Running Back Dynasty Fantasy Football Tiers with 2024 Rookies

The offensive position with the most year-to-year dynasty fluctuation is the RB. So who are the top guys this year and where do rookie RBs fit in the 2024 RB Dynasty Tiers?

The NFL Draft is officially behind us, and that means that it’s time to get into rookie drafts! So what better time to circle back and update the 2024 RB Dynasty Tiers to include the new rookies? We’ll start with the elites and work through several tiers.

Elite RB1s

Just these two RBs at the tippy top and are worth a massive haul in dynasty leagues. Breece Hall and Bijan Robinson are the only bell-cow RBs who are both below 23 still. They’re more 1a and b than 1 and 2, as deciding between them is splitting hairs. If you got them, enjoy the ride. These are the only RBs I like to tier up for, usually I prefer tiering down for additional capital.

RB1s

The rest of the top-tier RBs are a mish-mash of various profiles. Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley are the two older RBs, as both profile as elite bell-cows on high-end offenses for another year or two. Jahmyr Gibbs and De’Von Achane aren’t every-down RBs, but both have such a high weekly ceiling that you want these guys on your dynasty rosters over almost any other RB.

Jonathan Taylor, Travis Etienne, Kyren Williams, and Kenneth Walker are all young RBs who’ve been productive at such a high level that they’re guys you’re happy to see in your RB slot and afraid to play against. Blake Corum doesn’t scare me off Williams, he’s already been their top guy and the team needed depth. Finally, the first rookie is Jonathan Brooks, who has all the earmarks of a bell-cow RB.

RB2s

When you get to this tier, many of these guys are really good players, but this is where understanding how replaceable RBs are helps. Most of this group is younger because they’ll provide longer-term production, but may not outproduce the next group of older veterans. You could easily ignore this group, go older, and be fine, especially with how good the 2025 rookie RB crop is.

As for the players, James Cook, Rachaad White, and Isaiah Pacheco are all great options for multiple years. Trey Benson should soon ascend into this group, no later than 2025. Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, and Javonte Williams are all one-year bets but all could find themselves in worse spots in 2025. D’Andre Swift is in an ascending offense but will Caleb Williams check it down to him?

RB2s (continued)

This group can still be RB2s for teams, as the entire group is made up of starting RBs (when healthy) but is all older than some want to roster in dynasty leagues. There’s an argument to be made that you could tier off the guys above to this group and plan to pick a rookie next year to replace them with some of the capital you might be able to get in such a deal.

David Montgomery, Joe Mixon, Derrick Henry, and Alvin Kamara should all be super productive this coming season. Both Aaron Jones and Nick Chubb will be too, for as long as they’re healthy. James Conner may cede some work to Benson but still will be the lead guy there. Tony Pollard and Raheem Mostert both are solid backs in timeshares. Finally, Devin Singletary is good but the Giants offense likely is not.

RB3s and RB4s

The remaining top-50 RBs in this article are mostly young upside shots. Why? Well, because the best thing to bet on for an RB is opportunity. This is why there are several RB tandems with question marks in here. Zack Moss and Chase Brown likely split work and will both have great weeks and down weeks. Similarly, the Chargers tandem of Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal are both super interesting cheap RBs.

If I’m chasing upside, which is absolutely the smartest thing to do in this range, my top guys are Kendre Miller and Marshawn Lloyd. Both have such a high ceiling, just are being blocked by veterans. Miller likely shares with Alvin Kamara in 2024 and ascends when the Saints cut Kamara next offseason to save $20M in cap space. Josh Jacobs was super inefficient, and if that continues he’s a likely cut too.