Sportsnaut
The 2024 NFL season demonstrated the value of running backs with the likes of Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and even rookie Bucky Irving proving incredibly valuable to their offenses. Heading into the 2025 season, the question becomes, who is the best running back in the NFL?
Here, we’re ranking the 10 best NFL running backs heading into the regular season.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley excelled in the perfect environment last season. He certainly benefited from running behind the best offensive line in football, but he was also the best all-purpose back in the NFL. He led the NFL in scrimmage yards with a 169-yard edge over Derrick Henry and he averaged 12.3 more rushing yards per game than Henry. While he didn’t break Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL record for rushing yards (2,105), he did record the 12th-most scrimmage yards (2,283) in a single season.
Read More: NFL power rankings 2025, evaluating all 32 teams
The Baltimore Ravens had coveted Derrick Henry for a while before finally landing him in NFL free agency. He immediately exceeded expectations, proving to be the only active running back who is defying Father Time. Last season, Henry led the NFL in yards after contact (909), yards after contact per attempt (2.8) and broken tackles (42). As a 31-year-old, Henry finished first in Player Profiler‘s Explosive Rating (31.9) and he led the NFL in breakaway runs (25). Heading into the 2025 season, ranked 19th on the all-time rushing yardage list, Henry has a legitimate chance at a 2,000-yard season. If he does so, it will catapult him ahead of Eric Dickerson (13,259) for the ninth-most rushing yards in NFL history.
Many questioned the Detroit Lions for the selection of Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. All he’s done since is become one of the best NFL running backs, earning consecutive Pro Bowl selections and finishing as the co-leader in rushing touchdowns last season. While splitting touches with David Montgomery ‘limited’ him to only recording the third-most scrimmage yards (1,929), Gibbs led the NFL in yards per touch (6.4) among all players with 300-plus touches and he recorded the most scrimmage touchdowns (20). Before you give too much credit to the Lions’ offensive line, note that Gibbs’ yards before contact per attempt (3.3) just narrowly ranked ahead of Derrick...
