Big Blue View
Welcome to the third installment of my preliminary rankings and tiers for each major position for fantasy. I’ve already hit the two big “onesie” positions of quarterback and tight end. I hope you enjoyed those columns, but it’s time to get serious. Today I’m diving into the most important position in fantasy: Running back.
You can find all my preseason fantasy content, including my other rankings and tiers, here. I’ll update rankings in late August. Hopefully, these initial looks will help you to start thinking about player values and draft strategies.
Why do I say that running back is the most important position in fantasy? Because it’s the position that’s most detrimental, and hardest to fix, if a poor draft or injuries leave you shorthanded. It’s a question of supply and demand. Running back is a very high scoring position, but the scoreboard spinners are in limited supply. In most leagues you have to start two at the position. Even if you regularly flex a wide receiver, there’s so much more depth at that position that you can always find suitable Flex/WR3 types on the waiver wire, or via trade. Running back? I hate making those trade calls or scouring the wire for a warm body.
Workhorse running backs (20+ touches per game) are rare gems — only four backs hit that threshold last season. Even 15 touches is a limited group. Last season, 19 running backs hit that mark. That may seem like a big number, but if you’re playing in a 12-team league where each franchise MUST start two running backs and is allowed to start three, well, you see where I’m going. We’ve all been there – week in and week out, you’re struggling to find a second running back who can give you more than five fantasy points absent a lucky touchdown. So yeah, this position matters. A lot.
Before we get to the rankings, here are two quick observations on the position.
Backs are back! And have stayed remarkably healthy the last two seasons. We’ve seen a resurgence of RB dominance in fantasy. First off, teams are running a little more, in response to what defenses are giving them. NFL teams averaged almost 34 pass attempts per game in 2023 and that number dropped to 32 last season. In 2023, 26 teams attempted a pass on at least 55% of their plays. In 2025, that number was down to 20 teams. We’re seeing more heavy formations with multiple tight ends. Of greater consequence than those trends, RBs aren’t getting hurt at typical levels. Last season, 24 backs who opened the season as their team’s starter missed two games or fewer due to injury. 2024 was similar. Will we get regression in 2026? Maybe.
The top running backs are outscoring the best receivers. This follows a bit from the first observation, and this was not the case for much of the last two decades, when passing exploded. Generally speaking, receivers haven’t enjoyed the same...
