs Tier 3
| Kyren Williams | LAR |
| Omarion Hampton | LAC |
| Josh Jacobs | GB |
| Breece Hall | NYJ |
| Chase Brown | CIN |
We’re probably not getting an RB1 overall season from Tier 3. Josh Jacobs and Kyren Williams found themselves in ideal situations last year. Both backs saw all of the work on good offenses and injuries to surrounding players increased their team’s desire to run the ball. Both narrowly missed out on a top-five fantasy finish. Breece Hall feels live to finish as the league’s top fantasy option in my heart. In reality, the Jets have talked up a committee approach and Braelon Allen specifically all offseason. With Najee Harris sidelined because of an eye issue, No. 22 overall pick Omarion Hampton is rightfully surging up draft boards. He could be at the top of this tier by the end of summer.
Running Backs Tier 4
| Alvin Kamara | NO |
| Kenneth Walker | SEA |
| James Cook | BUF |
| James Conner | ARI |
| Chuba Hubbard | CAR |
This looks like the traditional “dead zone” for running backs. All of these players have notable flaws in their profiles. Alvin Kamara sees all of the work for the Saints, including an elite receiving role. His efficiency metrics have also declined for years and his total fantasy output has cratered in the second half of the season multiple times. James Conner joins Kamara as the elder statesman of the group. Conner’s efficiency was stellar in 2024. He averaged 3.3 yards after contact per carry and hit 1.5 yards per route. Despite age-related risks of decline, both Kamara and Conner are priced reasonably. James Cook is on the younger end of this tier and led the league in rushing scores last year. That was a wonderful experience for his 2024 fantasy managers, but this year’s drafters have to grapple with the inevitable touchdown regression coming his way.
Running Backs Tier 5
The profiles in Tier 5 are as fragile as they come. D’Andre Swift was traded from Detroit the last time he played under Ben Johnson. David Montgomery is a backup running back and the starter ahead of him might be the best back in the NFL. Isaiah Pacheco is a two-down runner coming off injury-plagued seasons of varying degrees. The upside of this group comes via the rookies. TreVeon Henderson is an explosive runner and a dynamic pass-catcher on an ascending offense. RJ Harvey was tailor-made for Sean Payton’s designed running back touches. Both players will likely start the year slowly, but the wait will be worth it. Jacory Croskey-Merritt is the latest addition to Tier 5. The Commanders sent Brian Robinson to San Francisco, locking JCM in as the starter for Week 1 off the heels of a stellar offseason.
Running Backs Tier 6
| Jordan Mason | MIN |
| Kaleb Johnson | PIT |
| Jaylen Warren | PIT |
| Tyrone Tracy Jr | NYG |
| Jaydon Blue | DAL |
| Zach Charbonnet | SEA |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | NE |
| Travis Etienne | JAX |
| Tyler Allgeier | ATL |
Nearly every back in this tier is expected to be a backup at some point in the year. The rookies and the league’s best handcuffs—Kaleb Johnson, Jaydon Blue, Zach Charbonnet, and Tyler Allgeier—will all open the season behind at least one other running back. It’s unlikely you want to start any of them in Week 1. The veterans, on the other hand, will lose work as the season drags on. Rhamondre Stevenson and Travis Etienne should see their team’s first carries of the year. They aren’t likely to handle the last. Etienne has a combo of Tank Bigsby and rookie Bhayshul Tuten on his heels. The aforementioned Henderson is the Patriots’ long-term solution at running back, not Stevenson. If you’re double-dipping in this tier, there’s a good chance you’ll want to grab players with different scoring profiles to balance out your roster.
Running Backs Tier 7
| Javonte Williams | DAL |
This is the realm of more speculative backups and passing-down backs. James Cook missed one game last year. Ray Davis saw 20 carries and three targets but only played on 58 percent of the snaps. Ty Johnson was still involved on passing downs. Trey Benson never made a start as a rookie and could also be stuck splitting time with a change-of-pace back if his starter goes down. The rookies in this tier are by far the most interesting bets for ZeroRB drafters. All three of Tuten, Cam Skattebo, and Dylan Sampson have fragile situations ahead of them. All three were fourth-round picks with high-upside profiles. If anyone from Tier 7 is the player you needed to have in the fantasy playoffs, it will be one of the three newcomers.
Running Backs Tier 8
The final tier ends at RB55 but could have extended well beyond that number. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure novel where most of the outcomes see you cut your draft pick for a streaming tight end in Week 5. That makes this another spot where fantasy managers should lean toward the upside shots. Joe Mixon’s status for the entire season is unknown and Nick Chubb is coming off another season-ending injury. Both players are poor risk-reward bets, but it’s just as difficult to get excited about Woody Marks, the rookie Houston added to the mix. It’s hard to say that about any of the other Tier 8 backs. Braelon Allen is generating loads of training camp buzz, though it’s hard to imagine how he converts that into tangible fantasy points without an injury to Breece Hall. Still, he could scrape by as an RB3 while also being one of the best backups in the league. Ollie Gordon and Kyle Monangai also fit this bill after seemingly usurping the veterans ahead of them on the depth chart for their backup roles.
