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Fantasy football rankings - running backs (RB) Week 16 rankings early edition for 2025. Read the top-accuracy fantasy football RB rankings.
Having a productive stable of running backs can carry your fantasy team to glory, but if you don't have a few must-start studs, you'll have to keep a close eye on matchups. We're here to guide your start-sit calls with our Week 16 fantasy football running back rankings for 2025. Below, find out where ball carriers such as Kenneth Gainwell, Michael Carter, Bucky Irving, Aaron Jones Sr., RJ Harvey, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Kyle Monangai, and more stand among all other RB options.
Our running back fantasy football rankings for Week 16 are put together by Nick Mariano. Below the rankings, you will also find a summary of the important RB fantasy football news for this week. There are always key injuries and developments to keep track of, so check back throughout the week for updates.
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Week 16 Running Back Rankings for Fantasy Football
Bookmark our PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and standard (non-PPR) rankings
| RB Tier |
RB Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Bijan Robinson | RB | 1 |
| 1 | 2 | De'Von Achane | RB | 2 |
| 1 | 3 | Christian McCaffrey | RB | 3 |
| 1 | 4 | Jahmyr Gibbs | RB | 8 |
| 1 | 5 | Saquon Barkley | RB | 9 |
| 1 | 6 | James Cook III | RB | 11 |
| 2 | 7 | Jonathan Taylor | RB | 14 |
| 2 | 8 | Josh Jacobs | RB | 16 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Brown | RB | 17 |
| 3 | 10 | Woody Marks | RB | 18 |
| 3 | 11 | Bucky Irving | RB | 19 |
| 3 | 12 | Javonte Williams | RB | 21 |
| 3 | 13 | Travis Etienne Jr. | RB | 24 |
| 3 | 14 | TreVeyon Henderson | RB | 25 |
| 3 | 15 | Derrick Henry | RB | 28 |
| 3 | 16 | Kyren Williams | RB | 29 |
| 3 | 17 | D'Andre Swift | RB | 30 |
| 4 | 18 | Aaron Jones Sr. | RB | 31 |
| 4 | 19 | RJ Harvey | RB | 33 |
| 4 | 20 | Quinshon Judkins | RB | 34 |
| 4 | 21 | Breece Hall | RB | 35 |
| 4 | 22 | Tyrone Tracy Jr. | RB | 41 |
| 5 | 23 | Omarion Hampton | RB | 42 |
| 5 | 24 | Rico Dowdle | RB | 45 |
| 5 | 25 | Michael Carter | RB | 46 |
| 5 | 26 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt | RB | 52 |
| 5 | 27 | Ashton Jeanty | RB | 59 |
| 5 | 28 | Jaylen Warren | RB | 61 |
| 5 | 29 | Tony Pollard | RB | 64 |
| 5 | 30 | Kenneth Walker III | RB | 66 |
| 5 | 31 | Kyle Monangai | RB | 72 |
| 5 | 32 | Kenneth Gainwell | RB | 74 |
| 5 | 33 | Kareem Hunt | RB | 80 |
| 5 | 34 | Blake Corum | RB | 81 |
| 5 | 35 | David Montgomery | RB | 85 |
| 6 | 36 | Jordan Mason | RB | 88 |
| 6 | 37 | Tyler Allgeier | RB | 90 |
| 6 | 38 | Kimani Vidal | RB | 91 |
| 6 | 39 | Audric Estime | RB | 93 |
| 6 | 40 | Zach Charbonnet | RB | 98 |
| 6 | 41 | Rhamondre Stevenson | RB | 113 |
| 6 | 42 | Chuba Hubbard | RB | 116 |
| 6 | 43 | Devin Singletary | RB | 117 |
| 6 | 44 | Samaje Perine | RB | 118 |
| 6 | 45 | Sean Tucker | RB | 119 |
| 7 | 46 | Evan Hull | RB | 123 |
| 7 | 47 | Jaleel McLaughlin | RB | 129 |
| 7 | 48 | Tyjae Spears | RB | 135 |
| 7 | 49 | Emari Demercado | RB | 139 |
| 7 | 50 | Isiah Pacheco | RB | 145 |
| 7 | 51 | Brian Robinson Jr. | RB | 147 |
| 7 | 52 | Rachaad White | RB | 148 |
| 7 | 53 | Jeremy McNichols | RB | 149 |
| 7 | 54 | Ty Johnson | RB | 151 |
| 7 | 55 | Keaton Mitchell | RB | 156 |
| 7 | 56 | Malik Davis | RB | 157 |
| 7 | 57 | Jawhar Jordan | RB | 160 |
| 7 | 58 | Ameer Abdullah | RB | 162 |
| 7 | 59 | Emanuel Wilson | RB | 176 |
| 7 | 60 | Ollie Gordon II | RB | 181 |
| 8 | 61 | Jaylen Wright | RB | 184 |
| 8 | 62 | Dare Ogunbowale | RB | 187 |
| 8 | 63 | Tank Bigsby | RB | 205 |
| 8 | 64 | Brashard Smith | RB | 209 |
| 8 | 65 | Rasheen Ali | RB | 212 |
| 8 | 66 | Isaiah Davis | RB | 215 |
| 8 | 67 | Tyler Badie | RB | 224 |
| 8 | 68 | LeQuint Allen Jr. | RB | 228 |
| 8 | 69 | Ray Davis | RB | 229 |
| 8 | 70 | Hunter Luepke | RB | 233 |
| 8 | 71 | Chris Brooks | RB | 248 |
| 8 | 72 | Kyle Juszczyk | RB | 252 |
| 8 | 73 | D'Ernest Johnson | RB | 253 |
| 8 | 74 | Alec Ingold | RB | 258 |
| 8 | 75 | C.J. Ham | RB | 260 |
| 9 | 76 | Patrick Ricard | RB | 261 |
| 9 | 77 | Tyler Goodson | RB | 262 |
| 9 | 78 | Raheem Mostert | RB | 264 |
| 9 | 79 | Raheim Sanders | RB | 267 |
| 9 | 80 | Adam Prentice | RB | 268 |
| 9 | 81 | Will Shipley | RB | 269 |
| 9 | 82 | Zavier Scott | RB | 274 |
| 9 | 83 | Tahj Brooks | RB | 276 |
| 9 | 84 | Reggie Gilliam | RB/TE | 279 |
| 9 | 85 | Trevor Etienne | RB | 282 |
| 9 | 86 | DJ Giddens | RB | 285 |
