Pat Fitzmaurice’s Running Back Tiers, Rankings, & Player Notes (2022 Fantasy Football)

You love fantasy rankings, but you really love tiers. We get it: Tiers give rankings texture and can be a big help when you’re actually drafting.

Here are my RB tiers for 2022 based on half-point PPR scoring.

Tier 1

• Jonathan Taylor
• Christian McCaffrey

Welcome to the elite tier.

Jonathan Taylor is the consensus 1.01 after finishing as the RB1 last year by a wide margin. He’s a rare physical specimen who blends power with speed. Taylor runs behind a strong offensive line and is getting a QB upgrade with Matt Ryan replacing Carson Wentz.

Taylor isn’t a unanimous 1.01; some prefer Christian McCaffrey. I’m not quite there, but I do think McCaffrey and Taylor belong on the same tier, and I would happily draft CMC in the 1.02 spot. Many people don’t have the stomach for McCaffrey after being burned by his injuries. He’s played 10 games in the last two years. The appeal is that CMC is an absolute machine when healthy. Since 2018, McCaffrey has averaged 22.3 fantasy points per game (0.5 PPR). Taylor has averaged 18.4 FPPG over his first two seasons.

Tier 2

• Dalvin Cook
• Najee Harris
• Austin Ekeler
• Derrick Henry
• Joe Mixon
• D’Andre Swift

All of the players on this tier are worthy first-round picks.

As with McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook comes with injury concerns. But like CMC, Cook produces big fantasy numbers when healthy. He’s averaged 112.8 scrimmage yards and 17.2 fantasy points (0.5 PPR) per game over his five NFL seasons.

Najee Harris had a league-high 381 touches as a rookie. The Steelers have talked about trying to lighten his load, but they haven’t made any significant additions at RB. Harris is a versatile performer with serious pass-catching chops. The only thing not to like here is Pittsburgh’s problematic offensive line.

Austin Ekeler probably isn’t going to repeat his 20 TD performance from 2021, and his carry total could dip below 200 if rookie Isaiah Spiller becomes a reliable early-down option. Still, Ekeler is a prolific pass catcher who’s averaged 96.2 yards from scrimmage per game over the last three years. It also helps that Ekeler plays in one of the NFL’s better offenses.

Derrick Henry has been a fantasy powerhouse the last three years, though a foot injury cut short his 2021 fantasy season. I don’t necessarily consider Henry an injury risk, but I can’t get any higher than RB6 for a 28-year-old running back who doesn’t catch many passes.

Joe Mixon hit career highs in nearly every stat category last season, finishing as the RB3. He catches passes and plays in a strong offense that got a substantial offensive line upgrade in the offseason.

D’Andre Swift is already one of the top pass-catching RBs in the league and has only scratched the surface of his potential.

Tier 3

• Javonte Williams
• Nick Chubb
• Aaron Jones
• Cam Akers
• Breece Hall
• Saquon Barkley
• Leonard Fournette
• Alvin Kamara
• James Conner

This is a fascinating and important tier. Draft decisions involving players on this tier will have enormous consequences. All of these guys have obvious appeal, but each comes with at least one concern.

There’s no denying how talented Javonte Williams is. But will he continue to split work nearly 50/50 with Melvin Gordon, or will the Broncos give Williams more of a lead role? In either case, Denver’s QB upgrade to Russell Wilson is a plus.

Nick Chubb is one of the NFL’s best pure runners and lines up behind an excellent offensive line, but he doesn’t catch many passes, and he shares snaps with Kareem Hunt.

Aaron Jones has fared well in games Davante Adams missed for the Packers. With Adams gone, Jones becomes more consistently involved in the passing game. But Jones will share the backfield with A.J. Dillon, who became the Packers’ preferred goal-line back late last season.

I’m probably higher on Cam Akers than you are. That Sean McVay handed Akers the key to the Rams’ backfield for last season’s playoffs six months after Akers tore his Achilles bodes well for his 2022 role in a perennially strong offense.

Jets rookie Breece Hall tested off the charts at the combine and had a terrific career at Iowa State. His workload and the overall competence of the Jets’ offense are unknown, but Hall could be special from Day One.

This is the cheapest Saquon Bakley has ever been in fantasy football. The question is whether he’s still the same unicorn athlete after enduring some significant lower-body injuries. We haven’t seen Barkley look special since 2019, but if he’s back to normal this year, you’ll be kicking yourself if you didn’t take advantage of the discount.

