We are just over a month away from football, which means we probably need to start updating our rankings. Headliner Nation, the top three running backs that fall into tier 1 have not changed, but the order in which I have them absolutely has. My number one running back as of today is going to be Jir Gibbs moving forward. all of the news out of training camp that Johnny Morton wants him on the field more often, including working out in the passing game and even playing snaps alongside David Montgomery makes me really excited for the ceiling that he is going to have this season. And considering where he finished last year, it's absolutely a possibility that he could be very similar with a little bit more receiving work added in. And number two, I'm going to go with Bejian Robinson. Jir Gibbs and Bejian Robinson were just included in my must-have running back video from last week. And both of these running backs absolutely have the type of ceiling that you want. And at number three with Saquon Barkley, it's nothing against him. I think he is another fantastic choice this year, but you have to anticipate a little bit of regression. And when you see what Jir Gibbs and Bejian Robinson did to end 2024, plus what it looks like for them heading into 2025, I think the ceiling is just a little bit higher for both of those guys. That's why I'm ranking them both over Saquon Barkley, who will be a very safe option this year, even if he doesn't have the ceiling that we saw last season. Now, this video is not going to be nearly in-depth as all the other videos that we do on the channel. So, if you're new here, hit the subscribe button and check out all of the indepth work that we do throughout the week. Today's video is going to be more quick hitting, giving everyone an update on where we currently stand with our running back rankings. Then, at the end of the video, I've got a few guys on the outside looking in that if things go right, they can end up being big time fantasy assets for your team. Obviously, Derrick Henry was a stud last season, and I'll say the same thing this year that I did last year. Even if he takes a little bit of a step back in terms of his efficiency, the volume, especially at the goal line, will be plenty to continue to make him a top five fantasy running back. So, he's going to kick off tier number two for me. But, one guy that may end up having a little bit more upside than Derk Henry is going to be Bucky Irving. what he did last season as a rookie. I don't think it gets overlooked by a lot of people, but I also don't think that it's being talked about enough. The ceiling that he could potentially have in that offense with all of those passing weapons is dangerously high. And right now over on Underdog, they have Bucky Irving's rushing projection set at 1,049 and a half yards. He outdid that last season on 207 carries. Given the fact that he started off last season slow because Rashad White for whatever reason was still getting a ton of touches. If we bump him to, let's say, 225, 250 carries, even if he loses some of the insane efficiency that we saw last season, he should be able to blow this number out of the water. And if you want to play this pick them or maybe a best ball draft and also get a free 2025 fantasy football draft guide, go over to Underdog, download their app, visit the website, whatever is easiest in your state. Sign up for a free account and deposit at least $10 using code word headliners. As soon as you play in your first contest, best baseball picks, it doesn't matter. We're going to send you the instructions to download and enter your 2025 fantasy football draft guide through our website. This is a $25 value that is going to only be 10 bucks on your end. Plus, obviously, you could land in the green if you end up putting together one heck of a fantasy lineup over on Underdog. Download Underdog, create a new account, deposit at least $10 using code word headliners, play your first contest, get a free draft guide for all of the rookie running backs that I've seen hyped up over the years. And for guys like Clyde Edwards, who were supposed to be the bee's knees or the toast of fantasy football that season, Ashen Genty isn't even getting that much love. And I think he's a better bet than I've seen in a while. Ashen Genty is set up inside an offense that is absolutely going to pound the football with an offensive scheme that's going to be utilizing his ability to run the football while keeping the pressure off with a good passing game. Even if it's not great, it doesn't matter. They've got enough weapons there with Gino Smith as the quarterback, Pete Carroll as the head coach to go ahead and open things up a little bit. But main stay is going to be the running game with Ashton Genty. People get nervous about rookies in the first round, but given the fact that he's at the end of the first round, he could be the perfect RB1 for your team. Josh Jacobs at number seven overall for me put together