Time moves quickly in any fantasy football draft, and preparation is critical. Many fantasy managers rely on simple overall rankings in the draft application, but draft rankings rarely are enough. They offer no context of how much more valuable one player portends to be over another, how a fantasy manager should covet them based on perceived value of later options. Each pick has an opportunity cost, and we can and should do better than bare-bones rankings, and see the bigger picture.
Positional tiered systems add the necessary context, especially as the seconds tick off and the sounds pulsate in a pressure draft situation. Value is the key word in any fantasy football draft, and following a tiered system is critical to properly grouping what may appear to be similarly valued players. Those top available players may be indistinguishable from each other, or perhaps not.
Regardless, decisions must be made quickly on draft day, analyzing expected supply and demand inside one position and versus others, so here are one analyst's always-evolving tiers for running backs, based on 10-team standard, PPR leagues. The order and tier of some players will change as news (roles, injuries, etc.) dictates through August, but mostly, these are your drafts, so follow your own tiered rankings.
Check out more tiered rankings: QB | WR | TE
Tier 1: First overall pick
1. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Notes: Yeah, this talented fellow really is in a class by himself. Just. Stay. Healthy. Please!
Tier 2: Mid-late first round
2. Breece Hall, New York Jets
3. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Notes: Reasonable candidates for the No. 2 overall pick, but they really are not close to a healthy McCaffrey. If you prefer the safety of the top wide receivers, as many of us do, these awesome, young running backs can slide in Round 1.
Tier 3: Round 2
4. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
5. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
6. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
7. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
Notes: The accomplished Taylor and Barkley have certainly had their issues staying on the field, but it is reasonable to expect top-five RB performance when healthy. Henry may be a tier below for some because he is not a big pass-catcher, but he appears to be in a perfect, new situation to succeed. Gibbs is awesome, and he would be safer if not sharing touches.
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Tier 4: Round 3
8. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
9. Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Notes: Williams versus Henry is an interesting comparison after last season, when Williams was superior. If you would prefer Williams on your team, go for it. Frankly, Tiers 3 and 4 could merge into one, but there just feels like a tad more risk in this group.
Field Yates, Mike Clay and Daniel Dopp rave about why Travis Etienne Jr. is a solid RB1 for fantasy managers.
Tier 5: Rounds 3/4
11. Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
12. James Cook, Buffalo Bills
13. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
14. Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Notes: Several established players in this tier are new to their organizations, but they join positive situations. Cook may be breaking out as an RB1. White seems unlikely to handle the same workload. Kamara still catches passes, but there is real risk of him losing volume.
Tier 6: Rounds 5/6
16. Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
17. De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
18. Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
19. James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
20. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
Notes: Players in this tier elicit quite the range of opinions, a reminder of the lack of safe depth at the position. Achane boasts massive upside that he achieved during his historic rookie campaign, but questions of role and durability remain. Jones, Conner and Stevenson combined to miss 15 games last season. Perhaps it happens again, which is baked into their later rank/tier.
Tier 7: Rounds 7/8
21. D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
22. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
23. Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders
24. Zack Moss, Cincinnati Bengals
25. Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders
Notes: Several of these options could easily become safe RB2 options, especially White, an obvious breakout candidate suddenly leading his team's depth chart after Jacobs left town. Predicting reception totals for those in this tier is problematic.
Tier 8: Rounds 8/9
29. Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers
30. Austin Ekeler, Washington Commanders
Notes: Brooks is a rookie on the mend from a torn ACL in November. Ekeler, along with McCaffrey, was Tier 1 at this time last season. I have doubts about either providing value earlier than this, so I keep avoiding them.
Tier 9: Round 9
26. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
27. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
28. Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins
Notes: Call this the all-risk tier. Chubb remains on the mend from shredding his knee early last season, but reports on his progress have been positive. Elliott's best days are also behind him, but he leads the Cowboys' depth chart. Mostert's best days came last season, but he is being underrated this time around. You may find each of these fellows later in drafts, but if you believe in them, do not wait. By the way, securing all three of them on the same team isn't the answer, either, but there is value here.
Tier 10: Rounds 9/10
31. Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
32. Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
33. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
34. Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
Notes: Call this the timeshare tier. Warren and Spears should be the preferred choices, but football coaches tend to do odd, unexplainable things. As with Tier 9, ESPN ADP likes these players more than I do. Differences of opinion are, by the way, healthy.
Tier 11: Rounds 10/11
35. Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
36. Devin Singletary, New York Giants
37. Gus Edwards, Los Angeles Chargers
Notes: These are actual starters who may see enough volume to become weekly flex options, but their situations are not ideal.
Tier 12: Rounds 11/12
38. Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
39. Antonio Gibson, New England Patriots
40. Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
41. Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
42. Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
43. Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
44. Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
45. J.K. Dobbins, Los Angeles Chargers
Notes: Here are upside backups who should be on fantasy rosters, but since the starters are healthy, you may need to be patient in September, too.
Tier 13: Rounds 12/13
46. Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins
47. Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
48. Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
49. MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers
50. Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
51. Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants
52. Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
53. Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
54. Braelon Allen, New York Jets
Notes: Myriad rookies! Some of these players have bigger names and ADP than others, but we should be open-minded and consider opportunity for all. It's anyone's guess which team's starters struggle or get hurt, and there is plenty of upside here. You do not need to roster the starter to want to invest.
Tier 14: Rounds 13 on
55. Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings
56. Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos
57. Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys
58. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs
59. Alexander Mattison, Las Vegas Raiders
60. Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears
61. Elijah Mitchell, San Francisco 49ers
62. Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens
63. Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers
64. Jamaal Williams, New Orleans Saints
65. Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars
66. Kenneth Gainwell/Will Shipley, Philadelphia Eagles