This year’s running back class is a lot like the 2019 class, down to a very good Iowa State Cyclone. It is not the best class we’ve ever seen, I don’t see one of these players becoming the next Jonathan Taylor, but there can certainly be some solid contributors at the next level. Here are the ten best running backs in the 2022 NFL Draft.

1. Breece Hall, Iowa State

Breece Hall is the best overall running back in this class. It is extremely hard to find any real glaring holes in his game. For such a bigger back, he has a great amount of finesse to his game. His footwork is everything you’d hope for. He just has this patience behind the line that I love, and it’s pretty similar to Leveon Bell. He tested otherworldly at the combine, and I think trusting that athleticism will help him take his game to the next level.

There are times when he is a bit too tentative and patient in the backfield. The opportunity for a big gain is there, but instead, he chooses the safer route and gets a solid gain. He has the speed to burst past defenders at the line of scrimmage, as well as the size to break arm tackles. Once he starts really utilizing his athleticism he can be a 1,000-yard rusher.

2. James Cook, Georgia

The Georgia senior is one who I firmly believe will have a better pro career than he did at Georgia. He’s a top 50 player on my board, and I’m firmly willing to plant my flag in his camp. He wasn’t utilized as the true #1 back for the Bulldogs, sharing snaps with fellow list mate Zamir White, but when his number was called he delivered. He’s a big play waiting to happen and is by far the best receiving back in the draft. While other running backs are limited to dump-offs to the flats, Cook is a legitimate route runner. He will be a dangerous versatile weapon.

3. Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State

As a pure rusher, Walker is the best in the class. Just watch the Spartans barnburner against rivals Michigan for a clinic on how to effectively run the ball. When I say about Hall trusting his athleticism more, Walker is the perfect example of how to do it. He trusts his 4.38 speed and hits the hole violently. Not to say that he isn’t patient when he needs to be, but when there’s an opening Walker seizes it. The only thing really holding the 2021 Doak Walker award winner is his lack of impact on third downs. He has not shown much in three years as a receiver and there are definitely better pass blockers in the class. While a fantastic runner, he might have to serve as the punch in a 1-2 combo next to a receiving back.

4. Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M

What a weird evaluation Isaiah Spiller is. There are a lot of boxes he checks off. He’s given the Aggies three good years as a starter, including some solid receiving numbers. His film is really good, a mix of smart power running and crazy agility. He is an absolute ankle snatcher in the open field, difficult for defenders to get hands-on despite weighing in at nearly 220 pounds. The problem is he’s not fast… like at all. This isn’t just because he ran a 4.64, he is not a burner on film at all. He’s agile, but the lack of speed is completely a concern. I think he has starter potential, but the upside is limited.

5. Rachaad White, Arizona State

When Rachaad White was given the keys to the offense, he did special things. Despite sharing the offense with two other rushing threats, White made a mark in his senior season at Arizona State. It’s strange to watch… White will appear to be lightly jogging while rushing by defenders. He’s just such a natural athlete that it all seems so effortless. He is a natural receiver, slippery in the open field after the catch. White and Cook are the rare few backs who can actually run legitimate routes in this class. He has star potential and should be a coveted back on day three.

6. Brian Robinson Jr, Alabama

Brian Robinson was at Alabama seemingly forever. Behind first-round pick Najee Harris, Robinson easily could have transferred away. Instead, he stuck it out and was great when given his chance. For such a big back, his feet absolutely floored me. He isn’t just some battering ram out of the backfield. He’s absolutely to set up running lanes extremely well. He’s a wizard at navigating around the line of scrimmage, qualities that Harris also showed with the Crimson Tide. He has sufficient speed for his size, and while he probably won’t rip off too many 50+ yard runs, he has enough burst to not be stopped at the line of scrimmage. He showed some chops as a receiver at Alabama, but I wouldn’t necessarily call him dynamic in that area. He is one of the best rushers in this class and will be a menace on early downs and in the redzone.

