We’re moving through October and it’s time to give the running backs their day in the sun, a Shuffle Up of fantasy football’s most critical position. What’s happened to this point is merely an audition. The ranks and tiers you find below are what I’d use if I were entering a fresh fantasy football draft starting now. Use these tiers to self-scout your roster or as a sounding board when you’re considering trades and pickups.
The salaries are unscientific and meant to be a tool to show where the talent clusters. Players with the same salary are considered even. Remember the golden rule: no player gains (or loses) extra value simply because you roster him.
Players who are currently hurt get their own provisional rank at the bottom. They are not for debate. Everyone has their own ideas about injuries and comebacks.
The Big Tickets
-
$44 Saquon Barkley
-
$43 Derrick Henry
-
$42 Kyren Williams
-
$40 Breece Hall
-
$38 Bijan Robinson
-
$35 Kenneth Walker III
-
$32 Jahmyr Gibbs
It’s a shame Barkley’s next New York revenge game is tucked into Week 18 (irrelevant for fantasy), but he’s capable of going off against anyone; his weekly finishes are RB1, RB1, RB20, RB33 and RB3 last week. He’s averaging a robust 6.1 yards per carry and his yards per target has also increased slightly. It’s the best Barkley has played in six seasons.
Henry has a tricky playoff schedule, but he also has a steady career trend of getting better as seasons move along. With Baltimore’s line starting to play better — and Lamar Jackson a boost for rushing lanes — I’m not going to sweat Henry’s opponents. He’s going to get home more often than not.
The offensive line play hasn’t been good with the Rams, but Williams is a decisive back with sneaky power, allowing him to become one of the best goal-line converters in the league. He’s seen a league-high 10 rushes from inside the five-yard line, and he’s punched seven of them into the end zone. The offensive buoyancy should rise, too, with Cooper Kupp coming back this week and hopefully Puka Nacua not far away. Sean McVay is always good to his featured backs.
Legitimate Building Blocks
-
$30 Joe Mixon
-
$29 David Montgomery
-
$28 Jonathan Taylor
-
$27 Josh Jacobs
-
$26 James Cook
-
$24 Alvin Kamara
-
$23 De’Von Achane
-
$22 James Conner
-
$22 Tony Pollard
-
$21 Brian Robinson Jr.
-
$20 Jordan Mason
-
$20 Aaron Jones
Robinson is always going to have to share in Washington — Jayden Daniels holds some of the goal-line equity and Austin Ekeler is the more active receiver. But Robinson nonetheless has a touchdown in five of his six starts and he’s making plenty of yards after initial contact. He’s one of the most underrated between-the-tackle pounders in the league.
Kamara’s averaging a modest 3.9 yards a carry behind the shaky New Orleans offensive line, and his last 20-yard rush came in 2022. But he leads the NFL in touches and he’s still getting plenty of dump-off passes, providing a sturdy floor. The Saints aren’t worried about slippage in his age-29 season, as they inked Kamara to an extension this week. He’s more about projectable volume than explosive plays these days, but the injury to Taysom Hill has helped Kamara maintain touchdown equity.
Age is also just a number for Conner, who’s at his highest yards per touch in six years. He can play in all packages, he finishes every run and even on broken plays, he impresses you with his awareness and intelligence (the punch-out Monday night was a great example). He can play on my team anytime. Conner generally needs 2-4 games of maintenance every year, but that’s almost standard at the position. Hopefully, he’s hale for the fantasy playoffs, where the Patriots and Panthers await.
Talk them up, talk them down
-
$18 J.K. Dobbins
-
$17 D’Andre Swift
-
$15 Kareem Hunt
-
$14 Rhamondre Stevenson
-
$14 Chuba Hubbard
-
$14 Najee Harris
-
$13 Rachaad White
-
$11 Rico Dowdle
-
$11 Chase Brown
-
$11 Tank Bigsby
-
$11 Travis Etienne Jr.
-
$11 Javonte Williams
-
$10 Bucky Irving
-
$10 Nick Chubb
Dobbins is on a run-first team and no one is pushing him, but I wish the secondary stats liked him more. His success rate is below league average and he’s not making explosive plays in the passing game. And his extensive injury history can’t be ignored, either. If Dobbins goes off in Week 8 against the Saints, it might set up favorable timing to quietly shop him.
Hunt has only played three games but he has the highest success rate among running backs, and the Chiefs already favor him at the goal line. There’s no threat to his touch share. Last year’s collapse in Cleveland was more a statement about the Browns than it was about Hunt.
Bigsby has proven to be the best runner in Jacksonville, but can the Jags coach him up in the passing game? He has just six targets and two receptions for his career, covering 24 games. That’s going to cap the upside.
White has to share with two other backs in Tampa Bay, and normally that would be a fantasy kill-shot. But the Buccaneers are going to have to change their offensive scope with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin hurt, and White is easily the best pass-catcher in this backfield. Bucky Irving isn’t going away and Sean Tucker might see 4-8 touches most weeks, but the Monday chaos actually helps White’s value moving forward.
Some plausible upside
-
$9 Zack Moss
-
$9 Devin Singletary
-
$7 Alexander Mattison
-
$6 Austin Ekeler
-
$6 Tyrone Tracy Jr.
-
$6 Tyler Allgeier
-
$5 Braelon Allen
-
$5 Zach Charbonnet
-
$5 Jaylen Warren
-
$4 Ty Chandler
-
$4 Raheem Mostert
-
$4 Ray Davis
Allgeier is fourth in success rate (teammate Bijan Robinson is eighth) and he probably could do more in the pass game; he’s secured all eight of his targets. Allgeier might have some deep-flex value when the heavier bye weeks come calling, and he becomes an auto-start if Robinson misses any time.
Mattison is never going to be great, but he’s running a little better than Zamir White and he’s the better receiver by a significant margin. I’ve long given up the idea of Gardner Minshew having an upside, but at least he’s better for this offense than Aidan O’Connell. Mattison is going to easily outback his ADP, a useful RB3/4 for most teams.
Singletary’s history with Brian Daboll is always going to be considered in New York, but the Giants also need to lean into their best players, and Tracy is the back with more juice right now. A timeshare stands for the moment, but stay open-minded to the idea that Tracy could step into a featured role if things fall right.
Bargain Bin
-
$3 Roschon Johnson
-
$3 Jaylen Wright
-
$3 Blake Corum
-
$3 Justice Hill
-
$3 Emanuel Wilson
-
$2 Jerome Ford
-
$2 Jaleel McLaughlin
-
$2 Antonio Gibson
-
$2 Zamir White
-
$2 Isaac Guerendo
-
$2 D’Onta Foreman
-
$2 Tyler Goodson
-
$1 Trey Benson
-
$1 Kimani Vidal
-
$1 Samaje Perine
-
$1 Trey Sermon
-
$1 Khalil Herbert
-
$1 Ezekiel Elliott
-
$1 Kendre Miller
-
$1 Audric Estimé
Courtesy Injury Ranks — Not for Debate
-
$19 Christian McCaffrey
-
$10 Jonathon Brooks
-
$4 Isiah Pacheco
-
$3 Tyjae Spears
-
$2 Gus Edwards
