Ranking the top 10 running backs for the 2024 season

Sixteen running backs hit the 1,000-yard mark in 2024. Let’s power-rank the 10 best in the NFL this year. Is it just a coincidence that most of the best running backs in the NFL this year also saw their teams make the postseason? The answer is no. In an era where many thought the RB position was becoming devalued, it appears to have done the opposite.

Teams with top-notch running backs are consistently able to establish the run and wear down their opponents. It’s not dumb luck that guys like Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley, the two best in the NFL this year, were on two of the best teams.

Let’s sort through them all and power-rank the top 10 in the NFL for 2024 season.

NFL Power Rankings: Ranking the top 10 running backs for the 2024 season

10. Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings

The veteran Aaron Jones still proving to be one of the more productive running backs in the NFL. In 2024 for the Minnesota Vikings, Jones rushed for 1,138 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged a solid 4.5 yards per carry. carry and run behind an uncertain Vikings offensive line.

Aaron Jones comes in at no. 7 in our running back power rankings.

9. Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucky Irving, the rookie sensation, rushed for 1,122 yards this year and helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers become a great running team. Irving was talked out of many in the NFL, but proved a lot of people wrong in his rookie campaign. He also added eight scores on the ground.

8. Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers

Chuba Hubbard was seventh in the NFL in rushing yards per game this year, but only matched 15 in the 2024 NFL season. Hubbard, who is having the best year of his career, is coming at a great time as Bryce Young began to figure out things late in the season. The Carolina Panthers could be a sneaky good team in 2025 if Hubbard keeps this up and if Young can take another step forward.

7. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

Seventh in the NFL with 1,299 rushing yards this year, Kyren Williams and the Los Angeles Rams won the NFC West in the 2024 NFL season. He has now rushed for at least 1,100 yards in each of the last two seasons after being nonexistent for the 2022 NFL season. Williams is quietly one of the best RBs in the NFL.

6. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers decided to prioritize the RB position more last offseason when they signed Josh Jacobs in free agency. Jacobs ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. The Packers were one and done in the postseason, but Jacobs’ season still stands out. He is no. 6 on our power ranking.

5. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts didn’t make the postseason this year, but JT still rushed for 1,431 yards. Taylor hasn’t played a full season since 2021, which can tell you his body is starting to break down, but he rushed for over 100 yards this year in another great season on the ground.

4. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 1,412 yards this year while sharing the backfield with David Montgomery. One of the more electric players in the NFL, Gibbs is the focal point of the Detroit Lions’ high-flying offense. Gibbs also added 16 rushing scores in a massive year two.

3. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Bijan Robinson finished with 1,887 yards of offense this year, including 1,456 rushing yards. The Atlanta Falcons are going to lean more on Robinson as Michael Penix Jr adjusts to the NFL in his second year and beyond. He is one of the best dual-threat RBs in the NFL today and is the No. 3 on our power ranking list.

2. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

Derrick Henry, who rushed for 1,921 yards this year, had one of the best years of his career in 2024 with the Baltimore Ravens. Henry is aging like fine wine and may be close to having a Hall of Fame career. Henry and the Ravens won the AFC North this year, and he was tied for first in the NFL with 16 rushing scores.

1. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 2,005 yards this year, joined the exclusive club of running backs who have rushed for 2k yards in a single season. He averaged nearly six yards per carry. carry and rushed for just over 125 yards per match.

It was an insane year. The Philadelphia Eagles boast a top-3 offensive line in the NFL, so when you pair them with an elite RB, things like this happen. Barkley is the top RB in our power rankings.