The 2023 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, and we’ll have you covered throughout the draft process. I’ve already explored team needs and historical draft picks, and I’ve also shared my big board with player notes that will remain updated leading up to Round 1. You can find even more of our 2023 NFL Draft content below. Below you can find my top 10 running backs of the 2023 NFL Draft class.
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Top 10 2023 NFL Draft Running Backs
Here are my top 10 running backs of the 2023 NFL Draft class.
1) Bijan Robinson (Texas)
Texas running back Bijan Robinson is the consensus No. 1 RB across all draft publications. B-Rob finished the 2022 season as PFF’s second-highest-graded rusher in the FBS, tallying 18 rushing TDs and 1,575 rushing yards en route to a 37% dominator rating in his final year as a Longhorn. He forced 104 missed tackles (40% broken tackle rate) which have shown to be super predictive of success rushing at the NFL level. And among last year’s class, only Breece Hall posted a higher dominator rating (40%). Factor in that Robinson also finished 3rd among RBs in yards per catch (16.5) with zero drops and there’s no question as to why he’s the 1.01 already in rookie drafts. At 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, Robinson has the requisite size and all the tools to be a three-down running back who never leaves the field.
During NFL Combine testing, Robinson ran a 4.46 40-yard dash. He also jumped 37″ in the vertical (81st percentile) and 124″ in the broad jump (86th percentile). Per PlayerProfiler.com that awarded B-Rob an 89th percentile speed score.
2) Jahmyr Gibbs (Alabama)
Incoming rookie Jahmyr Gibbs spent his first two college seasons at Georgia Tech, posting a 24% dominator rating as the team’s RB1 alongside future NFL running back, Jordan Mason. In both his years at Georgia Tech, Gibbs finished second in PFF receiving grade. However, he elected to not stay at GT for his junior year and instead transferred to Alabama to be the Crimson Tide’s next RB1. He led Alabama with 926 rushing yards and flashed receiving ability by catching a team-leading 44 passes for 444 receiving yards. Gibbs finished third in the FBS in receiving yards, one year removed from leading all RBs in the nation in receiving yards (470). He also flashed his explosiveness by ending the year fifth in the class in PFF’s breakaway run rate (53%). At 5-foot-9 and 199 pounds, Gibbs is on the smaller size for an every-down role. But he more than makes up for it with his receiving and speed. NFL teams don’t seem concerned about his size with his expected draft position at 36th overall. His explosive skill set was on full display during the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine when Gibbs blazed through the drills. He ran a 4.36 40-yard dash (second to only Devon Achane, 97th percentile). Although, Gibbs did only hit 33.5″ in the vertical jump (41st percentile).
3) Zach Charbonnet (UCLA)
Zach Charbonnet started his college career at Michigan in 2019, where he started ahead of the future NFL draft selection, Hassan Haskins. But in 2020, Charbonnet’s numbers regressed in a six-game season for Michigan due to COVID-19. He split time with Haskins again, while also losing out to work to another NFL-drafted Chris Evans and up-and-coming running back star, Blake Corum. Charbonnet was part of a major running back by the committee as a Wolverine so he transferred to UCLA in 2021 and immediately saw his production skyrocket. He would post a 25% dominator rating as a junior, finishing third among all RBs in PFF rushing grade. Charbonnet’s 2022 senior production was also elite, as he finished 4th in PFF rushing grade among all RBs topping his grade from the year before. But more importantly, for fantasy purposes, the 6-foot, 214-pound running back improved on his receiving game, catching 37 balls for 320 yards on 44 targets. He posted the 5th-highest PFF receiving grade and tied for first in receptions per game (3.7) among his draft class.
Charbonnet didn’t dazzle in the 40-yard dash, but he sure impressed during the jumping drills. 37″ vertical (81st percentile) and 122″ broad jump (78th percentile).
4) Kendre Miller (TCU)
Kendre Miller spent his first two seasons in a two-way platoon with Zach Evans before the latter transferred to Mississippi. Miller flashed talent in limited sample size, leading the FBS in yards after contact per attempt (5.06) in 2021. But with Evans gone in 2022, Miller was thrust into the RB1 role for the Horned Frogs, where he posted a career-high 23 percent dominator rating. The bell cow rushed for nearly 1400 yards at 5-foot-11, 215 pounds (identical to Bijan Robinson), and his size is enticing in addition to the efficiency he displayed on a per-play basis at the college level. Miller’s career of 3.14 yards per play ranks fourth best in the class. He’s explosive with the ball in his hands, as indicated by his 21 rushes of 15-plus yards last year (tied for the fifth-highest in the class).
Per Sports Info Solutions, Miller also posted the 4th-lowest bust run rate (percentage of plays that resulted in EPA below -1) and finished first in his class in broken tackles per 100 touches (18).
Miller did not test at the NFL Combine (recovering from post-season knee surgery), but I would assume that he will test in some capacity, if possible, at TCU’s Pro Day on March 30th. Based on his size and other measurables, his closest comparables per Mockdraftable.com include Tyler Allgeier, Jeff Wilson, and Stevan Ridley.
5) Roschon Johnson (Texas)
Roschon Johnson posted an absurd 49% missed tackle rate in 2022, while also finishing fourth in yards after contact per attempt among the 2023 draft class. Simply put, he would be talked about much more had he not been seated on the depth chart behind college football’s best running back: Bijan Robinson.
He only started five games in 47 total games played at Texas.
But Johnson possesses bell-cow size at 6 feet and 219 pounds with tenacity to boot. He jumped 122 inches in the broad jump (78th percentile). Although his vertical jump left some to be desired at 31.5 inches (19th percentile, 3rd-worst among 2023 testers).
