The TRUTH: Top RBs in 2025 Part I (Fantasy Football)

You’ve been enlightened about the TRUTH of the Top-20 QBs in 2025 by my guy, Kurt Mullen. Now it’s time to look back on the RBs and discover the TRUTH about this 2025 group. 

Connect with the show:

To hear the Ballers’ full discussion on the top-10 RBs, check out the January 22nd episode of the show!

Running Backs Overview

The RB position has evolved tremendously over the years. 15-20 years ago, in a run-heavy NFL, we sought “bell cow” RBs (Adrian Peterson, Jerome Bettis, Shaun Alexander, etc.) who handled the bulk of the carries and scored loads of TDs. As the passing game evolved, we saw the ascent of pass-catching RBs, who could derive value almost entirely off their passing game work (the “PPR merchants” – Darren Sproles, Theo Riddick, Tarik Cohen, etc.). PPR scoring opened the door for the “Zero RB” strategy, as there were many more viable RBs to draft each year.

But PPR scoring also created the “Super RB” who could handle the rushing volume of the bruisers of yore, while also generating WR-level targets in the passing game. To illustrate, note that Derrick Henry is the only RB on this top-10 list with fewer than 30 receptions on the season, and James Cook and Henry are the only two with fewer than 50 targets.

Alas, the NFL is constantly evolving, and ultimately, cyclical. The prevalence of zone defense over the last few years has correlated with a decline in receiving work for RBs. In fact, in 2025, RBs produced the 2^nd most rushing fantasy points and rushing TDs since 2011, but the fewest receiving yards and 2^nd fewest RB receptions in that same span. 23 different RBs had 7+ TDs in 2025 (the average over the last decade is 17 RBs), but only seven RBs caught 50+ passes (the average over the last decade is 11 RBs).

Does this mean the pass-catching back is a thing of the past? I don’t think so. As soon as we shift to only targeting bell cow RBs again, things will probably change again, and Tyjae Spears or Kenneth Gainwell will be RB1 overall. It’s exhausting trying to keep up. But what else are we going to do with our free time: engage in civil geopolitical discourse? Hard pass. Give me all the football talk.

Before we dive into our top-10 RBs, let’s review how the TRUTH algorithm translates to fantasy performances. Our numbers today will only correlate with Weeks 1-17, with Week 18 disregarded:

• Great Games = > 21 points
• Good Games = > 12 points
• Bust Games = < 7 points
• Missed Games do not count against consistency score

Age: 29.6 | ADP: 1.07 (RB4)

Consistency Rank: 1

1st half: 1 / 2nd half: 1

One thing has remained constant over the last eight NFL seasons: if Christian McCaffrey plays 16+ games, he finishes as a top-3 RB. This year, CMC fulfilled Mike’s premonition and returned as the prodigal RB1, with 356.9 points (22.3 PTS/G). He stayed mostly healthy all year, and he was top 10 in the entire league in targets and receptions. CMC is the poster child of the Super RB mentioned above, and this is the sixth time he has been #1 in RB consistency.

The big questions surrounding McCaffrey all pertain to his age, workload, and injury risk, as these are the three factors that lead to every back’s eventual decline. Since 2020, we’ve seen 15 RBs with 330+ touches in the regular season, and 85% of them finish outside the top 5 scoring for fantasy RBs the next year. Can a 30-year-old CMC be the 15%?

Age: 27.0 | ADP: 2.04 (RB9)

Consistency Rank: 5

1st half: 4 / 2nd half: 14

Taylor came out of the gate poised to be a league-winner and looked like the Jonathan Taylor of 2021. In fact, his 2025 stats bear many similarities to that magical 2021 season:

Unfortunately, once Daniel Jones was lost for the season with an Achilles injury, Taylor became an RB2, finishing between RB13 – RB26 every game from Week 12-  Week 17. So that leaves us with the burning question of what the team will decide to do with Daniel Jones / the QB position this offseason? Jones is a Free Agent, but the team spent draft capital to acquire Sauce Gardner and go all-in on the 2025 season. It seems likely they will bring Jones back at QB, but will he be healthy to start the 2026 season? And will he be as effective as he was in 2025? Jonathan Taylor is a star, but even he can be dragged down by a fledgling offense.