a fantastic second half during 2024. And even though that Green Bay offense wasn't exactly what anybody anticipated, I do think that it takes a step forward from last season, this year. Jordan Love gets back on track with Matthew Golden in the passing game. Plenty of weapons. Josh Jacobs is obviously going to get a ton of goal line carries and he could be at or around 300 rushing attempts. Once again, he has a great floor. Devon Aan may have the highest upside of any running back not in tier one. We know this guy can score touchdowns and we know that he's got a ton of big playmaking ability. And really, when it comes to Devon Age Chan, he dismissed all of the injury talk that came with his size in the draft. He stayed healthy for 17 games last season. If he can do it again, the numbers are going to be fantastic. But I don't even think people are that worried about him anymore. They're more worried about his quarterback. That's where things could get bad for Achan. Tier three starts off at number nine with Jonathan Taylor. Now, a lot of these guys in tier three, I could see them being easily interchangeable within this area of the rankings. And for Jonathan Taylor, my biggest concern is the fact that last year, almost 50% of his total production came over the last few weeks of the season. Up until the end of the year, Jonathan Taylor wasn't really giving you that great of a ceiling. At the end of the year, everything picked up a little bit for him. But who's going to be the starting quarterback? and is it going to be enough to keep the pressure off JT? The only reason Kairen Williams isn't above Jonathan Taylor is with the news that Matthew Stafford is dealing with a back injury right now. If that ends up happening, I do think we see a little bit of a hit to the upside of Kairen Williams. But you're not drafting Kairen Williams for his upside. You're drafting him for his floor because we know that he's going to get a majority of the touches in this offense. That's the way Shawn McVey operates. He's a one running back type of guy. Yeah, we'll see Blake Cororm and Jarquest Hunter get a few touches here and there this season, but Kairen Williams is going to get the money touches, especially the ones in the red zone, but if Matthew Stafford isn't healthy, will they have trouble moving the football? That is where it could hurt Kairen Williams. if they can't get to the goal line. At number 11, Chase Brown. And you can argue that he was our best call all of last season. A sleeper breakout candidate that we were telling everybody to stash on their bench and it worked out. The biggest issue with me and Chase Brown this year is the ADP obviously is significantly higher. And while a lot of people are freaking out about Chase Brown and comments coming out of Cincinnati's camp saying, "Well, we want the offense to run through him." I'm sorry. I love Chase Brown, but you're paying Joe Burrow an extravagant amount of money along with Jamar Chase and T. Higgins, and you're telling me that your offense is going to run through your thirdyear running back? I highly doubt it. He's going to be good, but I don't think he's going to be a tier 2 or a tier one type of running back. He's going to give you some really, really, really good weeks. There's going to be some other weeks where Cincinnati's defense can't stop opposing offenses. Cincinnati is going to throw the ball so much that he's going to lose a little bit of that ceiling. At number 12, I'm going to have Bree Hall just sneaking inside RB1 status. I don't think it's completely out of the question. Last year, he finishes the RB17 with a disastrous season within that Jets offense. Even with Justin Fields being the quarterback, you could argue that this Jets offense could take a little bit of a step forward this year. And given the offensive minds they've brought over away from the Detroit Lions after Aaron Glenn took the head coaching job, I think it's conceivable that they're going to try to utilize their best weapon on the field. Whether it's in the pass game or on the ground, Brace Hall could see a ton of volume even if the efficiency isn't as good. At number 13, Christian McCaffrey. And with Christian McCaffrey, he could give you 17 games and end up being one of the biggest draft steels of the fantasy season. He could give you 10 games and he could end up killing you because you drafted him in the first round. Now, that's where things become an issue with Christian McCaffrey, his first round ADP. If I can take him in the second round, I wouldn't mind a shot on that. But to draft him as your RB1 over some of the other guys in that area, I don't know if I'm willing to bank on it that much. For me personally, with a lot of question marks at the wide receiver position right now, how well will San Francisco move the ball to begin the year? Will Christian McCaffrey have the same giddy up that he used to? And will he be able to put together weeks where you can almost lock in a touchdown