7. Zamir White, Georgia

 A lot of people were shocked when White ran a 4.40 at the combine… and I’m really not sure why. I know he’s had two ACL tears, but that has not diminished his athleticism one bit. He still has plenty of juice and hits the hole violently. He is one of the better runners in between the tackles, setting defenders up well and breaking through contact. During his time as a Bulldog, he hasn’t been much of a receiver and has never truly handled a full workload. Part of this is because of Georgia’s heavy rotation of running backs, part of this has been his inconsistent health. If he stays healthy he can be the power in a 1-2 punch.

8. Dameon Pierce, Florida

One of the biggest injustices of the Dan Mullen era of Florida football was the misuse of Dameon Pierce. Only reaching 119 touches his senior season, Pierce still managed to find the endzone 16 times! He was money every time they called his name… but sadly they rarely did that. Watch him dive into three Florida State defenders at the goal line without his helmet and try not to fall in love with his game. He’s very good in the 15-20 yard range, deploying great vision and feisty running style. He wasn’t featured much as a receiver but shows potential. The biggest knock on Pierce is his middling athleticism. He should be a good backup though.

9. Pierre Strong Jr, South Dakota State

If Pierre Strong can improve his contact balance, he could possibly be a top-three back in the class. He is just so. dang. fast. He is the best mover of the running backs in this class, balancing smooth agility with blinding speed. He is a threat to score with any touch, whether that be as a rusher or a receiver. He was extremely impressive at the FCS level and then had one of the best offseasons of any prospect. He’s just small and plays like it. He does not break many tackles, and most likely won’t at the next level. His athleticism and receiving ability should make him a good change of pace back.

10. Kyren Williams, Notre Dame

The predraft process has not been kind to Kyren Williams one bit. A player who was in some analyst's top three entering the draft process… that ranking pretty much tanked with his testing. While testing isn’t everything, middling athletes have made it in the league, he put up some bad numbers. He’s undersized and ran one of the worst 40 times in the running back class. Do not just throw Kyren Williams away as a bad player though. He’s probably not athletic enough to be a full-time starter, but his closest Relative Athletic Score comp is former Fightin Irish and Detroit Lions Back Theo Riddick. That is a role I 100% think he can achieve in the league. He is a really good receiving back and packs a punch as a blocker.

Writer

-By: Jacob Keppen

Running back is one of the most interesting positions in this year's draft. There have been a ton of players rising and falling throughout the year. There is a lot of talent this year, with three players I see as potential feature backs at the next level, and a few more backs that can be extremely valuable additions to any team's offense. I’m not sure if it’s as good as last year’s class as a whole, but it’s pretty close with a lot of value on days two and three.

Here are my top 10 running backs in the 2021 NFL draft class.

Just Missed The Cut: Jermar Jefferson, Oregon State. Javian Hawkins, Louisville. Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech.

1. Najee Harris, Alabama

Najee Harris is just an incredible running back prospect. The only knock that I can find on him is that he doesn’t have the best long speed. He isn’t going to light the world on fire at the 40-yard dash, but it’s ok. Harris is so big and he runs with great violence. He slashes through holes, leaving a trail of devastated would-be tacklers in his wake. He hits the hole in a hurry and with great power. He almost always falls forward. Alongside the power and the burst, Harris has a ton of finesse to his game. He has superb feet and vision, almost like former Alabama running back Derrick Henry. 

What’s most impressive about Harris though, is that at 6’2 230 he’s one of the best receiving backs in the class. Over four years in college, he had 80 catches for 781 yards and 11 touchdowns. This past season, Harris had 43 catches for 425 yards and four touchdowns. He is a natural hands catcher that can challenge DBs in the air. He’s a true three-down threat and should eventually become one of the best backs in the NFL.

