Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings: 2023

2023 Fantasy Football Running Back Tiered Cheat Sheet

The RB position is arguably the most important skill position in fantasy football. Unlike WR and TE, in which you have two TE sets and three or sometimes four WR sets, there is usually only one RB on the field during a single play. That being said, it’s important to not only find starting RBs but to find RBs who have high touchdown upside in a good offense and/or RBs that are going to touch the ball a ton, both rushing and receiving. RBs that possess both? Fantasy gold.

Please note, these rankings are tiered. What are tiered rankings? Why use tiered rankings? First, the tiered rankings – They are rankings that put a group of players that I believe will end up around the same fantasy stats at the end of the year. Why use tiered rankings? It’s simple. My philosophy with the tiered rankings is that if I’m on the clock and I’m looking to draft one of these players, I’m trying to get the most bang for my buck. Drafting a player at the end of a specific tier, allows you to draft other positions at other parts of the draft.

An example: Let’s say you’re on the clock now and also pick again in 4 turns. You’re interested in drafting a RB right now, but there are 5 RBs in the tier you’re interested in. This is where tiered rankings come in clutch. You can draft another position right now and then in 4 turns, even in the unlikely situation everyone drafts RB at all 4 of those spots, you still get the last guy of the tier you would have been happy with anyways. So without further ado, here are my 2023 running back rankings – with tiers!

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Tier 1: Fantasy Gold

1. Christian McCaffrey – San Francisco 49ers
2. Austin Ekeler – Los Angeles Chargers

• What do we look for in a great fantasy RB:
• They are the starter (getting most of the carries).
• Pass-catching abilities (receptions are more valuable than carries).
• They are in a good offense (more sustainable drives and touchdown upside).

CMC and Ekeler check all of these boxes. Don’t make it more difficult than it has to be and choose one of these two RBs.

Tier 2: Workhorses

3. Josh Jacobs – Las Vegas Raiders

4. Saquon Barkley – New York Giants
5. Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans

With better passers than ever and the NFL changing to become safer than before, workhorse RBs are becoming more and more rare. However, there are still some RBs that carry a large portion of their team’s rushing attempts because they are either so talented and/or the other RBs on the depth chart haven’t shown enough to take the starter off the field often. Jacobs and Barkley just missed the fantasy gold tier with being on what I would consider questionable offenses, but checking the other boxes.

Henry is also on a team who seems to be trying to find their identity, but one thing is certain, King Henry will carry the ball a ton. He does carry some more concern because of his age. Henry is 29 years old and when the wheels fall off for older RBs, they fall off all at once.

Tier 3: The Last of the RB Heroes

6. Nick Chubb – Cleveland Browns
7. Rhamondre Stevenson – New England Patriots
8. Tony Pollard – Dallas Cowboys
9. Bijan Robinson – Atlanta Falcons
10. Najee Harris – Pittsburgh Steelers
11. Jonathan Taylor – Indianapolis Colts
12. Breece Hall – New York Jets

This is the last tier of RBs I’d be happy taking as my RB1. I’d feel comfortable knowing what I’m getting (or could get). If you’re using the hero RB strategy (having 1 stud RB and bolstering the rest of your roster) and didn’t grab an RB before, this is your last stop. This tier has a little bit of everything in it, including some question marks.

My favorite RB in this tier is Najee because he’s going later in drafts than all of these RBs. He’s coming off a season that started with an injury, he checks 2 of the 3 boxes we want in a great RB, and if the offense takes a step forward, he could make that leap to checking all 3 boxes.

Youth

I love me some Bijan, but he’s going way too high right now in drafts, coming off the board as the RB4. He should and probably will be great, but at that draft capital? It’s basically necessary. And I get it, basically every single year there is a rookie RB in the top 12. But drafting at RB4? Let’s hope the offseason hype dies down a little bit so come August we can all own more shares of Bijan.

In 2022, we saw Pollard’s explosive ability on the field. I’m not a doctor, but from the reports I’ve read from medical experts, Pollard’s late-season injury shouldn’t warrant much of a concern, if any in 2023. Pair that with Zeke leaving and the Cowboys adding no one of relevance, Pollard should be in for an even bigger season.

I’m a Jonathan Taylor truther in the sense that I think he’s one of the best pure runners in football (next to King Henry and Nick Chubb), but the Colts’ offense was ranked 30th in football last year. Combine that with rookie QB Anthony Richardson, who is a project QB and loves running the ball himself. I’m not sure I see the league-winning upside with Taylor unless the offense as a whole takes a step forward and Richardson is better than expected.

Keep an eye out for injury updates and news on Breece Hall come preseason because he was breaking out last year before getting knocked out for the season.

Tier 4: Solid

13. Miles Sanders – Carolina Panthers
14. Aaron Jones – Green Bay Packers
15. J.K. Dobbins – Baltimore Ravens
16. Joe Mixon – Cincinnati Bengals
17. Travis Etienne Jr. – Jacksonville Jaguars

Miles Sanders had his best season in 2022 when the Eagles went on their Super Bowl run. Sanders did enough to make the Panthers throw a bag of money at him. The Panthers aren’t expected to be amazing, but with Sanders’ skill set, pass-catching ability, rookie QB (typically RBs can be safety blankets), and lack of studs at the wide receiver position, he should be poised for another good year.

Aaron Jones is getting a little older and AJ Dillon is still breathing down his neck, but Jones is lethal in the red zone and is still the same old boom-bust RB you’ll love and hate.

JK Dobbins and the Ravens should be full go with a new offensive scheme that will hopefully get Dobbins a few more targets (an area he’s severely lacking in).

The Mixon Paradox

Just a couple of months ago it was looking as if Mixon wasn’t going to make the team for the Bengals because of a mixture of off-the-field issues and a lack of a significant contract that would require the Bengals to keep him. Mixon’s efficiency wasn’t great last year, but they let Samaje Perine walk during the offseasons and added 5th-round rookie RB Chase Brown, who I liked a lot as a prospect.

I would still view him as a last-round dart throw or someone to keep your eyes open for in the preseason. Nevertheless, Brown is still a 5th round rookie so he’s got an uphill battle. Pending any more off-the-field issues, Mixon should have another okay year.

The Jacksonville Jaguars added Tank Bigsby in the 3rd round of the NFL draft. Not great that they added a day 2 RB to the backfield, but after letting James Robinson go midseason last year, they needed to add some depth to this backfield with Etienne. Bigsby isn’t a pushover, he’s got the size and skillset to take snaps. But it’s still Etienne’s backfield on an offense that should be taking another step forward. Overall, a good group of solid RBs.