every time? James Cook at number 14. I think he is a guy that absolutely could finish as an RB1, but we need to see a little bit more in terms of overall volume, not with touchdowns, however, cuz that was his biggest thing last year. He scored a ton of touchdowns, but when you take a look at his overall volume, he did not stack up among other running backs that finished just as high in terms of fantasy points. You have to guess that there's probably going to be a little bit of a regression in terms of touchdowns. And if there is, he's going to need to get a little bit more volume in terms of rushing yards, possibly receptions, and definitely more carries need to be there. Moving on to tier four, these guys all have some form of a question mark, but they have some pretty decent upside that could be unlocked this year. And at number 15 with Kenneth Walker, year after year since he has entered the league, he is one of the most efficient running backs in all of football. His tackles avoided per attempt are off the charts every single season. He just can't stay healthy. That's the biggest thing with him. If you can get him as your RB3 in the draft, you are going to have one heck of a running back core for this season. But you have to bank on him missing anywhere from 3 to six games. New Orleans offense is going to be very interesting. And just so you know, I've got a must-have wide receiver video coming up that's got a Saint wide receiver in it. you better check it out on Friday. But for the New Orleans Saints, Alvin Kamara, even if he doesn't look that good on the ground, even if he doesn't score a ton of rushing touchdowns, he's probably going to see a lot of passing attempts coming his way. And if that happens, the volume alone in terms of the pass game could end up giving him a solid floor is a even killed RB2. James Connor put together his best season as a professional last year for Arizona, but he's not getting any younger, and he is a running back that has been prone to missing time, especially when he was back in Pittsburgh. If he can stay healthy this year, he's definitely going to be a steal at his ADP. But there's a running back that we'll talk about in a few minutes that's looking to take his job. Chuba Hubard. Another one of our big calls last season where I listed him as a late round dart throw that could absolutely end up giving you a viable flex option every week. And by the end of the season, you were probably starting Chuba Hubard as your RB2. But for Chubba Hubard, there's not a ton of upside. What you see is what you get. He's not going to be ultra efficient. He's not going to break a bunch of tackles or put together huge highlight reel plays. Every once in a while, he might. He's going to be a guy that's just going to do the small things right. Hopefully, Carolina's offense starts 2025 the way they finish 2024. To round out tier 4, I've got DeAndre Swift, and I've been back and forth on this guy a lot this off seasonason. I know Jake loves DeAndre Swift. Maybe it's the PTSD. Maybe it's the fact that Ben Johnson just, I don't know, didn't want him in Detroit or didn't fight for him enough in Detroit and Brad Holmes wanted somebody else. or maybe Dan Campbell was tired of him. I don't know. But the Ben Johnson and DeAndre Swift experiment in Detroit didn't last all that long. Now, he was utilized pretty well their first year together, but he was cast aside for Jir Gibbs and David Montgomery after that. Is Ben Johnson truly allin on DeAndre Swift? Or maybe it's the fact the Chicago Bears just had other holes they wanted filled first. They didn't want to use a high draft pick on a running back. They didn't want to spend a bunch of free agency money. They wanted to retool the offensive line, get defensive help, whatever it may have been. Let's roll with DeAndre Swift in year one. Let's see what happens and we will adjust after that. But Swift has a couple of guys sitting behind him that absolutely want to get as many snaps as possible. Roshan Johnson still wants an opportunity to prove himself. And inside Ben Johnson's offense, running backs absolutely can be successful, but a lot of it is going to depend on Caleb Williams and if he takes the next step. At number 20, I'm going with Amari and Hampton. And I'm not trying to boost him way too high at this point. If you watched our offseason videos, especially prior to the draft, you heard me talk about how much I loved Omari and Hampton. and the fact that he was probably to me just as explosive on paper and just as fun to watch as Ashton Genty. Omarian Hampton was absolutely worth a first round pick and in Los Angeles over the course of the next few years, he's going to be very good. Now, if Naji Harris is not ready to start the season, Omari and Hampton is going to climb a few more spots for me. But if Naji Harris is healthy to begin the year and can be out there on the field, I don't think Hampton is going to see a workload that gets him to a high-end RB2 