2. Travis Etienne, Clemson

There are no good tackling angles when facing Travis Etienne. Routine stops against a normal running back, turn into 60-yard touchdowns with Etienne. Travis Etienne has game-breaking explosiveness and is a home run threat every time he touches the ball. It’s truly special how quickly he can go 0 to 100. For being such an explosive threat, he doesn’t play too off-script either. He isn’t going to dance too much in the backfield or look to bounce everything outside. He can be patient and wait for holes to form, then it’s off to the races. He isn’t necessarily a power back, but can easily break tackles. He has some of the best contact balance that you will see. 

With how athletic he is though I wish he was a tad bit more agile and elusive, and while he’s continued to grow as a receiver there’s still a ways to go. Despite that, he’s going to be a dangerous threat when he reaches the league.

3. Javonte Williams, North Carolina

Javonte Williams is extremely hard to tackle, with insane physicality and balance. Williams is a bully, leaving a trail of defensive players without their lunch money all the way to the end zone. He almost always breaks the first tackle, and he’s a great bet to break the second and third ones as well. He has good patience and vision too, and his burst is pretty solid as well. Williams will be able to stay on the field on 3rd downs, simply because he blocks like a 6th lineman.

He’s not a bad athlete, but I wouldn’t put him on the level of some other guys in this class. That might hamper his stock a bit, where teams might prefer other speedier backs. He reminds me a lot of Nick Chubb coming out of Georgia. He might not straight up outrun the defender, but he will run over that defender.

4. Kenneth Gainwell, Memphis

I really like Memphis running backs. Darrell Henderson was in my top 3 in 2019. Antonio Gibson was tied with Cam Akers as my RB5 last year. I really like Kenneth Gainwell this year. I really like his potential as a receiver at the next level. Not only was he a threat out of the backfield, but he also did damage last year for Memphis out of the slot. He might be the overall best pass-catcher out of all the running backs this year. He has really good athleticism and elusiveness and has a surprising amount of pop. What I’m most interested to see with Gainwell is how well he’ll do after not playing football last year. It’s the interesting aspect with all of these players that opted out.

Overall Gainwell reminds me a ton of Austin Ekeler. His floor is a really good 3rd down back that can make magic happen when his number is called, but don’t be surprised that if given a chance Kenneth Gainwell does extremely well.

5. Michael Carter, North Carolina

Michael Carter is one of the most fun backs to watch. He’s a homerun threat every time he touches the ball. He has great athleticism and some astonishing elusiveness. His ability to set defenders up and make them miss is second to none. The first tackler almost never gets hands-on Carter. He has good vision, able to find holes, and makes the defender miss at the next level. He has shown to be a good receiver in college, with over 20 catches in each of the past three years. I think he’ll see an even more increased role in the passing game at the next level.

Carter is a bit smaller at 5’8, and won’t break a ton of tackles. His game relies more on his athleticism and making guys miss, rather than contact balance and breaking tackles. Better watch your ankles when facing Carter! He may not be a workhorse back, but I could see Carter making the most out of his weekly 15 carries and doing damage in the receiving game.

6. Trey Sermon, Ohio State

Trey Sermon was someone I was extremely interested to watch this year at Ohio State. He impressed me at Oklahoma and impressed me even more at Ohio State. Over his last three games of the season, he was as good as any running back. He isn’t a big back that you just use as a battering ram. He has good patience, vision, and has crazy flexibility and agility for someone that’s 6’1 215. He has really good strength and contact balance, able to break a tackler after making the initial man miss (and vice versa). He doesn’t have the best overall speed and probably isn’t going to be the best receiving back out there, but I absolutely love his running style. It reminds me of Kareem Hunt a bit. I think he can do the less glamorous dirty work as part of a team’s 1-2 punch.

7. Jaret Patterson, Buffalo

Jaret Patterson had one of the best seasons in college football that nobody heard of. Patterson finished top 3 in rushing touchdowns and finished with over 1,000 yards… despite only playing six games. Patterson had over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns against Bowling Green, and over 400 yards and 8 touchdowns against Kent State. Of course, it is not all about stats with Patterson. Patterson has really good vision and is extremely good at navigating through space. He has a good burst and some surprising contact balance despite being slightly undersized, which allows him to pinballs off of defenders. 

