2025 Fantasy Football RB tiers: Christian McCaffrey plummets, Ashton Jeanty tops all rookies

One of the best strategies for approaching fantasy football drafts is to rank players in tiers. This can be done for each position and gives managers a better idea of who to target when they are on the clock.

Running backs have always been among the most important players each year and here's how the top 50 stack up in tiers for the 2025 NFL season.

2025 Fantasy Football RB Tiers

2025 RB Tiers

Fantasy Football Tier 1 RBs

1. Saquon Barkley
2. Bijan Robinson
3. Jahmyr Gibbs
4. Derrick Henry

Saquon Barkley tops the running back rankings this year following his dominant season with the Philadelphia Eagles. he is followed closely by Bijan Robinson, who is the most likely to potentially dethrone him as the RB1 this season.

Fantasy Football Tier 2 RBs

1. Jonathan Taylor
2. Bucky Irving
3. Josh Jacobs
4. Christian McCaffrey
5. De'Von Achane
6. Kyren Williams

Christian McCaffrey represented the number-one overall pick in many fantasy football drafts last year, but has fallen from the top group in this season's tiers list. His concerning injury history is a big reason why, making fast risers like Bucky Irving more attractive this season.

Fantasy Football Tier 3 RBs

1. Ashton Jeanty
2. Chase Brown
3. Breece Hall
4. James Cook
5. James Conner
6. Aaron Jones

Ashton Jeanty is clearly the top rookie running back entering the 2025 fantasy football season. His upside suggests that a top-five finish is possible, but due to the unknowns surrounding his transition to the NFL, he falls just outside of the top two tiers.

Fantasy Football Tier 4 RBs

1. Joe Mixon
2. Alvin Kamara
3. Kenneth Walker III
4. Chuba Hubbard
5. D'Andre Swift
6. Quinshon Judkins
7. Tony Pollard
8. David Montgomery
9. Kaleb Johnson

Quinshon Judkins is the second-ranked rookie running back this season and is one of the biggest sleepers of any running back this year. He could realistically take over as the Cleveland Browns' workhorse as a direct replacement for Nick Chubb, who departed during the offseason.

Fantasy Football Tier 5 RBs

1. RJ Harvey
2. Javonte Williams
3. Tyrone Tracy Jr.
4. Omarion Hampton
5. TreVeyon Henderson
6. Isiah Pacheco
7. Brian Robinson Jr.
8. Jaylen Warren
9. Najee Harris

Javonte Williams is an interesting sleeper to keep an eye on this season as he is expected to serve as the starting running back for the Dallas Cowboys' elite offense. Rico Dowdle thrived in this role last season, but he left during the 2025 NFL free agency period.

Fantasy Football Tier 6 RBs

1. Travis Etienne Jr.
2. Zach Charbonnet
3. Rhamondre Stevenson
4. Rachaad White
5. Austin Ekeler
6. JK Dobbins
7. Tank Bigsby

JK Dobbins continues to be one of the most frustrating fantasy football running backs. He consistently demonstrates elite value when healthy, but his injury history has held him back. He will compete with rookie RJ Harvey for touches in the Denver Broncos' backfield this year.

Fantasy Football Tier 7 RBs

1. Ray Davis
2. Rico Dowdle
3. Tyler Allgeier
4. Tyjae Spears
5. Jordan Mason
6. Trey Benson
7. Bhayshul Tuten
8. Kareem Hunt
9. Nick Chubb

Jordan Mason is an intriguing sleeper pick for the 2025 fantasy football season. He will back up the aging Aaron Jones for the Minnesota Vikings, but he already proved last year that he can be an elite option if he gets enough touches to excel.