status. He's going to have some decent ceiling games, but unfortunately his floor is not safe enough right now for me to put him higher, no matter how much I love him. At number 21, David Montgomery. I do think that he could be hurt a little bit by the moves that have happened on the interior of the offensive line with Kevin Zitler heading out in free agency and the surprise retirement of Frank Ragnau. Now, the young guys that are currently taking up those spots in the middle of the offensive line, they're feeling pretty good about them and so far in training camp, things seem to be pointing in the right direction. But David Montgomery, he's the guy that's going to run up the middle way more often than what Jir Gibbs is going to. David Montgomery is going to be the guy to pound the football inside the 5 yd line right behind these guys. So I am going to drop him back just a little bit. Before his injury last year, he was the RB 10 on the season. And based on touchdowns alone, he could be right in that area once again if he's healthy all year. But one thing we don't love to do is bank on weekly touchdowns. But David Montgomery is one of the better bets. At number 22, I'm going with Tank Bsby. It doesn't matter if you're new here or a returning viewer. Do not shut things off. Give me 2 minutes of your time to try and explain Tank Bsby to you because if you've been around for a while, you know that I was not kind to Tank Bsby his rookie season. In fact, I was all over Travis ETN having a huge year and basically telling people Tank Bsby is not taking his job. And then we head into last season. Tank Bsby is in year two. And to begin the year, he already looked more explosive than Travis ETN. And when that happened, the tide started to turn. And about halfway through the season, on paper, Tank Bsby became one of the most explosive running backs in all of football. and Travis ETN was falling behind. Heading into 2025, I think Tank Bsby is the best running back on this roster right now for the Jacksonville Jags. Now, of course, things could change, but his ability to make people miss last year and pick up yards after contact were some of the best in all of football. In fact, his tackles avoided per attempt ranked second last year. Tank Bsby is an absolute monster right now. He looks good in training camp and he could end up being a steal at his current ADP because everybody is buying into Travis ETN, but the numbers are telling us we should invest in Tank Bsby. At number 23, RJ Harvey. When I did my most explosive college running back video and broke down the stats from college last season, RJ Harvey's name continued to come up in column after column after column. And at the end of the video, I listed him as a big time player to watch in the draft. And apparently Denver and I are on the same page because Shawn Payeyton decided RJ Harvey in round two was going to be a guy that could come in and help solidify the running back position. He would be a lot higher right now if it hadn't been for the fact that they also added JK Dobbins. But hopefully RJ Harvey's explosiveness, especially within that passing attack that works so well with Bo Knicks last year, gives him a little bit better ceiling. Tony Pard at number 24 is one of my unsung must draft running backs, especially for where his ADP is currently going. This is a guy that is going to give you a solid floor every single week. And if Tennessee's offense can be greatly improved, and if Cam Ward looks like the number one overall pick, he could end up seeing more scoring opportunities, too. Really locking himself into RB2 status. All right, I've got a few names really quick that are just on the outside looking in that I think are really close to being top 24 running backs. And number one on that list has to be Nick Chub. Hearing that Joe Mixon may not be ready to begin the season and will miss at least the majority of the preeason gives Nick Chubb's value a huge jump. I'm not willing to put him inside the top 24 just yet until I hear a more definite answer about how much time Joe Mixon could miss. Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason in that Vikings offense could be really good this season. Now, Jake and I are on opposite sides of the track because Jake feels like Aaron Jones is an absolute steal for the ceiling he brings and he doesn't really believe that Jordan Mason is going to be that much of a threat to that ceiling where I believe Jordan Mason was dealt for for a reason. And even though I like Aaron Jones ceiling and do think he's still an explosive running back, he had a careerhigh in touches last season and he hasn't been the picture perfect health running back at the position for a few years now. Any miss time for Aaron Jones could lead Jordan Mason to a solidified RB1 role. And we see what he did last year when he filled in for Christian McCaffrey. If Jordan Mason just isn't the guy and he's just there to be the backup and Aaron Jones sees the type of