Age: 23.9 | ADP: 1.03 (RB1)

Consistency Rank: 3

1st half: 5 / 2nd half: 3

Similar to Mike’s voodoo over CMC, Jason commanded Bijan Robinson to stay healthy all season, and he obliged. And boy did he ever produce! Bijan posted career highs in every one of the following categories:

I would say that qualifies as a success! Bijan was a beast, a league winner, a Super RB. He put together the best fantasy playoffs run of any RB (RB4, RB7, RB2 in Weeks 15-17). Save for one strange RB40 game against Miami in Week 8, Bijan was rocksteady. Tyler Allgeier is heading into free agency, and the narrative from the team is that they expect/want to see Allgeier get starter’s money somewhere. It’s not likely he returns to the Falcons, which could mean even more work for Bijan in 2026, particularly at the goal line (Allgeier vultured eight TDs from Robinson this season). The only question is how Bijan fits into the new Falcons Head Coach, Kevin Stefanski’s, system, but I don’t expect to see much, if any, decline.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Age: 23.8 | ADP: 1.04 (RB3)

Consistency Rank: 11

1st half: 12 / 2nd half: 8

Gibbs’ season may go down as a bit of a disappointment, despite finishing RB4 on the year. That’s because this season, the Lions’ offensive line looked much less imposing than it had in previous years (dropping from a PFF top-3 ranked unit in 2023 and 2024 to the 12th-ranked offensive line in 2025). As a result, Gibbs’ efficiency dropped from 5.6 Y/A to 5.0 Y/A in the rushing department, and from 9.9 Y/C to 8.0 Y/C receiving.

Gibbs ranked as a “B” in consistency this season, as he logged six games outside the top 20, including a rough playoffs stretch of RB33, RB15, and RB38. Gibbs’ season-long stats were propped up by a ridiculous stretch run in Weeks 10-14 (143 fantasy points – the third most by any RB over that span in the last five years) and a nose for the end zone. Gibbs has more total TDs (49) in the first three years of his career than any RB in NFL history. That’s a list that includes Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Gale Sayers, Earl Campbell, etc. This team dealt with injuries all season, and I expect Gibbs to rebound (if you can call it that, after finishing as the RB4) next season.

The Lions fired Offensive Coordinator John Morton and are bringing in Arizona legend, Drew Petzing, to replace him in 2026. So much for being careful who you hand over the keys to the Ferrari to!

Age: 24.2 | ADP: 2.03 (RB8)

Consistency Rank: 2

1st half: 2 / 2nd half: 3

While seemingly everything in Miami was imploding this season, Achane quietly put together an incredibly consistent year. He was the only RB to never finish outside the top 20 at the position. In fact, he’s one of only four RBs in history (Priest Holmes, DeMarco Murray, Christian McCaffrey) to score 11+ fantasy points in every single game in a full, 16-game season. His rushing efficiency (5.7 Y/A) jumped back up, landing between the insane 7.8 Y/A of his rookie season and the “back down to Earth” 4.5 Y/A of his Sophomore campaign. And his receiving work was predictable and consistent. There’s not much to dislike about Achane, aside from major changes at QB and Head Coach this offseason. But Achane produced despite the chaos around him (and an offensive line that ranked 29th, per PFF) in 2025 and could very well do the same in 2026.

The biggest question for Achane is whether or not the new coaching staff views him as the relative workhorse he has become over the last three years. At 5’9” and 191 lbs, it’s a bit unorthodox that Achane cleared 20 carries four times in 2025. Will the Dolphins rely more on prototypical-sized RB Jaylen Wright (208 lbs), who showed flashes at the end of 2025? Will they pair Achane with bruiser Ollie Gordon (225 lbs) in a “Thunder and Lightning” backfield?

Age: 26.2 | ADP: 3.03 (RB13)

Consistency Rank: 4

1st half: 7 / 2nd half: 6

There was concern about drafting Cook this year, as he was a holdout throughout much of training camp. But once Cook secured the bag from the Bills, he immediately rewarded them with an RB5 season and a rushing title. Cook is, in my opinion, the most natural runner in the league, with peak vision and cutback ability.

What we loved to see most from Cook this season was that the team fully committed to him as the lead back, giving him 102 more carries in 2025 than in 2024. This resulted in 600+ more rushing yards, the aforementioned rushing title, and a top-5 RB season. Cooks’ passing game production remains steady and slightly frustrating, but he is a reliable runner who doesn’t miss time to injuries and has the luxury of operating alongside Josh Allen. A new Head Coach may bring a slightly different scheme to Buffalo next season, but expect Cook to produce regardless.

