PPR Fantasy Football Rankings 2026 — Running Back Tiers

These are RotoAlpha's 12-team PPR running back rankings, where tiers group backs with similar draft value — projected points above the position's replacement level — so you can see exactly where the meaningful drop-offs fall.

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Tier 1 (ranks 1–2)

2 players · ranks 1–2 · Draft Value +137.6 to +127.1

Jahmyr Gibbs (#1 overall, RB1, 266.0 pts) and Bijan Robinson (#2 overall, RB2, 255.5 pts) sit in a tier of their own, and the cliff below them is the largest on this entire page — a 32.2-point gap to Tier 2. That gap is the clearest signal on the rankings: leaving this tier empty costs more than any other positional decision you'll make at running back. If you don't land one of these two, the next group is a real step down.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
1	Jahmyr Gibbs	#3	DET	266.0	+137.6
2	Bijan Robinson	#4	ATL	255.5	+127.1

↓ 32.2 Draft Value points to Tier 2

Tier 2 (ranks 3–5)

3 players · ranks 3–5 · Draft Value +94.9 to +85.1

Christian McCaffrey (RB3), Jonathan Taylor (RB4), and De'Von Achane (RB5) project between 213.6 and 223.4 points, clustered within a 9.8-point internal spread. The 10.0-point gap to Tier 3 is meaningful but far smaller than the cliff above — missing Tier 1 and landing here is a defensible outcome. All three carry positive draft value well above replacement, so any of them anchors an RB corps.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
3	Christian McCaffrey	#8	SF	223.4	+94.9
4	Jonathan Taylor	#11	IND	216.0	+87.6
5	De'Von Achane	#12	MIA	213.6	+85.1

↓ 10.0 Draft Value points to Tier 3

Tier 3 (ranks 6–7)

2 players · ranks 6–7 · Draft Value +75.1 to +65.3

James Cook (RB6, 203.6 pts) and Ashton Jeanty (RB7, 193.8 pts) are separated by 9.8 points internally, and a 12.2-point gap separates this tier from the wide Tier 4 below. That gap is larger than the one beneath Tier 2, making this a genuine decision point: once you're past Jeanty, you're dropping into a 16-man pool where the top and bottom differ by more than 45 draft-value points.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
6	James Cook	#14	BUF	203.6	+75.1
7	Ashton Jeanty	#16	LV	193.8	+65.3

↓ 12.2 Draft Value points to Tier 4

Tier 4 (ranks 8–23)

16 players · ranks 8–23 · Draft Value +53.1 to +7.7

Sixteen backs from Kyren Williams (RB8, +53.1 draft value) down to Jaylen Warren (RB23, +7.7) occupy this tier, and the 45.4-point internal spread means the difference between the top and bottom of this group is enormous — draft accordingly, because RB8 and RB23 are not interchangeable. All 16 still project above replacement level, so any of them contributes positive value, but prioritizing the top of this range matters. The 6.5-point gap to Tier 5 is the smallest cliff on the page outside the last tier, so there is little urgency to force a pick at the bottom of this group.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
8	Kyren Williams	#22	LAR	181.6	+53.1
9	Kenneth Walker	#23	KC	181.0	+52.6
10	Derrick Henry	#26	BAL	175.6	+47.1
11	Josh Jacobs	#27	GB	174.8	+46.4
12	Chase Brown	#28	CIN	174.4	+45.9
13	Omarion Hampton	#34	LAC	168.7	+40.2
14	Saquon Barkley	#35	PHI	165.3	+36.8
15	Breece Hall	#36	NYJ	164.5	+36.0
16	Bucky Irving	#39	TB	160.5	+32.1
17	Jeremiyah Love	#41	ARI	156.4	+27.9
18	Cam Skattebo	#45	NYG	151.9	+23.5
19	Javonte Williams	#46	DAL	150.0	+21.5
20	D'Andre Swift	#48	CHI	148.7	+20.2
21	Travis Etienne	#51	NO	146.2	+17.7
22	Quinshon Judkins	#58	CLE	142.5	+14.0
23	Jaylen Warren	#65	PIT	136.1	+7.7

