It seems surreal to say but there has already been NFL football played for the 2024 season. While yes it is the HOF game, it reminds me that the season is so close to being here! As most of you are drafting in the coming weeks, running back is one of the most important but hardest positions to nail.
However we’ve put together our top 24 FTR running back rankings to help you crush it this year. Keep in mind these rankings are in tiers, so if you have a slightly different opinion, I can see the argument for another player in said tier. At the end of the day these tiers just help you draft for value and avoid massive reaches.
For transparency, to create my rankings, I use advanced premium stats from Fantasy Data, PFF, TeamRankings, sports books, film from All-22, and many other sources. Lastly if you want to check out our full top 250 home league rankings, you can do so for the next 30 days by using the free trial link below.
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Tier 1
1. Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers)
Tier 2
2. Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons)
3. Breece Hall (New York Jets)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (Detroit Lions)
5. Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts)
6. Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles)
Tier 3
7. Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams)
8. Travis Etienne (Jacksonville Jaguars)
9. Derrick Henry (Baltimore Ravens)
10. De’Von Achane (Miami Dolphins)
11. Isiah Pacheco (Kansas City Chiefs)
Tier 4
12. Rachaad White (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
13. James Cook (Buffalo Bills)
14. Josh Jacobs (Green Bay Packers)
15. Kenneth Walker (Seattle Seahawks)
Tier 5
16. Joe Mixon (Houston Texans)
17. Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints)
18. Rhamondre Stevenson (New England Patriots)
19. Jonathon Brooks (Carolina Panthers)
20. Aaron Jones (Minnesota Vikings)
21. D'Andre Swift (Chicago Bears)
22. Tony Pollard (Tennessee Titans)
Tier 7
23. James Conner (Arizona Cardinals)
24. Zamir White (Las Vegas Raiders)
FTR Rankings Versus ECR
9. Derrick Henry (+3)
FTR Rank: 9
ECR Rank: 12
With Derrick Henry I understand the historical data is completely against him. No 30 year old running back should dominate but that data has never seen Henry. While Henry had the lowest YPC mark since 2017 (4.2), he still ran for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. Henry, who thrives on volume, is now heading to a situation where the Ravens had the most rushing attempts per game in 2023 (31.5).
Henry had 12 touchdowns last season which is remarkable considering the Titans were one of the worst offenses in the league finishing 27th in PPG (17.9). The Ravens on the other hand are coming off a season where they finished 4th in PPG (27.7).
The upside Henry previously lost due to concerns about his age are recaptured with his touchdown potential. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has the most touchdowns of his career this year which would be over 17. In a running back landscape where everything is a question, I feel comfortable projecting Henry out as mid to low end RB1 this year.
17. Alvin Kamara (-4)
FTR Rank: 17
ECR Rank: 13
We have another older running back except this time I’m lower than consensus on him. I’ll admit, this ranking could easily be wrong if Kendre Miller is a non-factor again this year. Right now the reports out of camp don’t look good between his coach-speak and health but I’m trying not to overreact.
Even though Kamara was great last year, he was atrocious on the ground racking up 3.9 YPC on only 180 carries. His saving grace was the fact that he has his most targets since 2020. I expect that to change drastically in 2024.
The Saints brought in former 49ers offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak who should stray away from all these checkdowns. Chris Olave is also heading into his third season and I expect Kubiak to focus on trying to push the ball downfield to him. Lastly Derek Carr was nursing a shoulder injury in 2023 which likely had an effect on his ADOT. I expect that number to return closer to 2022 where his Air Yards per Attempt was 7th in the NFL (Minimum 10 games played).
13. James Cook (+3)
FTR Rank: 13
ECR Rank: 16
It seems like a lot of people are forgetting how good James Cook looked near the end of the year. While his last three were disappointing, before that he put 19.2, 16, 25.1 and 36.1 points in a four week stretch. It’s also important to note that Joe Brady put a bigger emphasis on running the ball when he took over as the offensive coordinator at the end of last year.
Cook is also a good pass catcher though and he took a big step up to 54 targets last season. The main issue is that Cook was only taking 45.3% of the carries in the redzone last year. Heading into his third season, I expect the Bills to trust him more around the goaline.
While Cook wasn’t very consistent last season he still had 13.7 PPG on the year. With very little competition, I feel strong that Cook will be a high end RB2 or even a low end RB1 in 2024.
23. James Conner (-3)
FTR Rank: 23
ECR Rank: 20
Since the beginning of the off-season I’ve had a change of heart on James Conner. Even though Conner is going to be 29 years old, he just had the best season of his career running for over 1,000 yards and hitting the 5 YPC mark. I actually like taking Conner, it’s just that Aaron Jones, D'Andre Swift and Tony Pollard have more end-of-season upside.
For one Conner has had a consistent battle with injuries, only playing 15 games once. In the last two years he’s missed four games each. When he’s 29 years old, this issue should only get worse and if he’s not 100%, expect the Cardinals to lean on Trey Benson. Even though Conner will be the guy early on, don’t be surprised if the third round pick Benson has a significant role in the 2nd half of the season.
