Fantasy Football will be back before your eyes and this is the best time to start looking at what running backs you need to draft. Lucky for you I have my RB rankings for the 2024 season ready for you. This list will be updated weekly as we get through training camp and the pre-season.
This offseason had a ton of moves going on. Derrick Henry is in Baltimore, Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia, Josh Jacobs in Green Bay, Joe Mixon is in Houston, and Aaron Jones in Minnesota. Now some of these moves jumped their stock and some moved them down. Jones is one that dropped based on the Viking’s offensive game plan. While Barkley jumps into my top five with a run-heavy offense.
2024 RB Rankings
Check out the full 2024 Running Back Rankings below and then read on for additional notes on selected running backs in the following paragraphs.
| Rnk | Player | Team | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian McCaffrey | SF | 9 |
| 2 | Breece Hall | NYJ | 12 |
| 3 | Bijan Robinson | ATL | 12 |
| 4 | Jonathan Taylor | IND | 14 |
| 5 | Saquon Barkley | PHI | 5 |
| 6 | Kyren Williams | LAR | 6 |
| 7 | Travis Etienne Jr. | JAC | 12 |
| 8 | Jahmyr Gibbs | DET | 5 |
| 9 | De'Von Achane | MIA | 6 |
| 10 | Derrick Henry | BAL | 14 |
| 11 | Rachaad White | TB | 11 |
| 12 | Isiah Pacheco | KC | 6 |
| 13 | Josh Jacobs | GB | 10 |
| 14 | Kenneth Walker III | SEA | 10 |
| 15 | Joe Mixon | HOU | 14 |
| 16 | James Cook | BUF | 12 |
| 17 | Alvin Kamara | NO | 12 |
| 18 | David Montgomery | DET | 5 |
| 19 | Aaron Jones | MIN | 6 |
| 20 | James Conner | ARI | 11 |
| 21 | Rhamondre Stevenson | NE | 14 |
| 22 | Najee Harris | PIT | 9 |
| 23 | Raheem Mostert | MIA | 6 |
| 24 | Nick Chubb | CLE | 10 |
| 25 | D'Andre Swift | CHI | 7 |
| 26 | Zamir White | LV | 10 |
| 27 | Zack Moss | CIN | 12 |
| 28 | Jaylen Warren | PIT | 9 |
| 29 | Tony Pollard | TEN | 5 |
| 30 | Javonte Williams | DEN | 14 |
| 31 | Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS | 14 |
| 32 | Tyjae Spears | TEN | 5 |
| 33 | Austin Ekeler | WAS | 14 |
| 34 | Jonathon Brooks | CAR | 11 |
| 35 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | 7 |
| 36 | Devin Singletary | NYG | 11 |
| 37 | Gus Edwards | LAC | 5 |
| 38 | Jerome Ford | CLE | 10 |
| 39 | Tyler Allgeier | ATL | 12 |
| 40 | Chase Brown | CIN | 12 |
| 41 | Trey Benson | ARI | 11 |
| 42 | Zach Charbonnet | SEA | 10 |
| 43 | Chuba Hubbard | CAR | 11 |
| 44 | Antonio Gibson | NE | 14 |
| 45 | Blake Corum | LAR | 6 |
| 46 | Rico Dowdle | DAL | 7 |
| 47 | Kendre Miller | NO | 12 |
| 48 | Ty Chandler | MIN | 6 |
| 49 | Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN | 14 |
| 50 | J.K. Dobbins | LAC | 5 |
| 51 | Khalil Herbert | CHI | 7 |
| 52 | Alexander Mattison | LV | 10 |
| 53 | MarShawn Lloyd | GB | 10 |
| 54 | Ray Davis | BUF | 12 |
| 55 | Dameon Pierce | HOU | 14 |
| 56 | Elijah Mitchell | SF | 9 |
| 57 | Roschon Johnson | CHI | 7 |
| 58 | Jaylen Wright | MIA | 6 |
| 59 | Keaton Mitchell | BAL | 14 |
| 60 | AJ Dillon | GB | 10 |
2024 Running Back Notes and Takeaways
Bijan Robinson, ATL – Robinson finished as the RB9 in half PPR formats last year. That was even with Tyler Allgeier stealing most of his red zone touches. Now that Arthur Smith is gone, Robinson is set to see his full potential. The Falcons have one of the best offensive lines, and I expect Kirk Cousins to check the ball down to Robinson and have him make the plays just like he did with Dalvin Cook in his prime.
Saquon Barkley, PHI – Barkley joins the rivals this season, and I expect him to do what he does best in scoring fantasy points. He does take a slight dip in rankings because Jalen Hurts will scramble and steal some red zone touchdowns. But the Eagles have had two top running backs in the last few years. Miles Sanders in 2022 put up 1,269 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, and last year D’Andre Swift put up 1,049 yards and five touchdowns. Barkley should have no problem putting up over 1,000 rushing yards.
De’Von Achane, MIA – A healthy De’Von Achane will take the fantasy world by storm. Raheem Mostert is still in the backfield, and as he will steal some touches from Achane, it is clear Achane will have the better season. When he is on the field, he could break a 50-yard touchdown at any moment. He is a lock for a top-10 running back this season.
Rachaad White, TB – White took a lot of people by surprise last year, but if you did your research. You knew he would be a fantasy steal. I have him at RB11 to start the year, and it feels like the right spot. The Buccaneers kept the same team as last year, and I expect White to repeat what he did last year. He is one of the few workhorse running backs in the league that will be on the field 90% of the time.
Joe Mixon, HOU – The Texans made a lot of moves this offseason bringing in Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon. Mixon had a solid season last year putting up over 1,000 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Now he is teamed up with C.J. Stroud and Mixon should be the missing piece to the Texans run game.
Aaron Jones, MIN – Jones is still in my top 20, but he could easily fall out of it by the end of the season. He was injured most of last season, which was a downfall for his fantasy production. I believe he is actually in a worse situation fantasy-wise in Minnesota with Kevin O’Connell’s pass-heavy offense. But, Jones does have some upside. Take last year as an outlier, as in three of his last four seasons he has rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Najee Harris, PIT – I think we all expected Najee Harris to be a top-three fantasy running back by now, but in his defense, he has rushed for over 1,000 every season since being drafted. But it is his pass-catching that has been a letdown, but I still think Harris will be a steal in drafts this year. He is a great RB2 to have on your roster.
Nick Chubb, CLE – Chubb is a high-risk high-reward type of running back this season. We all saw his injury last season and it will take some time if he gets back to himself. Chubb is now 29 and his youth is definitely not on his side. Don’t get tricked into drafting the name and draft by his outlook for the season.
Zamir White, LV – White will take over the starting job for the Raiders this season. The Raiders also brought in Alexander Mattison, but it should be White on the field a majority of the time. White did show a lot of upside at the end of last season scoring in double digits for the last four games of the season.
Austin Ekeler, WAS – I would stay away from Austin Ekeler this season. He will be in a committee this season and will likely just be a flex option at best this year.
Rico Dowdle, DAL – Dowdle is one of the few late-round running backs who could show some significant production during the season. He averaged 4 yards per carry last season and when given an opportunity he can put up decent numbers. Dowdle is one to draft and stash as we need to see how Ezekiel Elliott performs this season.
Got a beef with Michael’s RB Rankings? Let him hear it in the comments below and then make sure to check out our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit for more great rankings and analysis.