ClutchPoints
It is finally time to be building out your fantasy football draft strategies for the 2025 NFL season. With the start of the season just weeks away, starting to determine your draft plans now will help set you apart from your league mates.
For the second installment of ClutchPoints’ positional rankings, let’s take a deep dive into the running back position. After Jahmyr Gibbs took home top honors as RB1 last year, the offense in Detroit will look vastly different, especially after Ben Johnson left for Chicago – so is he in a position to lead all RBs again, or will someone else take the crown?
Any data regarding player stats from the 2024 fantasy season were pulled from Sleeper and all rankings factor in a point-per-reception (PPR), single-QB league format. As always, utilize our rankings but make sure to build out your predraft rankings to match the specific format of your fantasy football league.
2024 Finish: RB3
Helping kick off these running back rankings, Bijan Robinson only knows how to help your fantasy football teams win championships, as he has been an RB1 in each of his first two seasons. Robinson took a massive step forward in Year 2 as he added 90 rushing attempts and three receptions to his total from his rookie season, contributing to an uptick of 424 total yards.
The Atlanta Falcons offense looks ready to take a step forward as a unit too, and having Michael Penix Jr. enter the season as the announced starter will bring this unit some much-needed clarity. In the three games that Penix started last season, Robinson had 24, 20, and 30 touches, respectively, including in Week 18 where he ran for a career-best 170 yards.
Robinson is your prototypical dual-threat RB that should highlight the top of your draft board. His three-down usage means that he will continue to earn a lot of looks in the passing game, which will give him one of the highest ceilings among all RBs for fantasy football this season.
2024 Finish: RB1
It is very tough to knock Jahmyr Gibbs down a peg after his outstanding RB1 overall season last year, but there are a few things working against a repeat performance. One, the change at offensive coordinator from Ben Johnson to John Morton likely will bring stylistic differences into the fold, likely giving David Montgomery a chance to take even more of the high-value touches near the end zone.
Second, the changes to the offensive line, losing center Frank Ragnow to retirement and right guard Kevin Zeitler to the Tennessee Titans, will directly impact the efficiency of both the running game and Jared Goff.
Scoring 16 rushing touchdowns again is a tall task for Gibbs to replicate again, especially with the likelihood of both Gibbs and Montgomery sharing the field more often increasing. Gibbs will absolutely do great this year as he is the clear top option for the Detroit Lions. But don’t...
