Ranking players by position is an integral part of fantasy football preparation, but grouping them into tiers is crucial to identifying the value you might be leaving on the draft board.
For example, if you're on the clock and looking at several running backs in the same tier, it could make sense to wait until the next round — someone equally as worthy will probably be available with your next pick.
Tiers can also help group players with similar expectations based on upside and floor. Most importantly, we don't want to pay more than the next drafter for a similar player.
There are eight primary criteria used to create running back tiers:
- Rushing pedigree: Recent attempt shares and short-down-distance (SDD) which provides a larger sample size than attempts inside the 5 but correlates strongly (excludes games missed)
- Rushing performance peripherals: PFF rush grade, missed tackles forced per attempt, yards after contact per attempt and explosive rush rate (10-plus-yard attempts)
- Target pedigree: Recent adjusted routes per dropback and targets per route run
- Receiving performance peripherals: PFF receiving grade, yards per route run and explosive target rate (15-plus-yard receptions)
- Offense quality: Projected team wins (winning teams typically score more and passing YPA correlates strongly to wins)
- Rushing volume: Projected team rush attempts per game (excludes overtime)
- Attempt and target competition: Number of teammates with a significant ADP (running backs with a top-48 ADP; wide receivers with a top-36 ADP plus tight ends with a top-12 ADP)
- Player average draft position (ADP): Positional rank based on FFPC best ball slim data from Fantasy Mojo
Pedigree focuses on a player’s ability to generate rushing attempts or targets, while the performance peripherals are all about how well they maximize those touches. Offensive quality, rushing volume and competition are all designed to tease out the team environment.
The ultimate options are running backs who play on all downs, create on their own and reside on high-quality offenses. After that, every tier is some variation of strengths vs. weaknesses in the profile. ADP is a final check against the current market sentiment that helps us extract maximum value from our selections.
The first table is a quick view of the complete tiers and rankings, and a more detailed heat map is included below as we break down each tier.
Last Updated: 2 p.m. June 1
Tier | Rank | FFPC Pos ADP | UD Pos ADP | Player | Team |
1A | 1 | 1 | 1 | Jonathan Taylor | Colts |
1B | 2 | 2 | 2 | Christian McCaffrey | Panthers |
1B | 3 | 3 | 4 | Austin Ekeler | Chargers |
1B | 4 | 4 | 5 | Najee Harris | Steelers |
1C | 5 | 6 | 3 | Derrick Henry | Titans |
1C | 6 | 5 | 6 | Dalvin Cook | Vikings |
1C | 7 | 7 | 7 | Joe Mixon | Bengals |
1C | 8 | 12 | 9 | Alvin Kamara | Saints |
2A | 9 | 8 | 8 | D'Andre Swift | Lions |
2A | 10 | 13 | 12 | Javonte Williams | Broncos |
2B | 11 | 9 | 13 | Leonard Fournette | Buccaneers |
2B | 12 | 10 | 10 | Aaron Jones | Packers |
2B | 13 | 11 | 14 | Saquon Barkley | Giants |
2B | 14 | 15 | 15 | James Conner | Cardinals |
2C | 15 | 14 | 11 | Nick Chubb | Browns |
2C | 16 | 17 | 18 | Breece Hall | Jets |
2D | 17 | 16 | 19 | David Montgomery | Bears |
2D | 18 | 18 | 16 | Cam Akers | Rams |
3A | 19 | 19 | 21 | Travis Etienne | Jaguars |
3A | 20 | 24 | 24 | Elijah Mitchell | 49ers |
3A | 21 | 21 | 20 | J.K. Dobbins | Ravens |
3A | 22 | 22 | 22 | Antonio Gibson | Commanders |
3A | 23 | 27 | 29 | Kenneth Walker III | Seahawks |
3B | 24 | 20 | 17 | Ezekiel Elliott | Cowboys |
3B | 25 | 25 | 27 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | Chiefs |
3B | 26 | 26 | 26 | Miles Sanders | Eagles |
3B | 27 | 23 | 23 | Josh Jacobs | Raiders |
3B | 28 | 31 | 31 | Damien Harris | Patriots |
3C | 29 | 28 | 25 | A.J. Dillon | Packers |
3C | 30 | 30 | 30 | Tony Pollard | Cowboys |