volume he had last year, he's definitely a top 24 back. Caleb Johnson, the rookie running back for Pittsburgh out of Iowa. I still love Jaylen Warren and the metrics for him still show an explosive ability that Pittsburgh just is not utilizing. But it's Arthur Smith. He doesn't like to get super creative. He likes to pound the football. And that's what Caleb Johnson's going to do a little bit better. I'm not completely off Jaylen Warren, but I do think Caleb Johnson, as of right now, has a better shot to be a top 24 running back. The Browns duo of Quinshan Judkins and Dylan Samson needs to be discussed because Judkins was inside my top 24 before the domestic violence allegations were brought against him last week. And now that leaves a whole lot of uncertainty, especially because Judkins still has not signed his rookie contract. That's right. He was an unsigned rookie still when these allegations were brought against him. And the Browns right now are in no hurry to sign him to a deal until they are done with their process of investigating what is happening. So, for as of right now, I can't say much about Judkins being a guy that will even see the field in week one. And as many of you are probably going to say, "Well, Kyle, what about Jerome Ford?" Jerome Ford couldn't be a thing last season while Nick Chub was missing and then when he wasn't even 100% when he returned. If Jerome Ford isn't going to be utilized like that when basically the backfield's to himself with a Nick Chub that is not nearly the player that he used to be, then I don't think that he's going to be a guy that's absolutely going to beat out Dylan Samson either. The running back out of Tennessee did not get enough love in the draft process. I hated that he got drafted behind Judkins, but now with all of this up in the air, he could end up getting his shot anyway. I have five running backs that if an injury were to happen in front of them, these guys are going to be locked in RB2s the rest of the season. And a couple of them are going to have huge upside. Cam Scatabo is number one up and he might be coming up in a video here pretty soon. So, I don't want to give away too much right now, but Cam Scatabo is a couple of Tyrone Tracy fumbles away from seeing starter volume and being the guy within the red zone. That's going to do a lot for his fantasy value. Trey Benson, I mentioned it earlier with James Connor. Connor is another year older coming off a career year and he is a guy that has had issues with injuries in the past. Trey Benson, he has got a lot of explosive qualities and he could be very good if he took over for James Connor. And if Connor misses a couple of games and Trey Benson steps in and plays well, James Connor may not get his spot back. Isaac Gerendo. I mean, clearly the 49ers like Gerendo enough that they decided to trade Jordan Mason instead of paying him money to be the backup to Christian McCaffrey. And do I need to say anything about Christian McCaffrey? If the dude misses any time whatsoever or a significant period of time, Gindo could end up putting together the type of stats that Jordan Mason did last year when he filled in for Christian McCaffrey. If you're a Christian McCaffrey owner, you have to draft Garindo to back him up. The Miami Dolphins brought Alexander Madison in because they needed to get a little bit tougher on their interior runs where they just could not pick up short yards last season. But that's all Alexander Madison is. Jaylen Wright is the explosive backup to Devon Achan. And if Achan were to miss time for any reason, Jaylen Wright will likely get starter snaps. Maybe he doesn't see 60 or 65% of the snaps, but if you even give him 50 in that offense and two is healthy, he could give you RB2 numbers. Tayvon Henderson, I am not ready to put him inside the top 24 just yet. I do agree Tvon Henderson is very talented and he's going to be the guy in New England as early as next year, but I don't think that he's just going to replace Randre Stevenson in year 1. Raandre Stevenson is still being paid a lot of money. And last year was not his best year, but he has still put together some good NFL seasons and shown some explosiveness that I don't think should be taken away because of, let's call it what it is, lackluster quarterback play for the New England Patriots last season. Raandre Stevenson is still the starter to begin the year in my opinion. And even though Trayvon Henderson is going to get enough work in the passing game, it's an injury or multiple fumbles to Raandre Stevenson to be removed as a starter for Trayvon Henderson to make his way into the top 24. Very easy. Headliner Nation, let me know down in the comments below who's ranked too high, who's ranked too low, who's getting too much respect, and who's being disrespected. Hit the like button and subscribe on the way out of here. Stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll catch you all on the next episode of The Fantasy Headliners. [Music]