Big Blue View
A first look at the position that dominated in 2024
Welcome to Part II of my preliminary rankings and tiers for each major position for fantasy. My quarterback rankings dropped a few days ago, and you can find the rest of my preseason fantasy content here. Wide receiver and tight end will follow, and I’ll update them all in August. Hopefully, these initial looks will help you to start thinking about player values and draft strategies.
Before we get to the rankings and commentary, here are two general thoughts about the RB position.
1. 2024 was the year of the running back. Don’t be distracted by what happened with consensus No. 1 pick Christian McCaffrey last season. Running backs stayed remarkably healthy in 2024, and very few starters lost their jobs during the season. The result was the best overall season for backs in quite some time. We had a 2,000-yard rusher, a 1,900-yard rusher, 11 backs with at least 1,500 total yards, 16 with at least 1,000 rushing yards, and eight with at least 15 total TDs. I don’t have a research department to look it up, but you have to go back a long, long way to find a season with similar totals hit (if ever). My guess is we’ll see some regression in 2025 and especially with lots of rookies poised to share or even lead multiple backfields. I also think last year’s results will push running backs up draft boards this season. In recent seasons, more wide receivers have creeped into Round 1 of drafts than ever before, but I think this year you’ll see a lot of first rounds that are at least 50% running backs.
2. Rookies will be a big factor. Last season, fourth-round pick Bucky Irving and fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy, Jr. were the only rookie backs to clear 500 rushing yards. Pay no attention to that. This season is going to be different, as multiple rookies are poised to have significant backfield shares right out of the gate, and more will have opportunities as the season goes on. It’s a very strong class, plus there are a lot of older backs who are penciled in as starters. I expect some injury regression to the norm for the position, in general. Rookie backs often take a few weeks to get going, as pass protection is trusted to veterans to start. I’ve got ten rookies ranked in my Top-55 RBs, and I’m not an outlier. This could be the year of the rookie running back.
I’ve organized the running backs into tiers, as I do at every position. You should do the same. To reiterate what I said in the quarterback column, everyone wants the best players, and a tiered approach allows fantasy managers to have a great view of (a) ranges of players who can be expected to have similar fantasy production, (b) where the drop-offs are between those ranges, and (c) how many players in a range remain available at any...