3D | 31 | 35 | 35 | Chase Edmonds | Dolphins |
3D | 32 | 32 | 28 | Cordarrelle Patterson | Falcons |
3D | 33 | 33 | 32 | Kareem Hunt | Browns |
3D | 34 | 34 | 34 | James Cook | Bills |
4A | 35 | 39 | 38 | Dameon Pierce | Texans |
4A | 36 | 42 | 39 | Rhamondre Stevenson | Patriots |
4A | 37 | 47 | 45 | Tyler Allgeier | Falcons |
4B | 38 | 29 | 33 | Devin Singletary | Bills |
4B | 39 | 37 | 37 | Rashaad Penny | Seahawks |
4B | 40 | 36 | 36 | Melvin Gordon III | Broncos |
4B | 41 | 38 | 41 | Ronald Jones | Chiefs |
4C | 42 | 40 | 40 | Alexander Mattison | Vikings |
4C | 43 | 44 | 44 | Michael Carter | Jets |
4C | 44 | 41 | 42 | Rachaad White | Buccaneers |
4C | 45 | 45 | 43 | Isaiah Spiller | Chargers |
4C | 46 | 43 | 46 | Darrell Henderson | Rams |
4C | 47 | 49 | 51 | Khalil Herbert | Bears |
4C | 48 | 50 | 52 | Tyrion Davis-Price | 49ers |
4C | 49 | 60 | 60 | Hassan Haskins | Titans |
5A | 50 | 59 | 50 | Gus Edwards | Ravens |
5A | 51 | 57 | 54 | Jamaal Williams | Lions |
5A | 52 | 51 | 47 | James Robinson | Jaguars |
5A | 53 | 55 | 61 | Darrel Williams | Cardinals |
5A | 54 | 52 | 53 | Raheem Mostert | Dolphins |
5A | 55 | 53 | 55 | Marlon Mack | Texans |
5B | 56 | 46 | 48 | Nyheim Hines | Colts |
5B | 57 | 48 | 49 | Kenneth Gainwell | Eagles |
5B | 58 | 54 | 57 | J.D. McKissic | Commanders |
6A | 59 | 56 | 56 | Brian Robinson Jr. | Commanders |
6A | 60 | 58 | 59 | D'Onta Foreman | Panthers |
6A | 61 | 63 | 58 | Keaontay Ingram | Cardinals |
6A | 62 | 61 | 62 | Sony Michel | Dolphins |
6A | 63 | 62 | 63 | Zamir White | Raiders |
6A | 64 | 70 | 78 | Snoop Conner | Jaguars |
6A | 66 | 84 | 77 | Pierre Strong Jr. | Patriots |
6A | 66 | 64 | 64 | Mark Ingram II | Saints |
6A | 67 | 73 | 98 | Kennedy Brooks | Eagles |
6B | 68 | 65 | 65 | Kenyan Drake | Raiders |
6B | 69 | 71 | 67 | James White | Patriots |
6B | 70 | 68 | 71 | Matt Breida | Giants |
6B | 71 | 74 | 74 | Kyren Williams | Rams |
6B | 72 | 72 | 73 | Damien Williams | Falcons |
6B | 73 | 82 | 83 | Tyler Badie | Ravens |
6B | 74 | 87 | 80 | Boston Scott | Eagles |
6B | 75 | 91 | 87 | Dontrell Hilliard | Titans |
6C | 76 | 80 | 81 | Chris Carson | Seahawks |
6C | 77 | 90 | 124 | Mike Davis | Falcons |
6C | 78 | – | 82 | Myles Gaskin | Dolphins |
6C | 79 | 81 | 68 | Chuba Hubbard | Panthers |
6C | 80 | 83 | 89 | Rex Burkhead | Texans |
6C | 82 | 76 | 70 | Trey Sermon | 49ers |
6C | 83 | 75 | 91 | Phillip Lindsay | Colts |
6C | 84 | – | 95 | Benny Snell Jr. | Steelers |
6C | 85 | 86 | 85 | Ke'Shawn Vaughn | Buccaneers |
6C | 86 | 77 | 76 | Isaih Pacheco | Chiefs |
TIER 1 RUNNING BACKS
TIER 1A – EXPLOSIVE YOUNG STUDS
Jonathan Taylor finished as the RB1 in PPR formats and averaged 22.2 points per game. Unfortunately, he doesn't get elite passing-game utilization (9% target share) like some of his peers due to Nyheim Hines. However, the Colts ran the ball more than the NFL average in leading (+4%) and trailing (+3%) game scripts in 2021, providing Taylor with the runway to show off his elite skills that helped earn him the No. 2 PFF rush grade (minimum 150 attempts).
Taylor vs. three-year NFL average in underlying efficiency metrics
Missed Tackles Forced per Attempt | Yards After Contact per Attempt | Explosive Rush % (10-plus yards) |
20% (+3%) | 3.83 (+0.90) | 15% (+4.5%) |
A reduction in leading game scripts — where Indianapolis ranked fourth last year — could lead to more weekly variance in 2022, but at age 24 Taylor still has a leg up on the competition.
TIER 1B – PPR STUDS
Christian McCaffrey eclipsed the 50% snap threshold in four healthy games in 2021 — where he finished as the RB1, RB3, RB4 and RB3. His insane targets per route run (TPRR) of 34% and 2.91 yards per route run (YPRR) tell us CMC still has it in the passing game. If he can remain healthy, he has a shot at overall RB1 and should be a priority when he slips past his current FFPC ADP of 1.3.