6) Devon Achane (Texas A&M)
Devon Achane finally got the chance to be the clear-cut No. 1 running back for the Aggies in 2022 with Isaiah Spiller drafted to the NFL and the uber-explosive Achane did not disappoint. The Texas A&M running back speedster rushed for 1,100 yards and 8 rushing TDs while catching 36 balls (3.6 per game) for 196 yards on 44 targets. Good for a 33% dominator rating a year after earning a 26% dominator rating while splitting time with Spiller. And although Achane will likely go through the wringer from NFL draft pundits when it comes to his smaller stature – 5-foot-8½, 188 pounds – he put any “can he handle a large workload” concerns to rest in his final game versus LSU. Achane totaled 38 carries for 215 rushing yards and two TDs after missing a few games with an injury.
Achane ended last season with the second-highest “hit at the line” positive run percentage, making the most of unfortunate situations when the defense pierced through the offensive line.
The speedster also offers top-tier kickoff return ability, which will surely help boost his draft stock and get him active on game days. Achane finished as PFF’s 3rd-highest graded kick returner among 2023 draft-eligible players.
Achane definitely boosted his draft stock after testing at the 2023 NFL Combine. He blazed a 4.32 40-time – while weighing in at 188 pounds.
7) Tyjae Spears (Tulane)
Tyjae Spears boosted his draft stock dramatically as a buzzy player at the Senior Bowl, and his atomic rise up the draft boards continued at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Spears weighed in at 5-foot-10 and 201 pounds. He did not run the 40-yard dash but instead nearly jumped out of the building in the explosion drills. His vertical jump of 39″ ranked in the 92nd percentile and was second only to Chase Brown. Spears’ broad jump ranked third in the class at 125″ which ranked in the 89th percentile.
The Tulane running back will be one of my top rookie running back targets after he posted a 31 percent dominator rating in 2022, finishing 5th in the FBS in rushing yards (1,586), second in rushing TDs (19), and fourth in yards after contact per attempt (4.55). Per Sports Info Solutions’ total points model, Spears finished third in total points per game and total EPA generated per game. He also finished second in the class in pass pro snaps per game (8.1), something NFL coaches will drool over.
Throughout his career, he boasts an impressive 3.00 yards per play (seventh best in the class) – a great indicator of future success at the NFL level. Draft Spears and reap the rewards.
He is currently being mocked as the RB5 at 83rd overall per NFLmockdraftdatabase.com.
8) Israel Abanikanda (Pittsburgh)
Israel “Izzy” Abanikanda didn’t do much at Pittsburgh during his first two years there, but he finally broke out in 2022 as the team’s No. 1 running back. The 5-foot-10 and 216-pound running back rushed for 1,426 yards and 20 touchdowns en route to a 39% dominator rating. Abanikanda would go on to finish as PFF’s 8th-highest rusher in his draft class.
At Pitt’s pro day, Abanikanda ran an unofficial 4.41 40-yard dash with some reports claiming he got under 4.3. He also jumped out of the building hitting 41 inches in the vertical (97th percentile) and 128 inches in the broad jump (95th percentile). His size/speed profile is extremely enticing.
9) Zach Evans (TCU)
Zach Evans spent his first two college seasons at TCU, seeing seldom usage alongside fellow 2023 draft prospect Kendre Miller. Evans was the clear frontrunner in the backfield to start his sophomore campaign but suffered a turf toe injury that cut his 2021 season short. Evans would go on to transfer to Ole Miss at the start of the 2022 season, where he posted his best college counting stats to date with a 17 percent dominator rating. His 15% boom percentage per Sports Info Solutions led all RBs in his class.
However, he failed to fully take over at the backfield as he did at TCU, losing out on touches to freshman running back Quinshon Judkins.
The fact that Evans has struggled to fully take over a backfield at the college level — along with no contributing role as a receiver — is a major red flag as he makes his way into the NFL, but his efficient play when on the field suggests he can deliver when called upon. His career average of 3.47 yards per play ranks second-best among the incoming rookie RBs I sampled earlier this offseason.
Yards per play is a great indicator of future success, with recent late-round standouts in that category the past two years including Elijah Mitchell, Rhamondre Stevenson, Rachaad White, and Tyler Allgeier. Evans also boasts decent size at 5-foot-11 and 202 pounds – albeit the weight he measured at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine was much lighter than his listed weight at Ole Miss (216 pounds).
At the Ole Miss pro day, Evans posted a 4.45 40-time, ran a 4.26 20-yard shuttle and finished the 3-cone drill in 7.08 seconds.
10) DeWayne McBride (UAB)
DeWayne McBride has been doing it all for the UAB Blazers over the last three seasons, totaling a top five dominator rating (27 percent) for his excellent efforts. He ranks first in the class in career yards per play (4.18) for being so efficient anytime he is on the field. His production is captured in his PFF grades, with him finishing second, eighth, and third, in PFF grading the last three seasons, respectively. Aside from being a complete afterthought in the passing game, McBride checks off a lot of boxes you want to see from a smaller school prospect, and he easily saved his best for last as a junior, finishing second in the FBS in rushing yards (1702, 155 yards per game), second in yards after contact per attempt (4.6) and fifth in dominator rating (35 percent) among the 2023 draft class. Per PFF, his 36 percent missed tackle rate ranks third all-time since the data started being tracked.
With desirable size at 5-foot-10 and 209 pounds, McBride is emerging as one of my favorite sleeper running backs in the incoming class. His price is absolutely dirt cheap as the RB16 per DLF in rookie drafts (35th overall). McBride is my RB9 (21st overall).
Note that he did not test at the NFL Scouting Combine after suffering a hamstring injury in training.
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