PlayerProfiler is home to award winning dynasty rankings and tools. Our Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Rankings, Rookie Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts, and more. Check it out. Here, Joel Ybarra outlines the new landscape of the dynasty running back rankings, including a dynamic 2025 rookie RB class.
Nailing the running back position was crucial in 2024. The ADP RB1, Christian McCaffrey, was a non-factor, but other highly drafted running backs were prominent fantasy difference-makers. Saquon Barkley was the most valuable fantasy asset you could have, hitting multiple huge scoring weeks and carrying fantasy managers to championships. Other highly drafted backs like Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and De’Von Achane also more than paid off their draft capital. And 30-year-old Ironman Derrick Henry approached league-winner status.
Dynasty gamers are tentative about spending capital on running backs, but hitting on a running back in a breakout year or monster fantasy scoring season is a key component in securing a championship. Here, we take a look at the major movers in the PlayerProfiler’s dynasty running back rankings post-2024, and what makes a league-winning back. Consensus also has it that the 2025 rookie class holds some RBs who will make an early impact when they enter the NFL. We will take a look at where those incoming rookies stack up in the dynasty ranks.
The Top Tier
Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are dynasty RB1 and RB2, respectively. They are both around age 23 – Gibbs 22.9 and Robinson 23.1. Their youth increases their value in the dynasty marketplace, although dynasty gamers likely think in shorter windows when it comes to running backs. Still, being on the right side of the age apex also means the player may still have yet to hit their ceiling.
We saw the potential of Gibbs in Weeks 15 through 17 last season, when David Montgomery was out with injury. Gibbs was the RB2, RB7 and RB2 across that stretch. He was also the RB1 in Week 18 with 46.0 fantasy points – in a game that did matter for both the Lions and the Vikings (the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC was at stake). The Lions committed themselves to a two-back system with Gibbs and Montgomery in 2024, and the latter is under contract through 2028. Gibbs, however, was the picture of efficiency in his sophomore season (No. 2 in both Explosive Rating and Yards Per Touch). The Lions are going to ride the first round draft pick at the peak of his athleticism and still on his rookie contract.
Robinson was the most consistent RB performer last season, recording nine 20-plus scoring performances – the most of any back. The former Texas Longhorn finished the season as the PPG RB3 after handling 295.4 (No. 1) Weighted Opportunities. Robinson also finished with 15 (No. 6) total TDS. To continue to hit ceiling outcomes, he will have to keep up the high-end usage and hit on more explosive plays.
Post-Age Apex Running Backs in Dynasty Rankings
Old running backs ruled in 2024. Now 28-year-old Saquon Barkley regained the RB1 crown after coming over to the Super Bowl Champion Eagles in the offseason. He was the beneficiary of the best Run Blocking Rating (73.1) in the league and capitalized, also leading the league with 25 Breakaway Runs. Barkley is up at RB5 in dynasty and is the oldest back in the top-20 other than Derrick Henry. Henry tied Barkley for the league lead in Breakaway Runs, benefiting from the No. 3 Run Blocking Rating. The now 30-year-old Raven sits at RB18 in PlayerProfiler’s Dynasty Rankings. Both backs changed teams in the offseason and benefited from their new run schemes and blocking, highlighting the importance of team context in facilitating a league-winning RB season. Both got volume, but the explosive plays were what set them apart as rushers.
2024 Rookies in the Dynasty Running Back Rankings
The 2024 running back class did not have any standout prospects coming into the season. Jonathon Brooks was the highest-drafted in the NFL and fantasy. He turned out to be a zero due to injury. (Unfortunately for those who drafted Brooks, his injury woes will continue into 2025.) After Brooks, dynasty gamers drafted Trey Benson, Blake Corum, MarShawn Lloyd and Jaylen Wright hoping they would usurp the incumbent starters on their respective teams. None of them did. The RB5 in startups, Bucky Irving, was the only real rookie running back that mattered.
Irving finished as the RB19 in PPG scoring, but came on in the second half of the season. He notched four top-10 finishes from weeks 10 through 17, including a top-five finish in championship week. The former Oregon Duck matched or exceeded Rachaad White‘s carry totals eight out the final nine games of the season while also getting work in the passing game. Irving dusted White and most backs in the league in key efficiency metrics. He was top-10 in Yards Created Per Touch, Juke Rate, Evaded Tackles and Breakaway Runs. Irving sits at RB11 in PlayerProfiler’s dynasty ranks.
2025 Rookies in the Dynasty Running Back Rankings
Likely to be a round one NFL Draft pick, Ashton Jeanty is already a top-five (No. 3) ranked dynasty RB. The compact 5-9, 215-pound back out of Boise State ran over opposing defenses in his junior (and final) college season, averaging 185.8 yards rushing per game and two-plus total TDs. He was used more in the pass game in the 2023 season, catching 43 passes for 569 yards. Jeanty was criticized for his performance against Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Nittany Lions’ defense was one of Jeanty’s only true tests on the season, but it was a monumental task with Penn St. boasting one of the best defenses in the country and allowing the eighth-least rush yards in all of college football.
It’s a running back-rich 2025 class, as we saw from the NFL Combine performances. There were 14 running backs who ran a 40-yard Dash under 4.50. Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, Kaleb Johnson and Quinshon Judkins were all in the top-20 of the dynasty ranks going into the Combine. Seven other backs from the class are ranked in the top-50 in dynasty, including Bhayshul Tuten, DJ Giddens and Damien Martinez. Tuten and Giddens are likely to be moving up the dynasty ranks after solid Combine performances, though they had Day 3 draft grades going into the weekend. Once the NFL Draft buzz heats up, we will see the dynasty ranks shift once again. Stay locked on PlayerProfiler’s Dynasty Rankings for all the offseason movers.
See all PlayerProfiler’s offseason content here, including coverage of the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft.