Patterson hasn’t done much yet as a receiver, mostly because he ran the ball so much, but he showed promise catching the ball. Where Patterson comes short is some of his physical attributes. He isn’t the biggest, and might not have the best long speed. He might not be the workhorse back he was at Buffalo, but I think he can be very good either splitting carries or in a committee.

8. Rhamondre Stevenson, Oklahoma

Rhamondre Stevenson turned heads with a bowl performance for the books against Florida. He had 186 yards and a touchdown against the Gators to help the Sooners win the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. I didn’t know a ton about Stevenson before that game, but afterward, I wish I did. Stevenson is one of the most underrated backs in the 2021 class. Stevenson’s a big back that plays big. He is a nightmare to try and wrap up. He was listed at 246 throughout the season and participated at the Senior Bowl at 227. He has scary size and great nimble feet to boot. He isn’t going to be the fastest back but has surprising athleticism for his size. He can be great in an early-down power back role for a team.

9. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State

Chuba Hubbard may not have looked like the same back this year as he did in 2019, where he was one of the most productive backs in all of college football. His yards were down, his touchdowns were down, and now consensus opinion on Hubbard is down. Potentially a top 5 running back in a stacked 2019 class, Hubbard now finds himself 9th in 2020. I still do like what Hubbard does well. He still is one of the best athletes this year. He has great burst and if he finds an opening it’s hard to catch him. He still has great potential as a pure rusher.

There are legitimate concerns with Hubbard though. He doesn’t add really anything on passing downs, not improving this season as a pass-catcher nor as a pass blocker. There are times he’ll try to pass block, but other times he looks simply disinterested. This might in itself limits how much time he spends on the field. Hubbard to me is inconsistent but intrigues me if I’m a team that has a good pass-catching back and wants just a pure rusher on day three.

10. Demetric Felton, UCLA

Demetric Felton out of UCLA most likely won’t be a feature workhorse back in the NFL. I would be very shocked to see him toting the rock 15-20 times a game. I think Demetric Felton has a lot of potential as a versatile weapon on offense. He was a receiver his first three years at UCLA, transitioning more to a running back this year. He’s very athletic and does well on outside runs. As a smaller back, he can’t be relied on to consistently win in between the tackles.

He is a very good pass-catcher out of the backfield and works very well out of the slot. He isn’t just a threat in the screen game, he showed at the Senior Bowl the ability to run legitimate routes. Felton’s role in the NFL looks to be someone that can make the most out of his 5-10 touches out of the backfield, whether it's in the run game or in the passing game. Look for Felton to split time out of the slot and out of the backfield. He’s a true weapon that can be a good complementary piece.

Writer

-By: Jacob Keppen

With the 2020 NFL regular season and postseason fully in the rearview mirror, now is a great time to complete the tall task of ranking the top 10 at every single position. We continue with running backs.

*These rankings are based on the 2020 season ONLY -- including postseason

Honorable Mention: Antonio Gibson, Washington Football Team

Part of an impressive 2020 draft class for the WFT, Gibson showed enough before the season to make future Hall-of-Famer Adrian Peterson expendable. Although he had a slow start where he crossed the 50-yard threshold just once in his first six games, Gibson exploded against the Cowboys and never looked back. From that point on, the only game where he was held under sixty yards was in Washington’s Monday night win over the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. He finished the season with 795 yards on 4.7 YPC.

10. Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles

Despite being criminally underused, Sanders still managed to be a bright spot for a lethargic Eagles offense. 7th in the league in YPC, the sophomore running back nearly hit 900 yards in just 12 games, despite being 18th in attempts per game. Even with his receiving numbers plummeting, Sanders still flexed his big-play ability, recording three different rushes of over 70 yards in 2020.

9. Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns

The Browns’ return to the playoffs was aided largely by Hunt’s unselfishness in the offseason. With a chance to go and become a starter elsewhere, he settled for a two-year deal to remain the Robin to Nich Chubb’s Batman (we’ll talk more about him in a bit) in the Browns monster backfield. He was rewarded with 236 touches, racking up 1145 yards and 11 total touchdowns. 

8. David Montgomery, Chicago Bears

Montgomery struggled early on, playing behind what is arguably the league’s worst offensive line. His breakthrough came when the Bears finally realized that the abysmal QB duo of Trubisky-Foles wasn’t taking them anywhere. Over the second half of the season, Montgomery saw his YPC jump a full yard when the Bears began to lean on him. He recorded four games of over 95 rushing yards and was the main reason Mitchell Trubisky was able to play efficient, winning football, just enough to guide Chicago into the postseason.

7. James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars spent 2020 fully committed to tanking for a high draft pick, but clearly, Robinson didn’t get the memo. The undrafted rookie tied for fifth in the NFL in rushing yards and added 50 grabs for 344 yards. After going under-the-radar during his first season, Robinson has a chance to leap to stardom, alongside “potential” future teammate Trevor Lawrence.

6. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Robinson’s great year still wasn’t enough to make him the best rookie running back, though. That honor goes to Indy’s Jonathan Taylor. Thrown into the fire early because of an injury to Marlon Mack, Taylor flashed early, rushing for over 100 yards in his very first game. His best came at great times too, as Taylor first broke the 150-yard mark to put the Raiders playoff hopes on life support in Week 14. Three weeks later, Taylor ran for 253 yards (2nd all-time by a rookie, 9th all-time by anyone) to punch the Colts’ ticket to the postseason against the Jaguars.

5. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers

Jones continues to get better every single year. While watching his fellow Aaron [Rodgers] throw his way to MVP honors, Jones rushed for a career-best 1104 yards to go along with the 355 he put through the air. He was also third among RBs in YPC with 5.5, remaining in-line with his career average of 5.2. That mark puts him second all-time among RBs with 650+ career totes. His best performance came in Week 2 against Detroit, when he had 236 total yards from scrimmage and three trips to the end zone.

4. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns

After being labeled the best runner in the NFL by PFF, Chubb made sure to help them back up their claim. In only 12 games (missed four due to an MCL injury in week 4 vs Dallas), Chubb ran for 1,067 yards while sharing carries with the talented Kareem Hunt. Chubb was also second among all backs in YPC with a stellar mark of 5.6. After returning from injury, he averaged 91.5 yards per game and had four 100-yard outings.

3. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

Kamara was actually in serious MVP talks before a midseason slump put that discussion to bed. For the third time in his career, he broke 700 yards in both rushing and receiving, this year putting up a career-high 83 receptions. He also recorded career-bests in rushing yards and both receiving & rushing touchdowns. Speaking of touchdowns, he was also the first player in the entire NFL with a whopping 21 of them, the most by any skills player since 2007.

2. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings

It took Cook just 14 games to rack up over 1,900 total yards and 17 total touchdowns. He was second in the league in rushing yards per game and there was an over twenty-yard gap between him and the third-place finisher. Cook had eight games over 100 yards, three games over 150, and one over 200. He never fell under 50 yards in a game, either. If he had played 16 games at this absurd pace, he would’ve finished with 1,779 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

1. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

After a historic 2019 playoff run, nobody thought Derrick Henry would get even better. This year:

- first in rushing yards (2,027, 5th all-time)

- first in rushing yards per game (126.7,15.5 more than second place)

- first in rushing touchdowns (17)

- fourth among RBs in YPC (5.4 despite being first in carries)

- 10 games with 100+ rushing yards

- 4 games with 150+ rushing yards

- 3 games with 200+ rushing yards

- 1 game with 250+ rushing yards

In the last week of the season, he needed 223 yards to get to 2,000… he got 250. That’s why he won Offensive Player of the Year.

*All statistics are taken from Pro Football Reference

Writer

-By: Micah Jimoh