As this past offseason showed, NFL teams simply aren’t valuing the RB position as much as before. Not in today’s pass-happy league — and that certainly won’t change any time soon.
But you still need a productive running back or two to win in today’s NFL. The best teams tend to have more than one good back, while the worst teams continue to rely solely on one RB to carry the ground game.
With that said, let’s rank all 32 current No. 2 running backs from worst to first.
32. Trayveon Williams (Cincinnati Bengals)
Joe Mixon has had a solid bounce-back campaign, but he’s getting next-to-no support from his fellow RBs in the ground game.
Incredibly, Joe Burrow was second in rushing on the team with 88 yards before his season-ending injury in Week 11. Williams has seen very little playing time and thus hasn’t provided a spark in this offense whatsoever.
31. Chase Edmonds (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
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Edmonds missed four games to injury and has barely been noticeable with the ball in his hands. In that week 9 loss to Houston? Edmonds had three carries for minus-five yards. Sums up his season pretty well!
30. Zamir White (Las Vegas Raiders)
White had just 70 rushing yards on 17 carries in his rookie season with the Raiders a year ago, and he’s been no better supplementing Josh Jacobs here in 2023.
Not a good luck for White in that wide receiver Tre Tucker has a legitimate chance to finish ahead of White as the Raiders’ No. 2 rusher this year…
29. Ty Chandler (Minnesota Vikings)
If Cam Akers didn’t suffer a season-ending Achilles tear, the Vikings’ RB2 would rank higher on this list. But Akers’ unfortunate injury thrust Ty Chandler in the No. 2 back role — not that he’s been up for the challenge or anything.
Chandler’s stat line would look a lot worse if he didn’t have a career-high 73 yards in the Vikings’ Week 11 loss to the Denver Broncos. Take that week away, and Chandler has done nothing except remind Minny that they oughta upgrade their running back depth next year.
28. Tank Bigsby (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Jacksonville’s 2023 third-round pick was expected to be a productive weapon in Doug Pederson’s offense, but that hasn’t been the case.
For a man of his size and with the nickname “Tank”, Bigsby shouldn’t be averaging roughly 2.5 yards per carry. Doug Pederson has a darn good reason for giving Bigsby very few carries this year.
27. Matt Breida (New York Giants)
Breida is barely seeing the ball with Saquon Barkley playing some of his best football yet.
It also didn’t help Breida in that dual-threat QB Daniel Jones ran the ball aplenty before his season-ending ACL tear in Week 9. Breida is serviceable as an RB2 when his name is called upon, but the ex-49ers isn’t gonna “wow” anyone these days at this phase of his career.
26. Elijah Mitchell (San Francisco 49ers)
Since Christian McCaffrey is running away with the rushing title, the 49ers haven’t had to give their other RBs much playing time.
Mitchell, who nearly rushed for 1,000 yards in his rookie 2021 season,has quickly become an afterthought in San Fran. Wideout Deebo Samuel and quarterback Brock Purdy could both finish ahead of Mitchell on the team rushing leaderboard, too.
25. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Kansas City Chiefs)
So CEH’s breakout year in Kansas City was never going to come. 2022 was basically his last chance and he didn’t deliver — so it’s now the Isiah Pacheco show in the Chiefs’ backfield.
Kansas City’s 2020 first-round pick is on pace to set career lows across the board by a country mile. The good news? He’s a free-agent-to-be and will thus get a fresh start elsewhere.
24. Jamaal Williams (New Orleans Saints)
Williams has been one of the most disappointing free agent signings of 2023, to say the very least.
He rushed for a career-high 1,066 yards in Detroit a year ago and led the NFL with 17 rushing TDs, which led to the Saints giving him a three-year pact worth $12 million. Even with Alvin Kamara suspended for the first three games, Williams did next-to-nothing in his place.
23. Dalvin Cook (New York Jets)
The Jets paired the four-time Pro Bowler and 1,000-yard rusher with Aaron Rodgers and rising star RB Breece Hall for….162 rushing yards and zero touchdowns through the Jets’ first 11 games? Oy vey.
22. Antonio Gibson (Washington Commanders)
Gibson’s 1K rushing season from 2021 feels like a lifetime ago now.
Brian Robinson Jr. has taken over as the lead back in DC. Couple that with Sam Howell’s dynamic dual-threat game, and the opportunities for Gibson are few and far between these days.
Gibson had just 158 yards and no rushing TDs in Washington’s first 11 games. That said, he’s been productive with 33 receptions for 285 yards and a pair of receiving scores in those 11 contests.
