Top 75 Running Back Rankings for Non-PPR Leagues

Though it may seem like everyone has turned to PPR as their format of choice, many fantasy footballers have stayed true to their roots and stuck with Non-PPR, or standard scoring. While Zero-RB has been a thing in recent years, Running Backs are king in standard scoring. Grab an elite one early and the foundation of your team is set. Below you’ll find Non-PPR Running Back Rankings from four of our top analysts. They are ranked by the consensus now, but you can also sort by each analyst.

Meet the Rankers

Below are the analysts that will be pouring over our Non-PPR Running Back Rankings for the next few months. We’ve included their initials so that you know who is who in the rankings table and also their Twitter handles so you can give them a follow and let them know what you think of their rankings.

MC – Mick Ciallela – @themick23
CY – Corbin Young – @corbin_young21
ND – Nathan Dokken – @NathanDokken
TL – Taylor Lambert – @TaylorSLambert

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2020 Running Back Rankings for Standard Scoring

Cons. Rnk	Player	MC	CY	ND	TL
1	Christian McCaffrey	1	1	1	1
2	Saquon Barkley	2	2	2	2
3	Ezekiel Elliott	3	3	3	4
4	Alvin Kamara	5	4	4	3
5	Dalvin Cook	4	7	5	5
6	Joe Mixon	10	6	6	6
7	Derrick Henry	6	5	7	11
8	Nick Chubb	8	8	8	9
9	Josh Jacobs	9	10	10	8
10	Aaron Jones	7	12	9	10
11	Miles Sanders	13	11	11	12
12	Kenyan Drake	12	19	12	7
13	Leonard Fournette	14	9	18	14
14	Chris Carson	15	17	13	13
15	Austin Ekeler	11	14	17	18
16	Todd Gurley	16	16	15	19
17	Melvin Gordon	23	15	14	16
18	James Conner	19	13	16	22
19	Le'Veon Bell	18	18	19	20
20	Clyde Edwards-Helaire	22	20	21	17
21	David Johnson	17	22	24	26
22	Raheem Mostert	20	23	23	24
22	Mark Ingram	24	29	22	15
24	Jonathan Taylor	21	21	31	21
25	David Montgomery	25	31	20	23
26	Devin Singletary	26	24	26	25
27	Derrius Guice	30	27	27	27
28	D'Andre Swift	27	28	30	29
29	Kareem Hunt	28	25	32	34
29	Cam Akers	31	32	25	31
31	Ronald Jones II	33	30	34	39
32	Marlon Mack	42	34	28	33
33	Damien Williams	35	26	38	41
34	Ke'Shawn Vaughn	45	41	29	30
35	Matt Breida	41	33	37	35
35	Jordan Howard	39	46	33	28
37	Kerryon Johnson	40	36	36	36
38	Tevin Coleman	38	38	41	32
39	James White	29	37	43	43
40	Latavius Murray	32	45	39	37
41	Sony Michel	37	42	35	40
42	Tarik Cohen	34	39	45	38
43	Phillip Lindsay	36	40	44	44
44	J.K. Dobbins	43	35	42	45
45	Alexander Mattison	44	43	40	52
46	Zack Moss	49	52	48	42
47	Tony Pollard	50	44	46	56
48	Darrell Henderson	46	47	53	51
49	Boston Scott	47	51	51	49
50	Duke Johnson	51	50	52	47
51	Justin Jackson	52	53	49	50
52	Antonio Gibson	48	59	50	60
53	Nyheim Hines	55	56	59	48
54	Chase Edmonds	58	49	55	59
55	Jamaal Williams	54	60	47	63
56	A.J. Dillon	59	65	57	46
57	Carlos Hyde	61	57	56	57
58	Damien Harris	66	55	66	53
59	Adrian Peterson	53	64	68	58
60	Ito Smith	57	66	61	68
61	Anthony McFarland	74	69	54	64
62	Darrynton Evans	56	54	NR	54
63	Ryquell Armstead	77	61	60	69
64	Gus Edwards	62	67	69	70
64	Benny Snell Jr.	67	71	63	67
66	Justice Hill	75	58	62	75
67	Rashaad Penny	72	48	58	NR
68	Frank Gore	70	73	67	72
69	Jaylen Samuels	60	63	64	NR
70	Bryce Love	76	75	74	65
71	Giovani Bernard	64	72	NR	55
72	Jerick McKinnon	69	NR	65	71
73	Darwin Thompson	73	68	71	NR
74	Jalen Richard	65	NR	NR	62
75	Chris Thompson	71	NR	NR	61
76	Dion Lewis	NR	62	NR	73
77	Malcolm Brown	68	70	NR	NR
78	Senorise Perry	NR	74	70	NR
79	Lamar Miller	NR	76	73	NR
79	LeSean McCoy	NR	77	72	NR
81	Rex Burkhead	63	NR	NR	NR
82	Joshua Kelley	NR	NR	NR	66
83	Jeff Wilson Jr.	NR	NR	NR	74

