Fantasy Football Running Back Tier Rankings: Christian McCaffrey Drops To Tier 3
The two most important tools for fantasy owners are rankings and tiers. Tiers are valuable because they group players together who are at a similar value. They allow fantasy owners to know when a big drop-off at a position is coming. These are our RB Tier rankings.
Tier 1
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
Robinson and Gibbs are the top running backs this fantasy season, and both should be under consideration for the first-overall pick in 2026 fantasy drafts.
Tier 2
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
James Cook, Buffalo Bills
The four running backs in tier 2 should all be locked-in stars with a high floor and the upside to finish as the fantasy RB1 overall. Hampton could be the name that jumps out at you here, but that's just how confident we are in him this season.
Tier 3
Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs
This tier features three aging running backs with a ton of tread on their tires, and three running backs in their prime, who will be looking to make the leap into tier 2 this season. Brown is on the fringe of tier 2 and tier 3 already.
Tier 4
Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals
Breece Hall, New York Jets
Travis Etienne Jr, New Orleans Saints
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Javonte Williams, Dallas Cowboys
Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
These are the locked-in RB2s who will have the opportunity to climb into the RB1 conversation if things break their way this season.
Tier 5
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cam Skattebo, New York Giants
D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
David Montgomery, Houston Texans
Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
This group of running backs is the fringe RB2/RB3 options. All of them have RB2 upside, and a few of them, like Irving, Skattebo, and Price, could be legitimate RB1 contenders.
Tier 6
TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders
The backs in tier 6 all have a ton of upside, but also come with a lot of risk. We've either seen them all be great or the opportunity will be there. There is just no way to be sure they'll make the most of their opportunities.
Tier 7
Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers
RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
Kenneth Gainwell, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
JK Dobbins, Denver Broncos
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Rachaad White, Washington Commanders
Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
These backs should be flex options or weekly streaming options. There are a few of them that could jump up a tier or two this season, like Kyle Monangai, Rachaad White, and Jordan Mason. That is far from a sure thing, though.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News
- The Fantasy Case For Kyler Murray... And J.J. McCarthy, Too
- Top Remaining NFL Free Agent Skill Players: Do They Have Any Fantasy Football Upside?
- Fantasy Football Quarterback Tier Rankings: Drake Maye Climbs After The Patriots Add AJ Brown
- Eagles Trade AJ Brown To Patriots, Unleashing DeVonta Smith As A Fantasy Superstar
This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy Football Running Back Tier Rankings: Christian McCaffrey Drops To Tier 3.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 8:30 AM.