[Exit Interviews: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End]
Derrick Henry just concluded a season in which he accomplished the following:
-
Rushed for 1,921 yards, 11th-most in NFL history;
-
Averaged 5.9 yards per carry;
-
Gained 2,114 scrimmage yards;
-
Scored 18 touchdowns
And yet somehow Henry did not actually lead the league in any of those categories. So yes, it was a pretty solid year for professional running backs. Henry was one of several right answers at fantasy football’s make-or-break position.
In 2023, Christian McCaffrey was the only running back who cleared 1,200 rushing yards for the season. This year, seven different players topped 1,200 yards and another (Chuba Hubbard) finished just five yards short. Twelve backs gained at least 1,400 scrimmage yards and 13 finished with double-digit touchdowns. Saquon Barkley almost certainly would have taken down Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record if Philadelphia hadn’t rested key starters in Week 18.
All things considered, it was simply a stellar season for running backs — from the rookies to the aging vets. It was a throwback to the early 2000s in terms of the production we received from this spot. Even the RB dead zone was full of success stories.
Let’s review the position’s notable booms and busts …
(Most of) The RB hits
Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
All he managed to do in his first year with the Eagles was produce a historic rushing season while also reimagining the limits of human locomotion:
A ridiculous player, a near-perfect back in an upper-tier offense. He reached triple-digit yardage in 13 of his 16 games, topping 150 yards seven times.
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
If we were coming off a typical season — one in which a 1,400-yard, 12-TD running back was actually a rare commodity — we’d probably all agree on Robinson as the consensus RB1 for 2025. He’s as freakish as Barkley as a runner and no less gifted as a receiver. Robinson’s 1,887 yards from scrimmage ranked fourth in the league.
Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
In the season in which he turned 31, Henry produced the most efficient year of his Hall of Fame career. He set new career highs in yards per carry (5.9) and yards per touch (6.1). If you want to fade him in 2025 because of age or mileage or some such thing … well, OK, fine. But you can’t find any evidence of decline on tape or in the numbers. He led all running backs in missed tackles this season (80) while averaging 3.5 yards after contact per attempt.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
After a supernova performance in the season-ender against the Vikings, Gibbs ultimately led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (16) and total TDs (20). He deserved to lead the league in something significant, because his season might otherwise have gone overlooked, given the outrageous productivity of Saquon, King Henry and various others.
This is probably the offseason in which the Lions finally lose OC Ben Johnson, which is a small concern for 2025 and beyond. Gibbs is clearly going to remain a foundational piece of an unfair offense, however. He won’t turn 23 until March.
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
Every year, we search the depth chart behind Jacobs for players who might steal his job. And every year, Jacobs reminds us that he is, in fact, one of the league’s most effective and elusive backs. He played every game for the Packers in 2024, finishing the season with 1,671 scrimmage yards and an eight-week TD streak. Per his usual, Jacobs finished among the position leaders in missed tackles (67) and yards after contact (1,039).
De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
Many things went wrong for Miami in 2024, but Achane wasn’t among them. He was awesome, appearing in every game and delivering 907 yards on the ground, plus another 592 yards as a receiver. Achane led all backs in routes run according to PFF (408), playing the most slot snaps at his position by a mile (120). Not surprisingly, he led all running backs in receptions (78), too.
Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
It may have felt like a quiet season from Williams, but that’s just a testament to the extraordinary number of monster fantasy seasons at this position. Williams held off the Blake Corum challenge all year, finishing with new career highs in carries (316), rushing yards (1,299) and touchdowns (16). He didn’t quite repeat last season’s fantasy playoff binge, but he did average 102.6 total yards per game over his final four, reaching the end zone four times.
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
This gentleman gave us a legendary fantasy playoff performance, erupting for 354 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns in Weeks 16 and 17. Taylor cleared 100 scrimmage yards in each of his final five games, on his way to 1,567 total yards for the year.
James Cook, Buffalo Bills
Even in a season in which his quarterback vultured six 1-yard rushing scores, Cook still managed to tie for NFL lead in rushing touchdowns (16) while finishing second in total TDs (18). He also cleared 1,000 rushing yards for a second straight season.
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s not enough to simply refer to Irving as “elusive,” or to give you the data to back up the claim. You need to watch this man run the ball to really understand how uniquely unfair he can be:
That is some truly cartoonish running right there. Irving was a revelation as a rookie, delivering over 1,500 scrimmage yards, averaging 5.4 YPC and catching over 90% of his targets. He led all backs in yards after contact per attempt, averaging an absurd 4.03. He was at his best when you needed him most, too, producing 479 total yards and two scores over the season’s final four weeks.
Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
After seizing the featured role in Cincinnati’s backfield, Brown was basically an every-week RB1. Over his final eight games, he averaged 116.3 total yards and 4.8 catches per week, crossing the goal line six times. Extend that level of production over a full season and we’re looking at nearly 2,000 scrimmage yards with 80-plus receptions.
Every 49ers back who wasn’t Christian McCaffrey
Jordan Mason was an unstoppable force over the first month of the season and Isaac Guerendo was a key-to-victory player in the closing weeks. Patrick Taylor Jr. even managed to make some noise in the season finale, rushing for 109 yards. The only guy in this team’s backfield who never moved the needle in fantasy happened to be the game’s consensus No. 1 overall pick in 2024.
Shrug.
The (surprisingly few) RB misses
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Just a gross and distasteful season. Let’s agree to never discuss it again. It began with an alleged minor injury that resulted in an eight-week absence (and a trip to Germany for exotic treatments), then ended with a different injury, wiping out the final five games for McCaffrey.
Breece Hall, New York Jets
To be fair, Hall’s year-end numbers don’t actually seem terrible. He gained 1,359 total yards, caught 57 passes and scored eight touchdowns for a dreadful team. Hall goes down as a miss, however, because we drafted him as the overall RB2, ahead of Robinson, Barkley, Gibbs, Henry and every other back who feasted in 2024. At his ADP, we needed significant year-over-year improvement and it simply didn’t happen.
Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
An absolutely disgusting season from your second-round pick. Etienne appeared in 15 games yet gained only 812 total yards, visited the end zone twice and averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. Tank Bigsby out-rushed him by 208 yards on only 18 more carries.
Isiah Pacheco (Kansas City Chiefs) and Kenneth Walker III (Seattle Seahawks)
These two share a blurb because both saw their seasons derailed by injuries while their backups thrived. Alas. If you drafted either (or both), you simply ran into bad luck, not a bad player. Neither is outside the circle of trust in 2025.
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
He was inefficient and fumbly, unable to overcome a poor offensive environment. In the end, he slipped behind Antonio Gibson in the team’s backfield hierarchy. Not great. The change at head coach is a pretty huge win for Stevenson, because he’d lost Jerod Mayo’s support.
Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders
Whenever the best argument for drafting a player involves their perceived lack of competition, then we should probably just steer clear of that guy. It’s a lesson we relearn every year. White’s reign as a featured runner didn’t last beyond September.
Way-Too-Early Running Back Rankings for 2025
-
Saquon Barkley
-
Bijan Robinson
-
Jahmyr Gibbs
-
Derrick Henry
-
Christian McCaffrey
-
Josh Jacobs
-
Jonathan Taylor
-
De’Von Achane
-
Ashton Jeanty
-
Bucky Irving
-
Kyren Williams
-
James Cook