Breaking Down the Position

Mick Ciallela

Running back is the one position where a fantasy player is a bit hamstrung by his or her draft spot. You can grab a top-five quarterback, wide receiver, or tight end from any draft spot, Hell, you can draft the top quarterback or tight end late in the first round if you wanted to. However, to snag a consensus preseason top-five running back, you would almost certainly have to secure a top-seven first-round pick. If you have a late first-round pick, you have zero chance at drafting Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, or Ezekiel Elliott. In theory, you are already behind the eight-ball at the running back position. The good news is that not all hope is lost. There are still plenty of solid backs out there who can keep you afloat.

Regardless of where I am picking, I want to draft a surplus of running backs. Even if I go Zero-RB, I would still take a bunch of them in the middle rounds. My preference is for well-rounded backs. That is a strategy that is obvious for PPR formats but applies in standard leagues as well. Running backs who can catch the ball out of the backfield are worth their weight in gold. Austin Ekeler finished with the 33rd most rushing yards among running backs in 2019, yet finished seventh in standard scoring. Kareem Hunt finished as a top-19 fantasy back in four of his first five games despite accruing just 153 rushing yards during that span. PPR scoring tilts the playing field even further. Of the 18 running backs who scored at least 200 PPR points last year, 12 caught at least 49 passes. Only 11 surpassed 1,000 rushing yards.

I mentioned above that I look to grab a surplus of running backs. This is where drafting can get tricky. I made the mistake last year of drafting too many handcuffs. I had a team with Darrell Henderson, Justin Jackson, and Darwin Thompson. Those ended up being dead roster spots. Having dead roster spots is unavoidable in fantasy football, but you must know when to hold and when to cut bait. Think of some of the running backs who led teams to fantasy championships in 2019. Players like Raheem Mostert, Boston Scott, DeAndre Washington, and even Mike Boone came from relative obscurity to post big numbers in December. Kenyan Drake and Miles Sanders were top-10 running backs down the stretch after essentially being irrelevant for half a season. If you want to handcuff your primary back, fine. Just do not be afraid to cut bait and hit the waiver wire.

Corbin Young

In standard or non-PPR leagues my running back strategy doesn’t change much. I’ll still look at total yardage potential in the rushing and receiving game since it’s hard to project touchdowns. Sure the pass catching running backs take a slight dip. However if they’re highly involved in their offense then I’ll trust the volume.

I still like targeting running backs that can catch passes because outside of the top-10 running backs, most share touches with another back. I do like the rookie running backs in the middle rounds, especially J.K. Dobbins and Jonathan Taylor. Outside of the rookie running backs, some later round running backs to target would be Darrynton Evans, Damien Harris, and Chase Edmonds.

Nathan Dokken

The running back position is enjoying a bit of a Renaissance, at least according to ADP. The first two rounds of most drafts are going to consist of running backs. The reason for that is not because of the sheer volume of touches as is was back in the day, though. It’s because really good backs are hard to find, so you better get ’em early.

Of the true workhorse backs, two already have holdout concerns. We’ll see how that shakes out, but for now, I have no problem going in on them very early. Even once you hit the low-end RB2’s, there are so many holes to poke that you can’t feel very confident in your pick at the position. Even with as good as this year’s rookie crop was, the long-distance offseason works massively against them. I’ll continue to push them down my rankings, as they all face split backfields, to begin with. I’ll be doing my best to go in early on backs to avoid the RB2/FLEX minefield, preferring to take my upside shots later on.

Taylor Lambert

What is it that makes running backs paramount to your roster? Two words: position scarcity. The variable of injury creates a volatility that makes a suspect backfield nearly impossible to overcome. As a principle, I try not to adhere too rigidly to any one specific strategy in drafts, but admittedly, if I can walk out of the first two rounds with a pair of stud running backs, I’m going into the third round with my head held high.
Given the Mariana Trench-like depth at wide receiver, it makes sense to shore up your backfield early and load up on pass-catcher, in the 3-5 round range.

Securing a stable backfield doesn’t end with the players you spend high draft capital on. Continue to stock up on running backs as the draft progresses (all the more reason to wait at QB). As I mentioned above, when the injury bug starts making its rounds through the league, having start-worthy reserves safeguards your team, and in some cases sets you apart. Remember your running back mantra when come draft season: ”draft early and often.”

More 2020 Fantasy Football Rankings:

PPR: QB | RB | WR | TE |

Standard: QB | RB | WR | TE |

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