NFL Power Rankings: Who are the best running backs in football?

The NFL has turned a corner when it comes to evaluating running backs, with two of the premier ball-carriers earning big-money contracts and subsequently transforming their respective offenses. With the added focus on the position, we thought it was time to rank who we think are the best running backs so far in the 2024 season! All stats are sourced from ESPN unless otherwise stated.

Sorry 49ers fans, but due to his injuries, Christian McCaffrey won’t be included on this list. We think that, when healthy, he is at least as good as any other back in the league, he’s simply missed too much time for us to feature him at this point. We have no doubt he will be a huge part of San Fran’s playoff push, however.

Dobbins has had a torrid time of it in the NFL since his rookie season, missing most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons with injuries. Now fit and healthy, and on a team committed to the running game, Dobbins has become a bell cow back for the Chargers. His play has lifted his side into playoff contention and taken the pressure off Justin Herbert, just as a good RB should.

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Taylor has been one of the better running backs in football for a few years now, and he’s showing it again in 2024 despite missing some time. The Colts need Taylor healthy to have any chance to win games given their quarterback situation, which shows the difficulty of his role. Despite that, he is still averaging just shy of 5 yards per carry.

Perhaps one of the most underappreciated players in football, Connor has been a weapon for both Pittsburgh and Arizona during his career, despite never having the gaudy stats to back it up. This year, he is on pace to break his personal-best season and could help lead the Cardinals to the playoffs.

Gibbs has become the main back in Detroit’s two-man running game, earning more and more touches as the season goes on. The Lions do an incredible job of scheming up plays to get Gibbs into space, and from there his vision and athleticism is too much for defenders.

Jacobs was another big-name free agent running back to move teams in the offseason, signing a four-year, $48,000,000 deal with the Packers, per Sportrac. While the Packers’ offense has been quite the indomitable force we expected, it’s still been a top-tier unit, with Jacobs’ hard running playing a huge role.

Bijan is slowly but surely proving any remaining doubters wrong as he starts to find consistency with his play. To add to his 748 yards on the ground, Bijan is over 300 yards receiving too, showing his elusiveness in the open field when given the opportunity.

We have to admit we thought Kamara’s time as an elite running back may be over, boy were we wrong! In a season to forget for the Saints, Kamara’s 715 rushing and 421 receiving yards have been the standout performance. Running backs don’t often thrive when a team is so often behind in games, which is why we have him so high.

Chuba Hubbard is averaging over five yards per carry despite playing in what is probably the worst offense in football, and one of the worst we’ve seen for a while. For context, the Panthers’ RB2, Miles Sanders, is averaging just 3.7 YPC in the same offense. Hubbard recently signed a four-year, $33.2 million extension, per Ian Rapoport, it’s hard to argue he doesn’t deserve it.

We have taken a controversial angle by having Henry as our second-best RB in football currently, despite the consensus being he’s the number-one guy. We get it, he’s having an incredible season and deserves all the plaudits in the world, we just think one guy is having a better year…

Saquon now leads the league in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage after catching up to Henry’s games played. His 10 total touchdowns is an impressive number in itself, but when you factor in Jalen Hurts taking away at least eight TDs with the infamous ‘Tush Push’ you realize Barkley could have been having a record-breaking year.

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