↓ 6.5 Draft Value points to Tier 5

Tier 5 (rank 24)

1 player · ranks 24–24 · Draft Value +1.2 to +1.2

Jadarian Price (RB24, 129.6 pts, +1.2 draft value) is the lone back in this tier — a single player sitting just barely above replacement level with a draft value of +1.2. Tier 5 has the tightest spread on this page, which is simply a function of having one member. The gap to Tier 6 is just 1.2 points, meaning Price and the top of the below-replacement group are nearly indistinguishable in projected value; there is no meaningful cost to waiting past him.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
24	Jadarian Price	#70	SEA	129.6	+1.2

↓ 1.2 Draft Value points to Tier 6

Tier 6 (ranks 25–60)

36 players · ranks 25–60 · Draft Value +0.0 to -74.7

All 36 backs from Rhamondre Stevenson (RB25, +0.0 draft value) to Michael Carter (RB60, -74.7) project at or below replacement level in 12-team PPR. The 74.7-point internal spread reflects how wide this pool is — Stevenson is essentially a replacement-level back while Carter sits 74.7 draft-value points below that line. These are depth, handcuff, and late-round lottery options; none of them are expected to return surplus value over what a waiver wire replacement could provide.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
25	Rhamondre Stevenson	#76	NE	128.5	+0.0
26	David Montgomery	#84	HOU	126.4	-2.0
27	Tony Pollard	#88	TEN	123.3	-5.1
28	TreVeyon Henderson	#89	NE	123.2	-5.2
29	J.K. Dobbins	#91	DEN	123.0	-5.5
30	Chuba Hubbard	#99	CAR	121.8	-6.6
31	Rico Dowdle	#111	PIT	115.9	-12.6
32	Aaron Jones	#116	MIN	112.5	-16.0
33	Zach Charbonnet	#118	SEA	110.4	-18.0
34	RJ Harvey	#121	DEN	109.9	-18.6
35	Rachaad White	#135	WAS	106.4	-22.0
36	Kenny Gainwell	#141	TB	105.7	-22.8
37	Bhayshul Tuten	#152	JAX	102.6	-25.9
38	Jacory Croskey-Merritt	#158	WAS	100.2	-28.3
39	Kyle Monangai	#160	CHI	97.3	-31.2
40	Tyrone Tracy	#167	NYG	94.7	-33.7
41	Jordan Mason	#178	MIN	91.1	-37.3
42	Isiah Pacheco	#181	DET	90.7	-37.7
43	Brian Robinson	#189	ATL	88.4	-40.1
44	Woody Marks	#192	HOU	88.1	-40.4
45	Blake Corum	#209	LAR	79.9	-48.5
46	Alvin Kamara	#211	NO	79.6	-48.9
47	Tyler Allgeier	#214	ARI	79.1	-49.4
48	Tyjae Spears	#216	TEN	75.6	-52.8
49	Jerome Ford	#232	WAS	66.3	-62.2
50	Dylan Sampson	#233	CLE	65.5	-62.9
51	Ray Davis	#235	BUF	64.1	-64.4
52	Jonathon Brooks	#237	CAR	62.8	-65.7
53	Justice Hill	#242	BAL	59.8	-68.7
54	Devin Singletary	#248	NYG	57.7	-70.8
55	Tank Bigsby	#251	PHI	56.8	-71.6
56	Kimani Vidal	#252	LAC	56.2	-72.2
57	Samaje Perine	#254	CIN	56.0	-72.4
58	Chris Rodriguez	#255	JAX	55.7	-72.8
59	Emari Demercado	#259	KC	55.1	-73.4
60	Michael Carter	#264	TEN	53.7	-74.7

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 · Pricing