12-team PPR · 60 players · 6 tiers

Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings 2026 — PPR

These are RotoAlpha's 12-team PPR running back rankings, where players are grouped into tiers of similar Draft Value surplus over replacement level — Tier 1 holds the most valuable backs and the tiers descend from there.

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Tier 1 (ranks 1–2)

2 players · ranks 1–2 · Draft Value +177.0 to +162.6

Jahmyr Gibbs (RB1, +177.0) and Bijan Robinson (RB2, +162.6) are separated from every other back on this page by 49.6 Draft Value points — the largest cliff on this page. That gap is not a rounding error; it means leaving Tier 1 empty costs more than any other tier transition here. The internal spread of 14.4 points between them is real but secondary — both backs project well above replacement, and the priority is simply securing one.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
1	Jahmyr Gibbs	#1	DET	329.6	+177.0
2	Bijan Robinson	#2	ATL	315.2	+162.6

↓ 49.6 Draft Value points to Tier 2

Tier 2 (ranks 3–6)

4 players · ranks 3–6 · Draft Value +113.0 to +97.9

Jonathan Taylor, De'Von Achane, James Cook, and Christian McCaffrey cluster within 15.1 Draft Value points of each other, making the order inside this tier less consequential than getting into it. The 21.7-point gap below Tier 2 is meaningful — Tier 3 opens at a noticeably lower surplus — so drafters who miss Tier 1 should treat this group as the next must-address window.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
3	Jonathan Taylor	#7	IND	265.6	+113.0
4	De'Von Achane	#8	MIA	258.0	+105.4
5	James Cook	#9	BUF	256.2	+103.6
6	Christian McCaffrey	#10	SF	250.6	+97.9

↓ 21.7 Draft Value points to Tier 3

Tier 3 (ranks 7–17)

11 players · ranks 7–17 · Draft Value +76.2 to +43.7

Eleven backs span a 32.5-point internal spread from Jeremiyah Love (RB7, +76.2) down to Bucky Irving (RB17, +43.7), so position within this tier matters more than in the tiers above. The gap below is only 9.6 points, meaning Tier 4 is relatively close — there is less urgency to force a pick at the bottom of this group than at the top.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
7	Jeremiyah Love	#14	ARI	228.8	+76.2
8	Kyren Williams	#15	LAR	227.9	+75.3
9	Ashton Jeanty	#16	LV	225.1	+72.5
10	Chase Brown	#17	CIN	224.3	+71.7
11	Josh Jacobs	#21	GB	217.6	+65.0
12	Derrick Henry	#22	BAL	217.2	+64.6
13	Kenneth Walker	#26	KC	208.6	+56.0
14	Saquon Barkley	#27	PHI	204.6	+52.0
15	Omarion Hampton	#30	LAC	199.6	+47.0
16	Breece Hall	#31	NYJ	199.3	+46.7
17	Bucky Irving	#33	TB	196.3	+43.7

↓ 9.6 Draft Value points to Tier 4

Tier 4 (ranks 18–24)

7 players · ranks 18–24 · Draft Value +34.1 to +16.8

Seven backs from Javonte Williams (RB18, +34.1) to Jaylen Warren (RB24, +16.8) all project above replacement level, but the surpluses are modest compared to Tier 3. The 11.2-point gap to Tier 5 is narrow, and Tier 5 holds just one back at +5.6 — so the practical cost of sliding past this tier is reaching a near-replacement-level player rather than a true contributor.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
18	Javonte Williams	#41	DAL	186.7	+34.1
19	D'Andre Swift	#43	CHI	183.7	+31.1
20	Jadarian Price	#44	SEA	183.1	+30.5
21	Cam Skattebo	#45	NYG	183.0	+30.4
22	Travis Etienne	#48	NO	175.5	+22.9
23	Quinshon Judkins	#50	CLE	173.0	+20.3
24	Jaylen Warren	#52	PIT	169.4	+16.8

↓ 11.2 Draft Value points to Tier 5

Tier 5 (rank 25)

1 player · ranks 25–25 · Draft Value +5.6 to +5.6

Rhamondre Stevenson stands alone at RB25 with a Draft Value of +5.6 — the tightest spread on this page by definition, and the last back projecting above replacement level. The 5.6-point gap below him is the distance between above-replacement and the replacement line itself, so any back drafted after Stevenson is projected to return at or below what a waiver-wire replacement would provide.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
25	Rhamondre Stevenson	#65	NE	158.2	+5.6

↓ 5.6 Draft Value points to Tier 6

Tier 6 (ranks 26–60)

35 players · ranks 26–60 · Draft Value +0.0 to -89.0

All 35 backs from David Montgomery (RB26, +0.0) through Ray Davis (RB60, -89.0) project at or below replacement level in 12-team PPR, spanning an 89.0-point internal spread. The top of this tier — Montgomery through Tony Pollard — sits near the replacement line and carries real roster utility as depth or handcuff options; the bottom represents significant negative surplus. Drafters filling late-round RB slots should target the upper portion of this group and recognize that the difference between RB26 and RB60 is larger than the gap between any two tiers above.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
26	David Montgomery	#73	HOU	152.6	+0.0
27	J.K. Dobbins	#85	DEN	149.5	-3.1
28	Chuba Hubbard	#92	CAR	145.1	-7.5
29	TreVeyon Henderson	#100	NE	142.5	-10.1
30	Tony Pollard	#101	TEN	142.3	-10.3
31	Rico Dowdle	#119	PIT	135.8	-16.8
32	Aaron Jones	#136	MIN	125.9	-26.7
33	RJ Harvey	#140	DEN	124.5	-28.1
34	Bhayshul Tuten	#149	JAX	120.4	-32.2
35	Kenny Gainwell	#155	TB	117.4	-35.2
36	Jacory Croskey-Merritt	#162	WAS	114.6	-38.0
37	Zach Charbonnet	#165	SEA	113.8	-38.8
38	Rachaad White	#173	WAS	111.5	-41.1
39	Kyle Monangai	#190	CHI	105.2	-47.4
40	Jordan Mason	#208	MIN	99.3	-53.3
41	Brian Robinson	#212	ATL	96.9	-55.7
42	Tyrone Tracy	#213	NYG	95.8	-56.8
43	Ollie Gordon	#216	MIA	95.0	-57.6
44	Isiah Pacheco	#218	DET	92.9	-59.7
45	Alvin Kamara	#220	NO	91.7	-60.9
46	Tyjae Spears	#224	TEN	90.8	-61.8
47	Woody Marks	#230	HOU	90.0	-62.6
48	Dylan Sampson	#241	CLE	81.4	-71.2
49	Tyler Allgeier	#245	ARI	79.6	-73.0
50	Blake Corum	#247	LAR	78.9	-73.7
51	Justice Hill	#256	BAL	76.1	-76.5
52	Tank Bigsby	#259	PHI	73.9	-78.7
53	Keaton Mitchell	#261	LAC	72.7	-79.9
54	Chris Rodriguez	#263	JAX	72.0	-80.6
55	Jordan James	#264	SF	71.6	-81.0
56	Jonathon Brooks	#266	CAR	68.9	-83.7
57	Braelon Allen	#270	NYJ	67.8	-84.8
58	James Conner	#272	ARI	67.4	-85.2
59	Kaelon Black	#286	SF	65.3	-87.3
60	Ray Davis	#293	BUF	63.6	-89.0

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Ranked by Draft Value — the points a player is worth above the replacement-level starter at his position in a 12-team PPR league · Projections are RotoAlpha's own model, recalculated daily through draft season · All player outlooks · How our projections are built · Pricing