2021 Fantasy Football PPR Running Back Rankings

The running back has become one of the most sought after positions in fantasy football. It’s a race to grab the top talent at running back, especially in PPR leagues where dual threat running backs have a competitive advantage. In this ranking, we’ll break down the tiers of running back from the elite you want on your team to young potential to the ones you should avoid.

Tier 1: Elite

1. Saquon Barkley – New York Giants
2. Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers
3. Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans
4. Dalvin Cook – Minnesota Vikings
5. Alvin Kamara – New Orleans Saints

The elite group is led by Saquon Barkley who narrowly edges out Christian McCaffrey for the top spot. Both players have been the best in the NFL when healthy, but remaining healthy consistently for both has been the problem. The New York Giants significantly improved their offensive core in the offseason allowing for less opportunities for Barkley to get hurt as others around him can get the job done as well. This put Barkley in a better position for success as Mike Davis is out of Carolina making CMC even more of a workhorse for the team. Nonetheless, CMC, Barkley and the rest of the crew who round out the top 5 should be drafted at the top of your draft easily. 

Tier 2: Top-Tier

6. Jonathan Taylor – Indianapolis Colts
7. Ezekiel Elliot – Dallas Cowboys
8. Antonio Gibson – Washington Football Team
9. Aaron Jones – Green Bay Packers
10. Nick Chubb – Cleveland Browns
11. David Montgomery – Chicago Bears
12. Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Kansas City Chiefs
13. Austin Ekeler – Los Angeles Chargers

In a loaded running back class, if you don’t land one of the elite, you are still given a chance to draft 2 top-tier running backs in back to back picks late in the 1st and in the 2nd round. We would be happy with any 2 of these running backs on our fantasy team and would feel confident that a playoff spot is within reach. Taylor and Gibson are the most likely pairing to jump into the top 5 after the season is over as one of the elite is likely to slide. 

Tier 3: Solid Starters

14. D’Andre Swift – Detroit Lions
15. Josh Jacobs – Las Vegas Raiders
16. Miles Sanders – Philadelphia Eagles
17. Myles Gaskin – Miami Dolphins
18. Chris Carson – Seattle Seahawks
19. Joe Mixon – Cincinnati Bengals

The solid starters are exactly as they sound. All 6 guys in this tier are solid starting running backs for their teams, they will get the job done, but they aren’t going to blow you away. A couple of these players are on the rise such as Swift and Gaskin while others like Jacobs and Mixon have regressed over the last season. If you land one of the elite running backs, pairing them up with a solid starter should help get your team in a good place to succeed. 

Tier 4: Strong Flex

20. Najee Harris – Pittsburgh Steelers
21. Kareem Hunt – Cleveland Browns
22. JK Dobbins – Baltimore Ravens
23. Mike Davis – Atlanta Falcons
24. Chase Edmonds – Arizona Cardinals

With many running backs and wide receivers competing for our flex slot, this section is candidates who would be a strong flex option in your PPR league. Featuring 3 running backs from the AFC North alone, the strong flex backs are worth an early-mid round pick. Harris has the most potential to have his stock rise of the bunch if the Steelers offensive line wasn’t as disappointing as it was last season for James Conner. Despite being the 2nd running back on his own team, Hunt is still worth drafting over many starting running backs in the NFL as the Browns have the best 1-2 rushing punch in the NFL. 

Tier 5: Flex

25. James Robinson – Jacksonville Jaguars
26. Travis Etienne – Jacksonville Jaguars
27. Darrell Henderson – Los Angeles Rams
28. Michael Carter – New York Jets
29. Javonte Williams – Denver Broncos
30. Raheem Mostert – San Francisco 49ers
31. Leonard Fournette – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32. JD McKissic – Washington Football Team
33. Ronald Jones – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

If you missed out one of the better options at flex, don’t worry, there are still some options left with plenty of potential. This section is primarily boom or bust this season as young players are trying to live up to the hype and veterans are trying to prove they still have it in them to succeed. The most disappointing player to see in this section is James Robinson after the remarkable rookie season he put together. The Jaguars drafted Etienne which hurts the fantasy value of Robinson and ultimately Etienne as if he was on another team in need of a running back, it’s likely he would be higher than this as Robinson is going to be tough competition for Etienne for touches. Other backs in this section are in the same boat with multiple running backs on the team making it tougher to thrive as the lead back. 

Tier 6: Quality Backups

34. Melvin Gordon – Denver Broncos
35. Damien Harris – New England Patriots
36. David Johnson – Houston Texans
37. James Conner – Arizona Cardinals
38. Devin Singletary – Buffalo Bills
39. Phillip Lindsay – Houston Texans
40. Nyheim Hines – Indianapolis Colts
41. Zack Moss – Buffalo Bills
42. Tarik Cohen – Chicago Bears

When your starting running back or two are on a bye week or dealing with injury, the frantic search for a replacement can be worrisome. This group of players will help put some of your nerves at ease in that scenario as they can still manage some respectable points to have some value if needed in a pinch. We’d recommend using a later round draft pick to snag one of these players.

Tier 7: Decent Handcuffs

43. Latavius Murray – New Orleans Saints
44. Trey Sermon – San Francisco 49ers
45. Kenyan Drake – Las Vegas Raiders
46. Tevin Coleman – New York Jets
47. James White – New England Patriots
48. Jamaal Williams – Detroit Lions
49. Malcolm Brown – Miami Dolphins
50. Kenneth Gainwell – Philadelphia Eagles
51. Darrel Williams – Kansas City Chiefs
52. Gus Edwards – Baltimore Ravens
53. Rashaad Penny – Seattle Seahawks
54. AJ Dillon – Green Bay Packers

One of the worst things that can happen in fantasy is losing your starting running back for a significant period of time. Having a good backup for NFL teams has become more crucial as injuries have become more frequent over the years. This group features former starters who performed well and turned into quality backup running backs. These are all good players to stash as handcuffs on your team or pick up from free agency if you have a good waiver wire position. 

Tier 8: Best of the Rest

55. Justin Jackson – Los Angeles Chargers
56. Alexander Mattison – Minnesota Vikings
57. Benny Snell Jr. – Pittsburgh Steelers
58. Kerryon Johnson – Philadelphia Eagles
59. Marlon Mack – Indianapolis Colts
60. Tony Pollard – Dallas Cowboys
61. Devontae Booker – New York Giants
62. Chuba Hubbard – Carolina Panthers
63. Cordarrelle Patterson – Atlanta Falcons
64. Mark Ingram – Houston Texans
65. Joshua Kelley – Los Angeles Chargers

The best of the rest are players that could potentially be worth drafting in deeper leagues or picking up later in the season depending on the performance of the guy ahead of them. Most in this category will not see a spot in the starting lineup at all during the season, but a couple could be used as deep flexes given the situation.