As we roll along this offseason, we are laying the groundwork for early best-ball drafts, dynasty leagues, and everything else under the fantasy sun as we gear up for the next NFL season.
The 2025 rankings have already been posted in full on the site, but we wanted to add some notes to each position.
These will move and be updated throughout the offseason as the landscape changes.
These rankings will include only a brief description for each player.
I will also provide more in-depth player write-ups, complete with full tiers, in our 2025 NFL Preview book, which is forthcoming.
These running back ranks are based on full-PPR scoring.
Please check out the rankings for other formats.
2025 Fantasy Football Draft Rankings:
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Fantasy RB Rankings 2025:
- Bijan Robinson
- Christian McCaffrey
- Saquon Barkley
- Jahmyr Gibbs
- De'Von Achane
2025 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings:
1. Bijan Robinson: He is a genuine contender to be RB1 overall who took the next step forward as a front-end producer in his second season, turning 365 touches into 1,887 yards and 15 scores. Robinson took over more work as the season progressed. He was an RB1 scorer in 10 of his final 12 games. He handled 72.7% of the backfield opportunities over the final nine games, averaging 121.9 yards per game during those weeks. He also scored multiple touchdowns in four of those final nine games, for 10 touchdowns over that span. He was RB1 overall in expected points per game over that stretch. I have more faith in the San Francisco and Philadelphia offenses than Atlanta’s, but Robinson has the added benefit of being in the apex range of his ascending career while both CMC and Barkley are pushing the back-end of the age apex at the position.
2. Christian McCaffrey: He can still be the best fantasy asset at the position, even if there is a risk versus reward factor. Coming off a lost season in which he was injured coming in, McCaffrey has been involved fully in this offseason. Has front-end usage in a scheme set up for his success, paired with the league’s most favorable schedule. CMC handled 90.5% and 85.2% of the backfield touches with over 100 yards from scrimmage in his two games played with Brock Purdy last season. He has finished as the RB1 or RB2 in overall scoring over his past four complete seasons. I originally had CMC as RB1, but taking a step back, there is a level of irresponsibility in having a 29 year old who has missed double-digit games in three seasons over a 23 year old climber who could be an iteration of Todd Gurley in a similar system.
3. Saquon Barkley: Coming off a historic season, racking up 2,283 yards on offense with 15 touchdowns. He is an easy bet in chasing last year’s production, but there will surely be regression in his dependency on long touchdown runs while still contending with the Tush Push, career-low receiving usage, and coming off a 482 touch season. That was the most touches for a player in a full season since DeMarco Murray’s 497 touches in 2014. The RB1 overall has not been repeated since 2002-2003. However, Barkley still has a complete blend of talent, per-play upside, an effective offensive line, and an overall strong offensive attachment in place to challenge a repeat.
4. Jahmyr Gibbs: A high-floor fantasy player while playing in a timeshare, Gibbs also has RB1 overall upside when he has the backfield to himself. Gibbs has been RB8 and RB2 in PPR points per game in his first two seasons. He has averaged 16.9 points per game while playing alongside David Montgomery and a robust 27.4 points per game without Montgomery active.
5. De’Von Achane: He has turned in RB5 and RB6 scoring seasons to open his career, in two completely different fashions. After a hyper-efficient rookie campaign propelled by chunk plays, Achane was a volume-based asset in 2024. Looking to marry those two seasons, Achane was RB1 in expected points per game in the weeks Tua Tagovailoa played and RB2 in actual points per game in those weeks. In the games without Tagovailoa, Achane was RB34 in expected points per game and RB42 in actual points per game.
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