Early 2026 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings: Top 16 Running Backs

May 5, 2025

Brant's early running back rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft. His top RBs for 2026 and fantasy football rookies. Read the expert draft analysis.

The 2025 NFL Draft class featured a crop of running backs deemed to be generationally deep. While we still await their debut season, the hype is certainly plentiful for the group that includes Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, RJ Harvey, Kaleb Johnson, Cam Skattebo, and more.

While next year’s class will not likely be as top-heavy or as deep as the 2025 group, there are several intriguing prospects. We still have an entire season of college football ahead of us, so this group will dramatically shift. Some players will play poorly and drop, others will return to school to secure strong NIL deals, and others who are not currently on the radar will break out and jump onto the list.

Before the 2025 college football season, how does the 2026 crop of draft-eligible running backs stack up? Let’s take a look at Brant Henson’s current top 17 prospects.

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1.) Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame

The Notre Dame running back has the size-speed combo that NFL teams can’t get enough of. As it stands right now, Jeremiyah Love is likely a first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft.

Love rushed for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns a season ago, adding 237 receiving yards and two scores through the air. He was a big reason for the Irish’s trip to the title game, and will be the face of the offense again this season.

Every time I watch a player against Notre Dame Offense, RB Jeremiyah Love just makes play after play. RB1 in CFB for 2025. pic.twitter.com/1aUovlGj35

— Buffed Prime T-Cal (@BuffedInPrime) April 4, 2025

2.) Nicholas Singleton, Penn State

One of the more shocking draft decisions was Nicholas Singleton’s choice to return to Penn State for his senior season, although it makes sense when you think about it, considering he will be among the top prospects in a weaker class in 2026. Singleton’s decision was similar to that of TreVeyon Henderson, who was just picked in the second round after returning to school in 2024.

Singleton stands 6 feet tall and weighs 227 pounds, but offers explosiveness at his size. He ran for 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns while catching 41 passes for 375 yards and five scores as a junior despite splitting the backfield with Kaytron Allen. He will be a force at the NFL level.

3.) Makhi Hughes, Oregon

Makhi Hughes stepped into the Tulane offense as a true freshman in 2023 and instantly ran for 1,378 yards and seven touchdowns. As a sophomore, he upped those numbers to 1,401 yards and 15 touchdowns. 

BREAKING: Makhi Hughes is unstoppable 💪#AmericanWay x @GreenWaveFB pic.twitter.com/rcXtsCUOxY

— The American (@American_Conf) October 26, 2024

Hughes is a baller. He has elite speed and is going to slide right into Dan Lanning’s system, which saw Bucky Irving and Jordan James get drafted each of the past two seasons. It would not be surprising to see him outproduce the Ducks’ two previous running backs and earn Day 2 draft capital. He is set to be a huge part of the offense and, in turn, offer significant value to an NFL team.

4.) Darius Taylor, Minnesota

Darius Taylor broke out as a true freshman at Minnesota, earning the starting job by Week 2 and finishing the campaign with 799 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground in just six games due to injury.

He played 12 games as a sophomore, running for 986 yards and 10 touchdowns. Taylor has NFL size at 6-foot, 215 pounds, and runs with great vision and an explosive burst. He is NFL-ready already and will likely head to the draft following his junior season.

5.) CJ Baxter, Texas

CJ Baxter is a wild card entering 2025. The rising junior ran for 659 yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman in 2023, but tore his LCL and ACL before the 2024 season. Coming back for 2025, will Baxter be as explosive after returning from the brutal knee injury?

Don’t sleep on Texas RB CJ Baxter

He missed all of 2024 but he’s an absolute beast 🤘
pic.twitter.com/DRYdUQSDf8

— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) February 23, 2025

If he recoups his explosiveness, he could be as high as the first running back off the board. If not, teams may have learned the lesson on reaching for injured running backs with Texas’ Jonathon Brooks. Baxter could be the best running back on the board in 2026, or could be a mere afterthought depending on how his 2025 season goes.

6.) Kaytron Allen, Penn State

Returning to college for the 2025 season alongside teammate Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen has all the means of a legit early down bruiser in the NFL. Standing 5-foot-11, 229 pounds, Allen ran for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior. The big-bodied senior will form an electric tandem for the fourth straight season with Singleton before heading to the league in 2026.

7.) Jamal Haynes, Georgia Tech

Initially a wide receiver at Georgia Tech, Jamal Haynes recorded no stats for his first two seasons. He transitioned to running back as a sophomore in his third season and ripped off 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns. Haynes followed that season up with a 944-yard, nine-touchdown season and looked great doing it. 

The 5-foot-9 running back returns to Georgia Tech for his senior season, but has already caught the eye of NFL scouts by quickly becoming effective after changing positions. He and quarterback Haynes King will form a dynamic backfield once again in 2025.