Leonard Fournette inherited a fantasy windfall last season after Giovani Bernard got hurt, and the Buccaneers’ brain trust determined that they couldn’t trust Ronald Jones and Ke’Shawn Vaughn to make substantial contributions. Fournette averaged 12.9 carries and 4.9 catches a game, finishing RB7 in fantasy points per game (0.5 PPR). Now well into his 40s, QB Tom Brady is anxious to avoid hits and eager to check down. The Buccaneers have a strong overall offense and should see a lot of run-friendly game scripts. The question is whether the Bucs continue to work Fournette so hard or give the now-healthy Bernard and/or rookie Rachaad White significant playing time.

Alvin Kamara remains a dazzling playmaker and one of the best pass-catching running backs in the game. Still, he’ll likely receive a suspension after being arrested for battery in Las Vegas the night before the Pro Bowl. Kamara’s efficiency as a runner nose-dived last year in the first season of the post-Drew Brees era.

James Conner was a one-dimensional TD machine early last year, then started posting huge fantasy numbers as a dual run-catch threat after Chase Edmonds got hurt. Edmonds is gone, but it’s unclear whether the Cardinals will use Conner in a lead role or rotate him with newcomer Darrel Williams and perhaps others.

Tier 4

• David Montgomery
• Antonio Gibson
• A.J. Dillon
• Travis Etienne
• Ezekiel Elliott
• J.K. Dobbins
• Josh Jacobs
• Elijah Mitchell
• Miles Sanders
• Clyde Edwards-Helaire
• Damien Harris

Check the treads on the soles of your shoes because the footing on this tier is slippery. There’s some talent on this tier, no question, but there are myriad potential pitfalls with this group.

David Montgomery is expected to get plenty of carries and targets this year, but the Chicago offense will likely stink. There’s also a chance his touch volume isn’t as safe as we think it is now that the Bears have cleaned house and have a new front office and coaching staff.

Washington’s usage of Antonio Gibson remains puzzling. The 24-year-old has a Jonathan Taylor-esque combination of size and speed, and he’s a former wide receiver. Yet the Commanders prefer to use older, smaller, slower J.D. McKissic on passing downs, and they just drafted big, versatile RB Brian Robinson in the third round.

With Davante Adams gone and the Green Bay WR corps thin, expect the Packers to run the ball at a higher rate and expect Aaron Rodgers to target his RBs in the passing game more frequently. AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones split touches almost evenly over the last half of the 2021 season.

Travis Etienne missed his rookie year with a foot injury and will finally rejoin former Clemson teammate Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. He’s a good pass catcher and has a clear path to significant touches, with James Robinson recovering from a late-season Achilles tear.

Is Ezekiel Elliott still a great RB, or is he a falling knife you shouldn’t dare try to catch? Zeke hasn’t looked himself the last two seasons, and a partially torn PCL may have had something to do with Zeke’s relative inefficiency in 2021. But, man, there’s a lot of mileage on the odometer.

J.K. Dobbins had nine TD runs on 134 carries as a rookie in 2020, averaging 6.0 yards a pop, but he missed the 2021 season with a torn ACL. He’s an exciting talent but won’t catch many passes and will probably share the Baltimore backfield.

The Raiders elected not to pick up the fifth-year option on the rookie contract of Josh Jacobs. That doesn’t necessarily mean a role reduction for Jacobs, but Las Vegas drafted Georgia RB Zamir White and still has Kenyan Drake around, so …

There was a lot of hype for 49ers rookie Trey Sermon last year, but fellow rookie Elijah Mitchell stole Sermon’s thunder, rushing for 963 yards in 11 games. The issues are that Mitchell isn’t used in the passing game much, and he faces touch competition from Sermon, rookie Tyrion Davis-Price and veteran Jeff Wilson.

Miles Sanders failed to score a TD on 163 touches last season, but he’s still the No. 1 back in a strong offense with an RB-friendly RPO lean.

The Chiefs probably regret drafting Clyde Edwards-Helaire over Jonathan Taylor in 2020 — or at least they should. Edwards-Helaire has disappointed so far but still has a significant role in one of the league’s best offenses.

Damien Harris scored 15 TDs last season but doesn’t do much in the passing game and faces touch competition from Rhamondre Stevenson and others.

Tier 5

• Chase Edmonds
• Rhamondre Stevenson
• Ken Walker
• Tony Pollard
• Devin Singletary
• Rashaad Penny
• Kareem Hunt
• Melvin Gordon
• James Cook
• Cordarrelle Patterson

Call this the “maybe” tier. Expectations are modest, but any of these guys could work out under the right circumstances.

The Miami backfield is murky, but Arizona transplant Chase Edmonds is the best bet to lead the Dolphins’ RBs in touches.

