The name at the top of our initial 2024 Fantasy Football PPR running back rankings looks the same. But everyone after Christian McCaffrey might surprise you this season. A lot has changed now that free agency is over.
No position had more turnover this season than running back. Saquon Barkley (Eagles), Josh Jacobs (Packers), Derrick Henry (Ravens), Joe Mixon (Texans), Tony Pollard (Titans), D'Andre Swift (Bears), Zack Moss (Bengals), Aaron Jones (Vikings), Austin Ekeler (Commanders), Devin Singletary (Giants) and Gus Edwards (Chargers) have all changed teams this offseason.
It's provided a new look in our consensus PPR rankings for me, Dave Richard and Heath Cummings. Thankfully, we all agree on the top three guys in McCaffrey, Breece Hall and Bijan Robinson. And you can make a strong case that all three should be the top three overall picks this year, regardless of format.
McCaffrey is the easy choice at No. 1. He averaged 23.5 PPR points per game in 2023 and should be dominant once again for the 49ers.
Hall (16.1 PPR points per game) should be even better in 2024 in his second year removed from the torn ACL he suffered in 2022, and the Jets offensive line has been rebuilt. Plus, Aaron Rodgers (Achilles) should be healthy this year.
Robinson is tougher to trust after an underwhelming rookie campaign (13.8 PPR points per game) given lofty expectations, but I'm buying back in. With Arthur Smith gone and Raheem Morris the new coach now in Atlanta -- along with the addition of Kirk Cousins -- the Falcons seem committed to making Robinson a star. And I'm counting on that to happen in his sophomore campaign.
After the top trio, we differ as a staff on what comes next. Dave and I both have Jahmyr Gibbs, Jonathan Taylor and Kyren Williams in the top six, just in a different order. And Heath has Barkley ranked ahead of Gibbs.
We all have Jacobs, Travis Etienne, Rachaad White, Isiah Pacheco and James Cook in our top 13 as well. But only Dave and I have De'Von Achane in the top 12 -- he's No. 20 for Heath.
In looking at the running backs who changed teams this offseason, we're clearly the most confident in Barkley and Jacobs. The offensive line in Philadelphia should provide a huge boost for Barkley, and Jacobs ended up in a great situation in Green Bay. I'm not worried about A.J. Dillon's return to the Packers as a detractor for Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing yards in 2022.
Henry and Mixon also ended up in good spots, but we differ on their value this season. Dave and I have Henry ahead of Mixon, but both are in the top 16. Heath likes Mixon at No. 13, with Henry at No. 22. We'll see how Henry holds up now that he's 30, but the Ravens just got 13 touchdowns from Edwards, which bodes well for Henry's chances to find the end zone on a regular basis.
Heath has Pollard at No. 15, while he's No. 20 for me and No. 21 for Dave. I like Pollard's move to the Titans -- he was born in Memphis and played collegiately for the Memphis Tigers -- and Tennessee has revamped everything this offseason, from its coach (Brian Callahan) to its receiving corps (Calvin Ridley) and offensive line. But I'm worried about Tyjae Spears being too much of a factor this season, which could limit the upside for Pollard, and Spears is still someone to draft as a sleeper.
Swift (No. 22 for me and Dave and No. 23 for Heath) should be the lead running back for the Bears, but will he dominate touches over Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson? That's going to be a training camp story to monitor, as well as what happens with Chicago's new quarterback, which will most likely be Caleb Williams.
I'm curious how the Bengals will use Moss (No. 25 for me, No. 26 for Dave and No. 32 for Heath), and he had some excellent games in place of Taylor last season for the Colts. But Moss was never great in the lead running back role for the Bills, and I like the upside of Chase Brown this season. Brown is another sleeper I plan to target on Draft Day in all of my leagues.
We're all slightly out on Jones with his move to the Vikings (No. 26 for me, No. 28 for Dave and No. 29 for Heath), and we'll see if anything changes once Minnesota settles on a quarterback now that Cousins is gone. Jones, 29, had a down season in 2023, mostly due to injury, but he had five games in a row with over 100 rushing yards to end the year, including the playoffs.
Ekeler was the No. 2 consensus running back for us last year, and now he's No. 30 for me and Heath and No. 33 for Dave. Ekeler will be 29 this season, and he's now headed to a committee with Brian Robinson Jr. in Washington. I still expect Ekeler to be a factor in the passing game, but we'll see what happens with everything else. Dave actually has Robinson ranked ahead of Ekeler at No. 25.
Dave and Heath also have Singletary ranked ahead of Ekeler, and I'm curious to see if the Giants bring in competition for Singeltary this year. As it stands, he's the lead running back to replace Barkley, and Singletary did well as the No. 1 guy in Houston last season when he scored at least 11 PPR points in seven of his final eight games.
Edwards (No. 37 for me, No. 38 for Dave and No. 36 for Heath) landed in a good spot with the Chargers. New coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman want to run the ball, and Edwards could be the No. 1 running back for the Chargers to start the season. But this feels like a prime spot for a rookie to eventually take over, and Edwards might not have much long-term appeal.
We'll see what else will change following the NFL Draft. But after free agency, our running back rankings look a lot different thanks to a lot of players joining new teams this year.