8.) Justice Haynes, Michigan

Heading over from Alabama, former five-star recruit Justice Haynes will look to lead the Wolverines backfield in 2025. Haynes has NFL size and skills, but only ran for 448 yards and seven touchdowns a season ago while playing second fiddle to Jam Miller.

Now likely to cement himself as the RB1 in Ann Arbor, Haynes will have the opportunity to rise on NFL Draft boards.

9.) Quintrevion Wisner, Texas

After Texas was hit with a slew of running back injuries in 2024, Quintrevion Wisner rose to the occasion and ran for 1,064 yards and five touchdowns. CJ Baxter will be back in the fold in 2025, but Wisner earned his fair share of work after impressing as a fill-in running back last season.

He offers NFL size at 6-foot, 200 pounds. While he may give himself an additional year in college in 2026 to take a heavier workload than he is projected to receive this year, Wisner is firmly on the NFL radar.

10.) Jonah Coleman, Washington

Formerly the running back for Arizona, Jonah Coleman followed his coach, Jedd Fisch, to Washington in 2024 and produced 1,053 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Huskies offense is expected to be more explosive this season with Demond Williams Jr. under center, which could lead to fewer stacked boxes for Coleman. 

He’s shifty, has the skills to be a receiving back, and will earn his way onto an NFL roster.

11.) Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh

Desmond Reid started his career at Western Carolina before transferring to Pittsburgh ahead of the 2024 season. He produced big time in his first year at the FBS level, rushing for 966 yards and five touchdowns while hauling in 52 catches for 579 yards and four scores. 

NFL teams are likely already salivating at the idea of adding this dual-threat Darren Sproles-esque talent to their roster. Reid is undersized (5-foot-8, 175 pounds), but could be a useful committee back and a potential Day 3 selection.

12.) Dylan Edwards, Kansas State

Bursting onto the scene in his first collegiate game ever with 135 yards and three touchdowns through the air at Colorado, Dylan Edwards has yet to have as electric a performance as he did in his college debut. After playing for a pass-heavy Colorado team in 2023, he transferred to Kansas State for the 2024 season but was stuck behind DJ Giddens.

Dylan Edwards, spring practice edition:

Chris Klieman said earlier in the week that he is - and has always been- impressed with how physical Edwards is

"For not being stature-wise a very big guy, he plays big" pic.twitter.com/XYKdIrwwly

— Caroline Soro (@caroline_soro) April 8, 2025

With Giddens sitting out in the Rate Bowl against Rutgers, Edwards ran 18 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns while adding 27 yards and a score through the air. This kid is undersized at 5-foot-9, 167 pounds, but he possesses talent and is due for a breakout with the Wildcats as a junior.

13.) Rueben Owens, Texas A&M

Rueben Owens was a five-star recruit, but has yet to hit his full potential. Projected as the starting running back for 2024, he suffered a preseason foot injury that knocked him out for nearly the entire season.

He ran for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a reserve role as a true freshman, and should now finally see an expanded role as a junior. All of the potential is there, and if he lives up to it, Owens could be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.

14.) Jaydn Ott, Oklahoma

Jaydn Ott was considered a future top running back prospect after his 2023 season, in which he ran for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, but he struggled in 2024 and is now headed to Oklahoma for the 2025 season.

Ott will fill in alongside Taylor Tatum and Jovantae Barnes to form an intriguing three-headed backfield for the Sooners. If he can bounce back to what he was in 2023, look for him to be on the draft radar in 2026.

O-T-T T-O G-O❗️

Justin Wilcox is fired up for Jaydn Ott's senior season 🔥 @CalFootball pic.twitter.com/f8YeDbnkrl

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) April 11, 2025

15.) Le'Veon Moss, Texas A&M

Joining Rueben Owens in the Texas A&M backfield is running back Le’Veon Moss, who played very well a season ago before suffering a season-ending knee injury in early November. Moss ran for 765 yards and 10 touchdowns in just over eight games, and has NFL size at 6-foot, 215 pounds. He and Owens should form a great tandem this fall and could both see their draft stock rise.

16.) Roman Hemby, Indiana

One thing that Indiana lacked on its playoff team a season ago was a running back whom it could lean on to carry the load. It now has that in former Maryland running back Roman Hemby. Hemby’s best season came in 2022 when he ran for 989 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has since been stuck behind a poor offensive line and mixed into committees, but has totaled 921 receiving yards through his four seasons as a Terrapin.

Hemby’s versatility will grab the attention of NFL scouts. He has a solid speed-size combo, can be trusted as a receiver, and has nowhere for his stock to go but up in his first and final season in Bloomington.

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