We're at the tail end of June, which means the dust has settled on NFL transactions while the league is on summer break prior to the start of training camp at the end of July.
That means it's time for CBS Sports' Pete Prisco to unveil his Top 100 NFL players list. Prisco's rankings are a lightning rod for offseason content, as people across the land argue over where certain players did or did not land on his 2026 list.
Running backs and the value they possess in modern-day football are always a regular point of contention. Prisco put eight running backs inside his top 100, including three inside the top 30, with Bijan Robinson leading the way for the position at No. 17 overall. That's a big fall for the running back position collectively from his prior year's edition, in which 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley ranked No. 3 overall on Prisco's top 100 list. Barkley's step back from his 2,005-yard rushing season, which also included 13 rushing touchdowns, to a 1,140-yard rushing season with just seven rushing touchdowns in 2025 led to a precipitous 44-spot drop from No. 3 overall to No. 47 overall.
Derrick Henry also suffered a steep stumble down the board despite ranking second in the entire NFL in rushing yards in both 2024 (1,921) and 2025 (1,595) and third in the entire league in yards per carry in both 2024 (5.9) and 2025 (5.2). He dropped from No. 14 overall last year to No. 45 overall this year.
Here, we will evaluate every running back Prisco ranked, where they ranked and why they ranked where they did. We'll also spotlight a couple of snubs who just missed the cut.
Bijan Robinson ATL • RB • #7 Att287Yds1478TD7FL3 View Profile - Ranking: No. 17 (No. 1 RB)
- 2025 ranking: 39
"He has developed into one of the game's best dual-threat backs. He was fourth in rushing with 1,478 yards and also caught 79 passes for 820 yards. He has averaged 4.9 yards per carry over his three seasons." -- Pete Prisco
Christian McCaffrey SF • RB • #23 Att311Yds1202TD10FL0 View Profile - Ranking: No. 19 (No. 2 RB)
- 2025 ranking: 41
"Coming off an injury-shortened 2024 season, he responded by rushing for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns while catching 102 passes with seven touchdown receptions. At times, he was basically the entire 49ers offense because of injuries to other players." -- Pete Prisco
Jahmyr Gibbs DET • RB Att243Yds1223TD13FL1 View Profile - Ranking: No. 21 (No. 3 RB)
- 2025 ranking: 32
"He is the catalyst that makes the Lions offense go. He rushed for 1,223 yards and caught 77 passes. He averaged 5 yards per rush. He should get more carries this season. " -- Pete Prisco
Jonathan Taylor IND • RB • #28 Att323Yds1585TD18FL1 View Profile - Ranking: No. 32 (No. 4 RB)
- 2025 ranking: 50
"He finished third in the league in rushing with 1,585 yards and a 4.9 average. He scored 20 touchdowns, including 18 on the ground. He remains one of the game's best runners." -- Pete Prisco
James Cook BUF • RB • #4 Att309Yds1621TD12FL3 View Profile - Ranking: No. 34 (No. 5 RB)
- 2025 ranking: Not ranked
"He led the NFL in rushing with 1,621 yards and had 12 rushing touchdowns and two receiving scores. He averaged an impressive 5.2 yards per carry." -- Pete Prisco
De'Von Achane MIA • RB • #28 Att238Yds1350TD8FL0 View Profile - Ranking: No. 44 (No. 6 RB)
- 2025 ranking: Not ranked
"He had 1,350 rushing yards in 13 games with eight rushing touchdowns. He also had 67 catches and four receiving touchdowns. He is a home run threat every time he touches the ball." -- Pete Prisco
Derrick Henry BAL • RB • #22 Att307Yds1595TD16FL3 View Profile - Ranking: No. 45 (No. 7 RB)
- 2025 ranking: 14
"He didn't quite have as good a season as he did in 2024, but he still ran for 1,595 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per rush. At 32, you have to wonder when he will truly start to slow down." -- Pete Prisco
Saquon Barkley PHI • RB • #26 Att280Yds1140TD7FL1 View Profile - Ranking: No. 47 (No. 8 RB)
- 2025 ranking: 3
"Like many Eagles players, Barkley's 2025 season wasn't nearly as good as his 2024 campaign. His rushing yards fell from 2,005 to 1,440, and his yards per carry dropped from 5.8 to 4.1. The poor line play contributed to those declines." -- Pete Prisco
Notable RB snubs in Prisco's Top 100
Kyren Williams LAR • RB • #23 Att259Yds1252TD10FL2 View Profile There were only seven running backs in the NFL in 2025 with 1,200-plus yards rushing and 10-plus rushing touchdowns. Five of them -- McCaffrey, Gibbs, Taylor, Cook and Henry -- were inside Prisco's top 100, and two of them were not -- Kyren Williams and Javonte Williams. The latter two comprise the notable snubs section of this piece.
Kyren Williams' 44 touchdowns from scrimmage since he became the Rams' starting running back in 2023 rank as the third-most in the entire league in this span, trailing only Gibbs (49) and Henry (46). Even though Williams possesses a reputation as someone who struggles with fumbling, he put the ball on the ground just twice in 2025 -- the fewest in a season in his career since he became Los Angeles' featured back in 2023. Williams also rushed for more yards (1,252, the sixth most in the NFL) than both McCaffrey (1,202, the eighth most in the NFL) and Gibbs (1,252, the seventh most in the NFL) in 2025; the backs ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in Prisco's rankings.
Javonte Williams DAL • RB • #33 Att252Yds1201TD11FL2 View Profile Javonte Williams' career was slipping away from him entering the 2025 offseason, which was why he quickly accepted a one-year, $3 million contract almost as soon as the NFL's league tampering period began. However, he showed the world why the Denver Broncos made him a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and then some.
Williams erupted for career highs in carries (252, the 10th most in the NFL), rushing yards (1,201, the 9th most in the NFL), rushing touchdowns (11, the 7th most in the NFL) and yards per carry (4.8, 13th most in the NFL). That's why the typically frugal Jerry Jones quickly re-signed him this offseason to a three-year, $24 million deal with $16 million in guaranteed money. He'll once again be the bell-cow back in Dallas' high-flying offense in 2026.
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