• Christian McCaffrey is the clear top running back: McCaffrey has averaged 24.3 PPR fantasy points per game since 2018, the best mark among all players in that time.
• Bijan Robinson is worth the risk: The eighth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft landed in the ideal situation for fantasy success.
• Fantasy draft approaching? Use PFF’s AI-powered Live Draft Assistant to win the draft and dominate your 2023 fantasy football league.
Estimated reading time: 42 minutes
These tiered running back rankings are for PPR redraft leagues. For rankings on other positions or league types, help on draft strategy or for more details about individual players, check out the rest of my summer content below. For rankings with better filtering along with auction values, check out our draft rankings page.
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Last updated: 7:15 a.m. Thursday, August 31
Tier 1
1. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
McCaffrey was nearly unstoppable last season after getting traded to the 49ers, averaging 23.0 PPR points per game once he became a starter in San Francisco.
- He has averaged 9.8 rushing and 11.3 receiving PPR fantasy points per game, which ranked seventh-most and second-most respectively out of 79 running backs with at least 25 games since 2020.
- The 49ers retained the majority of their offensive line outside of losing right tackle Mike McGlinchey. Unproven Colton McKivitz is expected to take his place. McKivitz has 145 offensive snaps over the last two seasons.
- McCaffrey is the definition of an every-down back, but the 49ers were OK with giving him rest whenever they were ahead late. His playing time dipped below 59% when San Francisco had a lead of a touchdown or more in the second half of games.
- He is, by far, the safest bet to be an elite fantasy back this season while playing with the same coaching staff around him with similar backups.
2. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
Ekeler is coming off of back-to-back seasons as a top-two fantasy running back, with little reason to expect a significant decline.
- Ekeler’s fantasy dominance has come from volume in the passing game mixed with touchdowns as a runner.
- His 0.061 rushing touchdowns per attempt and 11.6 receiving fantasy points PPR per game both lead all running backs over the last two seasons.
- Los Angeles didn’t address the running back position in the offseason despite Ekeler being in the last year of his contract and 28 years old.
- The lack of competition can give fantasy managers confidence Ekeler will remain a great fantasy back despite the change in offensive coordinator.
- The top running back in Moore’s offense has been a top-10 fantasy back each of the last four seasons, and none of his backs have had the receiving ability that Ekeler possesses.
3. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Landing in Atlanta was the best-case scenario for the top running back prospect in years.
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