21. Kenneth Gainwell (Philadelphia Eagles)
Gainwell only sees so many touches in an offense featuring Jalen Hurts, D’Andre Swift, DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown and Dallas Goedert. But when he gets the ball, Gainwell makes his fair share of big plays as a runner and receiver.
He should put up just over 400 yards of offense for the third straight year, which is more than enough for Nick Sirianni and his star-studded offense.
20. Emari Demercado (Arizona Cardinals)
The undrafted product out of TCU has found a nice home here in Jonathan Gannon’s offense.
Demercado hasn’t seen much playing time with James Conner and a now-healthy Kyler Murray leading the rushing game, but he showed some flashes with that 78-yard outing against a stingy Baltimore defense back in Week 8.
19. Tyjae Spears (Tennessee Titans)
The rookie third-round pick out of Tulane has done an admirable job as Derrick Henry’s understudy in Music City. Spears is averaging around five yards per carry and has been an underrated pass-catching weapon out of the backfield for Mike Vrabel’s offense.
With Henry likely to leave in free agency after this year, Spears should get first dibs on the Titans’ RB1 role next year.
18. Royce Freeman (Los Angeles Rams)
Freeman’s reliable play prompted Sean McVay and company to cut ties with Darrell Henderson after starting RB Kyren Williams returned from injury.
Freeman surpassed 70 yards rushing in the Rams’ Week 11 and Week 12 wins over Seattle and Arizona, respectively. He doesn’t offer much in the passing game but is more than useful as the RB2 in La La Land.
17. Latavius Murray (Buffalo Bills)
James Cook is having a career year and Josh Allen is again taking over games with his legs AND his arm. As such, Murray’s slice of the pie in Buffalo’ rushing game can only be so big…
But the former Raiders’ Pro Bowler has been a super-reliable RB2 for the Bills. He’s doing enough as a rusher with multiple 40-yard outings and is producing nicely as a pass-catcher as well.
16. Keaton Mitchell (Baltimore Ravens)
Mitchell has become a weapon in the Baltimore offense since his Week 9 breakout game against the Seahawks – in which he racked up 138 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Obviously, the undrafted rookie out of East Carolina can’t expect too many reps with Gus Edwards and Lamar Jackson there. But as we’ve seen since Week 9, Mitchell is more than capable of carrying the rushing game if the occasion calls for it.
15. Kareem Hunt (Cleveland Browns)
The Browns brought back Hunt after losing Nick Chubb for the year to injury back in Week 2.
Hunt is well past his prime at this point, but he’s been a fine complement to temporary RB1 Jerome Ford. Hunt’s 2023 stat line won’t wow anyone, but with six rushing TDs through his first nine games, he’s still ultra-reliable in the red zone.
14. Miles Sanders (Carolina Panthers)
Carolina handed Sanders a four-year pact worth $25.4 million after tallying his first 1,000-yard season in Philly – and the early returns aren’t pretty.
Sanders simply wasn’t cutting it as Carolina’s RB1 for Bryce Young, so third-year product Chuba Hubbard has taken over as the new lead rusher. But given Sanders’ career body of work and superior stats to other RB2s, he still oughta rank in the top half here.
Carolina’s next head coach in 2024 has a lot of work ahead of him. Among them: Getting Sanders back on track following a forgettable first year with the Panthers.
13. Rico Dowdle (Dallas Cowboys)
Many expected Deuce Vaughn to step in as Dallas’ No. 2 RB following a dazzling preseason, but it’s actually third-year back Rico Dowdle complementing Tony Pollard in the backfield.
Dowdle flashed his potential in the Cowboys’ Week 10 blowout win over the Giants, where he tallied 79 rushing yards and a TD on only 12 carries. If Pollard leaves in free agency, Dowdle just might get the chance to audition for the new RB1 role in Dallas.
12. Dameon Pierce (Houston Texans)
Pierce had an excellent rookie season in 2022 by tallying 1,104 yards of offense and five total touchdowns despite missing four games.
But Pierce has been hit hard by the sophomore slump in year two — and it has prompted head coach DeMeco Ryans to make veteran Devin Singletary the Texans’ new lead RB. The former Bill has been far more explosive and consistent at RB for CJ Stroud — making the rookie QB’s life all that much easier.
Here’s hoping it’s just one bad year for Pierce and that he’ll be back to his star-like form in 2024.
11. Joshua Kelley (Los Angeles Chargers)
Austin Ekeler missed time and hasn’t been his usual explosive self this year in a lost season for the Bolts. On the bright side, Kelley has pieced together by far his best campaign yet.
