Now more than ever, running back tiers should help you highlight the gaps between which RBs are great, which are very good, which ones are startable, and which ones could make your Fantasy Football team struggle.
Running backs will continue evolving all the way up until Week 1. A smart Fantasy drafter will stay on top of the news and make draft plan changes accordingly. For now, all of the running back changes have deepened the position and made it a little bit easier to draft with confidence.
Is it enough to alter draft strategies? No, but at least you now know of more options once you get past the first few tiers.
These Tiers are based on half-PPR; important to note because we offer full-PPR and non-PPR rankings. This should help you have an idea where these players will get taken in your drafts.
Looking for the right running backs to build around in 2026? See which players Jamey Eisenberg and the Fantasy Football Today team are targeting on the Fantasy Football must-draft list for Draft Day!
Tier 1
Round 1 in half-PPR
Pretty self-explanatory group of mega-stud running backs worth a first-round pick. All of them have the potential for 18-plus half-PPR points per game. Maybe there's an argument that Chase Brown doesn't belong, but he has not only been solid in each of his past two seasons (at least 14 half-PPR points per game in each), but he has also shown flashes of being a monster close to the level of Robinson and Gibbs when the Bengals have given him a lot of work. That's in play this season, given the lack of running back improvements they made this offseason.
Tier 2
Round 2 in half-PPR
Don't be surprised to see Achane or Henry taken closer to the names in the first tier. Walker could also get there, especially after the Chiefs dropped Emari Demercado, opening the door for Walker to play three downs regularly. Jeanty has jumped back into this tier on the news that Klint Kubiak is optimistic he will play in Week 1.
This is a good group to expect at least 15 half-PPR points per game from.
Tier 3
Round 3 in half-PPR
Small tier. Consider this your sign that Round 3 is better for any position other than running back (and quarterback).
Javonte Williams might be the safest in the group, and he's the one that just saw Demercado land in Dallas, challenging for snaps on third downs (not that those snaps will mean a lot of targets, but it would take Williams off the field). Love remains interesting because of his talent, but the injury on top of his situation -- his offense unlikely to play with a lead in the fourth quarter of most games, his sharing of the backfield with Tyler Allgeier -- hurts his pathway to a top 10 finish. And then there's Kyren Williams, who might be on a team with the best run-game outlook in the league thanks to its loaded defense, but Blake Corum's buzz never stopped buzzing this summer and there's real worry Williams could be close to a 50-50 split. Etienne is among the last best RBs who should have the majority of his team's touches all to himself.
I don't think it's a mistake to expect at least 12.5 half-PPR points per game from this tier.
Tier 4
Round 4 in half-PPR
Swift has had a grand training camp in Chicago and seems poised to begin the year as the feature back with Kyle Monangai sidelined and perhaps unavailable in early September. We know Judkins can be a workhorse in Cleveland. And while it's been a few years since we've seen Hall average over 13.5 half-PPR points per game, there is a fair argument to make that he can get there again. You may see Hall go a full tier higher, something I personally don't agree with. Irving could be good for volume but high-value touches might not always go his way. At least he and his O-line are healthy.
Every RB in this tier has a profile that offers at least 11.5 half-PPR points per game.
Tier 5
Rounds 5-6 in half-PPR
This is when you might start getting squeamish about the running backs available in your draft. Should each of these guys be starters for their NFL teams? Yes. The trick is filtering which ones are going to get high-value touches and not suffer because of extenuating circumstances like a bad O-line, a young RB taking snaps away or playing in a low-scoring offense. All three of those apply to Montgomery, and he's the highest-listed runner in the tier!
Point is, all of these guys have flaws, but they all have at least some appeal, which is why they make the cut as reasonable No. 2 running backs. If you disagree, and you haven't drafted yet, then you should really focus on getting two RBs from the previous tiers.
You're hoping for these guys to at least hold down an 11 half-PPR average in their starts. I think they can do that.
Tier 6
Rounds 7-8 in half-PPR
And you thought the previous tier was bad.
There's upside here -- Lloyd if he can stay healthy and if Josh Jacobs stays on the Exempt List, Dowdle if he can pull away from Jaylen Warren, Brooks if he can pull away from Chuba Hubbard. Everyone here has a couple of appealing factors, but the reality is that none can be viewed as easy weekly starters (Lloyd is to begin the year). That's why they're being taken in the middle of your draft.
Tier 7
Rounds 9-11 in half-PPR
Tier 8
Rounds 12+ in half-PPR (and pretty much any format)