Age: 32.0 | ADP: 1.08 (RB5)

Consistency Rank: 9

1st half: 17 / 2nd half: 4

When the Yeti is healthy, the Yeti feasts. Henry capped off his sixth top-8 RB finish in the last seven years, with the outlier being an RB16 season where he only played eight games. Henry finished a mere 26 yards behind James Cook for the rushing title this year, which would have made him the oldest player to achieve the feat.

After starting the season as RB1 in Week 1, Henry strung together a disappointing four games, finishing as RB58, RB22, RB42, and RB25. Everyone began to question whether Father Time had finally caught up with King Henry. A 122-yard output in Week 6 calmed our fears, but it was the second half of the season that reminded us (as it typically does) that Henry still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Henry never finished outside the top 24 at the position after Week 5, and he notched nine top-12 RB weeks during that span. All this was done despite nagging injuries to QB Lamar Jackson, which made the entire offense look off.

Analysts will continue to question Henry’s age and wonder if he will ever start to slow down. Besides that, the big question for Baltimore heading into 2026 will be who is at the helm as Head Coach, as the Ravens parted ways with John Harbaugh after the team’s loss to Pittsburgh in Week 18.

Age: 25.8 | ADP: 3.02 (RB12)

Consistency Rank: 8

1st half: 19 / 2nd half: 2

2025 was a tale of two seasons for Chase Brown. It was a rough start to the year, as he finished outside the top-20 RBs in each of the first five weeks. Once the team brought in competent QB play by signing Joe Flacco, Brown’s fortunes completely flipped. From Week 6 on, Brown was a top-20 RB every week, and top-15 in 10 of those 12 games. Whether it was Flacco or Joe Burrow at the helm, Brown produced, ultimately finishing the season as RB8.

Maybe most encouraging is that Brown collected 88 targets in the passing game (up from 65 in 2024). These targets turned into a nice PPR stat line of 69/437/5 TDs. The Bengals will look to start 2026 fully healthy, so expectations are that Brown will be able to continue producing consistent, top-tier RB play in 2026. His name isn’t as flashy as the names listed above, but he can be every bit as good in this offense.

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Age: 25.3 | ADP: 2.12 (RB11)

Consistency Rank: 6

1st half: 9 / 2nd half: 7

Kyren has finished between 239 and 255 Half-PPR points in each of the last three seasons. Despite varied usage, his stats are remarkably similar across all three seasons:

One noticeable drop is in the rushing TD department, as Williams tallied 14 rushing TDs in 2024 and only 10 in 2025. The factors are twofold: an increase in red zone looks for newly-acquired Davante Adams, and increased usage of Blake Corum. Williams logged a Snap % of 79% or higher in 16 of 17 games in 2024, but he was at 71% or lower in 12 of 16 games in 2025.

In the high-flying 2025 Rams offense, Kyren Williams was a stable, consistent performer, finishing outside the top 25 just four times all year. Williams produced the best Rush Success Rate in the NFL this season, with the lowest percentage of runs (12%) stuffed at the line of scrimmage and the greatest percentage of runs (43%) going for 5+ yards. He finished the season as RB9 and should be able to repeat similar numbers moving forward, even despite the decreased snap share.

Age: 26.9 | ADP: 8.01 (RB31)

Consistency Rank: 14

1st half: 19 / 2nd half: 10

I’m still not entirely sure what Travis Etienne is, but this year’s version is one I could definitely get behind. In Liam Coen’s offense, Etienne returned to 2023 form and finished as RB10 on the season. He handled a healthy 260 carries, left a bit of meat on the bone in the receiving game (36 receptions, but six receiving TDs), and successfully held off an intriguing rookie, Bhayshul Tuten, all season long.

One area of concern for Etienne is goal-line work: he scored on only two of 12 attempts inside the 5-yard line (17% success rate, 2nd worst in the NFL), while Trevor Lawrence converted on five of 10 attempts (50% success rate) and Bhayshul Tuten converted on five of 7 seven attempts (71%). One has to wonder if the Jaguars come out with a refined 5-zone strategy in 2026.

Etienne highlights a pretty high-profile RB free agency class, as he, Kenneth Walker III, and Breece Hall will all potentially be able to shop around for new deals. So the biggest question here is whether or not the Jags will choose to pay the man and run it back with Etienne and Tuten. If they do, I expect Tuten to cut into Etienne’s work a bit more next season, but this could look like the Kyren Williams / Blake Corum split in Los Angeles (or the Bucky Irving / Rachaad White split from Coen’s former offense in Tampa Bay). Etienne should have plenty of opportunities if he remains in Duuuvaaal.