Are we in the midst of a running back renaissance? The money would seem to suggest that we are.
A recent wave of running back extensions set records at the position. Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor and Jahmyr Gibbs each signed contracts worth over $20 million per year earlier in August. Robinson briefly held the record for the highest-paid running back in NFL history before Gibbs surpassed that mark just days later.
But is that an indication that Gibbs is better than Robinson? We ranked the top 10 running backs in the NFL ahead of the 2026 season, and as you could imagine, Robinson and Gibbs were among those vying for the top spot.
Here is our full list of the top 10 running backs entering the regular season.
Kenneth Walker joined the Chiefs in March when he signed the largest contract for a running back in the history of NFL free agency. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
Eric D. Williams: The Super Bowl MVP for the Seattle Seahawks led the league in rushing during the postseason and had one of his best seasons as a pro last year. Walker led Seattle in rushing in each of his four seasons with the team, rushing for over 1,000 yards as a pro for the second time in his career in 2025.
However, the Seahawks allowed the Memphis native to walk away in free agency, as Walker signed a three-year, $45 million deal to join the Kansas City Chiefs. The expectation for Walker is that he will serve as the bell-cow back, helping to reignite the running game for Patrick Mahomes as he returns from a season-ending knee injury.
Kyren Williams has been a force of consistecy over the last three years, finishing in the top 10 in rushing yards in each season. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Williams: Williams had another strong season, finishing sixth in the NFL in rushing yards (1,252) and ninth in rushing touchdowns (10). His 44 scrimmage touchdowns are the second-most in the NFL since the start of the 2023 season. Williams has rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of his first four years as a pro, earning Pro Bowl invitations in two of those seasons.
However, Williams could have his workload cut with the emergence of Michigan product Blake Corum, who came on during the second half of last season and has looked good in training camp.
De’Von Achane led the league in yards per attempt (5.7) last season. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Greg Auman: Can a team that’s constantly trailing have a bellcow running back? Miami has as low an expectation for 2026 as any team, but new coach Jeff Hafley says he could give Achane 40 touches a game or more, which is wild. Achane was one of the best all-around backs in the NFL last year, averaging six yards a touch with 1,838 yards from scrimmage. Only Atlanta Falcons star Bijan Robinson averaged more per touch.
Can Achane sustain that when there’s even less of a supporting cast in the passing game to draw defensive attention away from him? Mike McDaniel’s creativity is gone, but watch to see how Bobby Slowik can find ways to utilize Achane in the screen/passing game. He’s had 145 receptions in the last two years, five more than Robinson for the most among all NFL running backs.
James Cook led the NFL in rushing last season with 1,621 yards on the ground. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Ralph Vacchiano: As the Buffalo Bills’ passing game sagged a bit the last two years, Cook made sure their running game didn’t miss a beat. And he established himself as one of the NFL’s best and most powerful last season with a league-leading 1,621 yards, making him the first Bills player to lead the NFL in rushing since O.J. Simpson nearly 50 years ago. Cook is a bowling ball through the middle of the defense, able to bounce off contact and explode onto the second level, despite being just 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds.
Cook would probably rank higher on this list if he contributed more in the passing game (33-291-2). But he’s so strong running the ball, it’s hard to be disappointed. He ran for 28 touchdowns over the last two years. He’s the perfect weapon to wear down defenses late in games, and especially when the weather turns in Western New York late in the year.
Derrick Henry has rushed for at least 1,000 yards in seven of the last eight seasons. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Ben Arthur: We’re at the point in Henry’s career where, every year, we’re wondering if this is going to be the year in which he finally slows down. But he’s done such an incredible job taking care of his body that it almost assuredly won’t be 2026. The 32-year-old Henry is coming off his eighth straight double-digit rushing touchdown season. The five-time Pro Bowler has also posted 1,000-plus rushing yards in seven of the last eight years, including the last four.
Henry climbed into 10th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list in 2025, and could jump into the top six with 1,083 rushing yards in the coming season.
Christian McCaffrey was fourth in the league in scrimmage yards this past season. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Bucky Brooks: The ultimate offensive weapon is nearing the twilight of his career, but few defensive coordinators have cracked the code on how to slow down the three-time All-Pro. CMC has totaled 2,000-plus scrimmage yards three times, while also earning exclusive memberships into the “1,000/1,000” Club (1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards) and “100/1,000” Clubs (100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards).
With few playmakers displaying RB1 and WR2 skills from the backfield, McCaffrey remains the gold standard as the NFL’s top multi-purpose back.
Last season marked the second time that Jonathan Taylor has rushed for 18 touchdowns in a year. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Arthur: Before the Colts’ collapse late last season, Taylor was a front-running MVP candidate. He ended 2025 leading the league in carries (323), rushing touchdowns (18), scrimmage touchdowns (20) and rushing first downs (84) for the second time in his career, earning a two-year, $44 million extension earlier this month.
Taylor isn’t the receiving threat that the likes of McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are, but he is a dependable catcher out of the backfield. He had career highs in receptions (46) and receiving yards (378) last season. Taylor’s 1,963 scrimmage yards in 2025 also ranked third in the NFL.
Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in 2024, winning Offensive Player of the Year. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Vacchiano: This is how great the 29-year-old Barkley is: He ran for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns last season, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, and he caught 37 passes for 273 yards … and his season was considered a profound disappointment. That’s how high he set the bar, especially after he ran for 2,005 yards one year earlier.
Those days are probably over. The Eagles’ offensive line isn’t what it used to be and that season — in which he totaled 482 touches in the regular season and playoffs — clearly wore Barkley down. He’s still got breakaway speed, though, and moves unlike most backs in the league. He can be a nightmare to drag down in the open field. For all those reasons, most people in the NFL expect a bounce-back season from him, even if he’s very unlikely to ever threaten to break 2,000 rushing yards again.
Jahmyr Gibbs has recorded 38 touchdowns from scrimmage over the last two seasons. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
McKenna: It’s fun to imagine what will happen in 2026 with Gibbs taking over the backfield as the Lions’ bellcow back. In a timeshare last year, he had 1,223 rushing yards, 616 receiving yards and 18 total touchdowns. That was in a timeshare. What happens when he’s the guy?!
Gibbs has never needed much in the way of touches to make a huge impact on each game. But as the Lions hope to return to the playoffs, it actually probably reassures Detroit fans that Gibbs will be a bigger part of the offense. Because when he gets the ball, magic happens. He’s as explosive in the rushing game as he is in the passing game. There’s no good way to stop him, and when the blocking is good, there really isn’t a way to stop him.
Bijan Robinson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage this past season and has finished top-10 in the stat in each of his first three seasons. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Auman: How quietly great was Robinson’s 2025 season? He led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage, while still giving up some red-zone and late-game carries to Tyler Allgeier. There have been 26 seasons in NFL history with 2,200-plus yards from scrimmage, but only two had fewer touches than Robinson last year — Marshall Faulk in 1999 and O.J. Simpson in 1975.
Does Robinson take on a larger share with Allgeier gone and unsure play at quarterback? The NFL record for yards from scrimmage is 2,509, which came from Chris Johnson in 2009, and it feels like it’s within reach.
As a counterpoint, the Falcons just invested $67 million in Robinson through the 2030 season, so they might want to keep an eye on his mileage so he still has something left in a few years. Atlanta would have to win many more games for him to have serious MVP consideration, and they might not be quite there yet.