Kelley isn’t doing as much in the passing game as past years, but that’s because he’s producing more as a runner. If Kellen Moore continues to utilize him right, Kelley should hit the 500-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career.
10. Ezekiel Elliott (New England Patriots)
Amid a miserable season in New England, Elliott has at least done his job as Rhamondre Stevenson’s understudy.
Almost nothing has gone right for the Patriots in this humiliating season. But the two-time rushing champ has made the most of the limited action he’s seeing. Elliott should still surpass 500 yards rushing which is good for a player with his mileage and in his helpless situation.
9. Zach Charbonnet (Seattle Seahawks)
Seattle surprised many by taking Charbonnet in the second-round despite already having a star RB1 in Kenneth Walker.
Charbonnet was always going to see limited usage as a rookie, but he has shown some promise with the ball in his hands.
This bruising back is averaging around 4.5 yards a carry and can put up 50-or-so yards in any given game playing behind Walker. There’s a lot to like about Charbonnet’s game thus far, and it’ll be interesting to see if he gets increased playing time for the late-season playoff push.
8. A.J. Dillon (Green Bay Packers)
With Aaron Jones missing time due to injury, the bruising Dillon has seen far more reps than usual. He’s not playing up to his usual standards, but Dillon is making the most of what he has with a mediocre offensive line and, ahem, no more Aaron Rodgers at QB…
Dillon’s gonna have to finish strong for a third straight 700-yard season, but it’s not out of the question. Bottom line: He’s still one of the best RB2s in the league.
7. Samaje Perine (Denver Broncos)
There’s a debate that Jaleel McLaughlin should be the RB2 here, but Perine’s better all-around play and valuable production in the passing game gives him the nod here.
Nonetheless, the Broncos have a scary three-headed monster at RB that has them in position to end an eight-year playoff drought. Perine is on pace to finish with a career high in yards from scrimmage — he’s already set a career high in receiving.
6. Jahmyr Gibbs (Detroit Lions)
It was a surprise to see Detroit select Gibbs 12th overall since they already had David Montgomery as their lead back. But Montgomery and Gibbs have quickly formed arguably football’s best running back tandem here in 2023 — and it has Detroit in position to win its first division title in 30 years.
Montgomery may be the RB1, but Gibbs is the one on pace to finish with more yards of offense thanks to his two-way production. The Lions truly have something special here.
5. D'Onta Foreman (Chicago Bears)
There’s a case to be made that Foreman should be made the new RB1 over Khalil Herbert, given that the former is averaging more yards per game.
At any rate, Foreman, Herbert and Justin Fields have formed a scary trio in the ground game — one that has helped the Bears offense improve considerably from last year.
If he didn’t miss four games to injury, Foreman could have pushed for his first 1,000-yard campaign. But hey, being a top-five RB2 in the league is nothing to be ashamed of, either.
4. Tyler Allgeier (Atlanta Falcons)
As expected, Allgeier’s playing time has decreased following the arrival of hot shot first-round pick Bijan Robinson. He’s not the RB1 anymore, but Allgeier is still holding up his end of the bargain in Atlanta’s offense.
Last year’s 1,000-yard rusher is doing just fine as Robinson’s understudy. We all know that Allgeier would be on his way to another 1K campaign if he were Atlanta’s RB1, hence why he cracks the top four here.
3. De'Von Achane (Miami Dolphins)
Unbelievable! Before he landed on the IR, the lightning-quick Achane had a ridiculous 460 rushing yards over his first four NFL games…and five rushing touchdowns….and two receiving TDs.
Achane was on pace for over 1,000 yards rushing as Raheem Mostert’s backup before his injury. That’s how good the Texas A&M product has been — and you can bet Achane would’ve landed in the top spot here if he didn’t miss time.
2. Jaylen Warren (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Where would the Steelers’ offense be without the dynamic rushing duo of Warren and Najee Harris? Kenny Pickett owes them both a great debt of gratitude.
Harris and Warren were both at over 500 yards rushing through the Steelers’ first 11 games. They won’t fix what isn’t broke, but you get the feeling Warren has several multiple 1K rushing seasons ahead of him…
1. Zack Moss (Indianapolis Colts)
You know you’re the league’s best RB2 when you’re flirting with a top-10 spot in league rushing. That has been just the case for Moss in Indianapolis.
Several injuries will have sidelined Jonathan Taylor for most of the regular season, but the Colts’ running game hasn’t missed a beat. Acquired from Buffalo last year, Moss has already set career bests in rushing yards and TDs — AND he’s on pace to hit 1,000 yards for the first time.
Not bad for an RB2, huh?