Rhamondre Stevenson is a big back with surprisingly nifty feet and soft hands. A fumble on his first NFL carry landed him in Bill Belichick’s doghouse for a while, but he had 132 carries in 11 games after that.

RB prospects as good as Ken Walker typically aren’t this inexpensive. The catch is that the Seattle offense could be terrible with either Drew Lock or Geno Smith at quarterback, and Walker will be competing for snaps with Rashaad Penny and possibly Chris Carson.

Backup Tony Pollard had shown more juice than Dallas starter Ezekiel Elliott in each of the last two seasons. Zeke’s role is safe, but the Cowboys still find ways to use the versatile Pollard.

Devin Singletary became a valuable fantasy asset down the stretch last season when the Bills basically gave up on their other backs and made Singletary a workhorse. Don’t count on that sort of usage again now that the Bills have added speedy rookie James Cook.

After teasing us for more than three seasons, former first-round draft pick Rashaad Penny exploded down the stretch, with 671 rushing yards and six touchdowns from Week 14 on. Now he’ll have to compete for work with talented rookie Ken Walker.

Kareem Hunt is probably the most talented backup RB in the league. He’s good enough to have some stand-alone value even when starter Nick Chubb is healthy.

There’s palpable frustration among Javonte Williams fans that Melvin Gordon still stands in the way of a Williams breakout. The thing is, Gordon is still good, and he scored 10 touchdowns last year and has averaged 11.2 TDs over the last six years.

A lot of people are excited that fleet-footed rookie James Cook has joined an explosive Bills offense, but beware: QB Josh Allen doesn’t throw to his RBs very often and likes to call his own number when the Bills get close to the end zone.

Converted WR Cordarrelle Patterson by finishing as the RB9 at age 30. It was the first taste of fantasy relevance Patterson has had in his nine-year career. There’s talk that he’ll be used more as a conventional WR this year, which could drain much of his value, and the Atlanta offense will be toothless.

Tier 6

• James Robinson
• Nyheim Hines
• Michael Carter
• Ronald Jones
• Isaiah Spiller
• Dameon Pierce
• Tyrion Davis-Price
• Darrell Henderson
• Rachaad White
• Tyler Allgeier
• Alexander Mattison
• Khalil Herbert
• Sony Michel

This is the depth tier. Most of these guys are draftable in standard 12-team leagues, but ideally, they will be RB4s or RB5s, not players you’re truly counting on.

Isaiah Spiller, Dameon Pierce, Rachaad White, Tyler Allgeier, and Tyrion Davis-Price are rookies from a 2021 RB class that most analysts believe to be iffy and unpredictable beyond Breece Hall and Ken Walker. Spiller, White, and Davis-Price have ambiguous roles in good offenses, and Pierce and Allgeier could potentially play significant roles in poor offenses.

Alexander Mattison and Darrell Henderson are backups to high-volume RBs. They have no stand-alone value but could be immensely valuable if anything happened to the guys they back up. Darrell Henderson probably falls into this category as well, with the Rams signaling that Cam Akers is their main man.

Michael Carter is talented and versatile, but his fantasy stock crashed when the Jets drafted Breece Hall. Nyheim Hines could be a sneaky value this year as the pass-catching back in Indianapolis, where Matt Ryan will check down to his RBs more than Carson Wentz did. Ronald Jones joins the Chiefs after a roller-coaster four-year run with the Buccaneers, and it seems as if his shortcomings as a pass catcher and pass blocker will always hold him back. James Robinson has been a workhorse for the Jaguars but tore his Achilles late last year, leaving the timetable for his return uncertain. Sony Michel had a decent run for the Rams last year when Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson were both hurt, and he could potentially carve out a role in an ambiguous Miami backfield.

Tier 7

• Mark Ingram
• Jamaal Williams
• Kenneth Gainwell
• Marlon Mack
• Brian Robinson
• Zamir White
• Darrel Williams
• D’Onta Foreman
• Raheem Mostert
• J.D. McKissic
• Gus Edwards
• Hassan Haskins
• Samaje Perine
• D’Ernest Johnson

Here’s where the backups and handcuffs dwell. (And please note that we do not advocate the drafting of handcuffs.)

A few guys from this tier worth spotlighting: Marlon Mack might end up as the Texans’ lead back, although that might not mean much in a limited offense. Zamir White and Brian Robinson are talented rookies in crowded backfields. D’Onta Foreman could become immensely valuable if (when?) Christian McCaffrey gets hurt. Raheem Mostert has been good when healthy, but he often hasn’t been healthy in the last couple of years. Mark Ingram is 32 but could be the Saints’ lead back early on if Alvin Kamara is suspended.

Pat Fitzmaurice’s 2022 Running Back Rankings & Tiers

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.