| 9 | 87 | Cody Schrader | RB | 286 |
Week 16 Running Back Rankings Outlooks
Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell continues to be a PPR machine, racking up seven receptions for 46 yards while adding 13 carries for 80 yards on the ground in the Monday night win over the Miami Dolphins. Gainwell led the team in catches, with four other Steelers tied for second with three, and outgained Jaylen Warren by 47 yards on the ground on one more carry.
The 26-year-old remains a vital piece of the Steelers offense and a player that quarterback Aaron Rodgers relies on for easy dump-off passes to pick up yards after the catch. Gainwell has recorded at least six receptions in four of the past five games and has emerged as a weekly option in PPR leagues. He'll project favorably again as an RB2/flex option next week against the Detroit Lions.
Audric Estime, New Orleans Saints
At least in deeper fantasy football leagues, New Orleans Saints running back Audric Estime is worth looking at on waivers going into Week 16 action after rookie RB Devin Neal injured his hamstring in the Week 15 upset win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Estime played a season-high 36% of the offensive snaps and split backfield work with Evan Hull after Neal was injured in the second quarter. The 22-year-old handled three carries for 11 yards and also caught all three of his targets for an additional 39 yards.
Hull had just one more carry than Estime and wasn't involved at all in the passing game. Estime could be in play as a deep-league RB3/flex option in a great Week 16 matchup against the New York Jets if both Alvin Kamara (ankle, knee) and Neal are unable to play. Keep in mind that both rookie quarterback Tyler Shough (team-high eight carries on Sunday) and tight end Taysom Hill could take valuable carries away from both Estime and Hull if Kamara and Neal are out this weekend.
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton continued to showcase explosiveness in the team's 16-13 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, rushing 15 times for 61 yards and leading the backfield with 54% of the carries. Hampton often looked more dynamic than Kimani Vidal, but the workload remains split, as Vidal led snaps and handled all of the two-minute offense. With the Chargers relying heavily on the run game to protect Justin Herbert, Hampton stays a part of the weekly rotation.
Week 16's matchup against the Cowboys is interesting, as Dallas has improved against the run but still ranks tied for second in rushing touchdowns allowed. Hampton's ceiling is limited by the timeshare, but he remains a decent low-end RB2 or flex option in run-heavy game plans.
Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten (finger) will have surgery to fix a finger injury that he suffered in Sunday's blowout win over the New York Jets, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Tuten will miss a few weeks but should be back for the playoffs. There are only three games remaining in the regular season, so the Jags might shut Tuten down until the start of the postseason.
The 22-year-old fourth-round selection has been a nice, explosive complement in Jacksonville's backfield this season next to starter Travis Etienne Jr., carrying the ball 78 times for 284 yards (3.6 yards per tote) and four rushing touchdowns, adding 10 catches for 79 yards and two more scores in 14 games. Tuten touched the ball only twice on Sunday, but one of those touches resulted in a one-yard TD reception. Fellow rookie LeQuint Allen Jr. will serve in the RB2 role for the Jags behind Etienne for however long Tuten is sidelined.
Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle rushed for 49 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown in Carolina's Week 15 loss to New Orleans on Sunday. He added five receiving yards on one reception and totaled 12.4 PPR points. Dowdle outperformed Chuba Hubbard, who registered 38 scrimmage yards and 4.8 PPR points. Despite the workload being mostly split between the two RBs, Dowdle logged the most snaps (60%). In Week 16, the Panthers will face their NFC South rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay ranked 16th in fantasy points per game allowed to the RB position in the last four weeks leading up to Week 15. Even though Dowdle has a middling matchup this week, he is still worth starting as an RB2 or flex option based on his volume. In his last five games, he has fewer than 16 carries once, and he averaged 15.4 carries per game.
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