It’s time for part four of my summer scouting positional previews for the 2026 NFL Draft! Last week, I wrote about my top five quarterbacks, and we’re sticking on the offensive side of the ball. Today, I’ll be discussing my top five running back rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft!
The 2025 NFL Draft was an excellent class for running backs, as Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, RJ Harvey, and Kaleb Johnson, among others, should see big workloads this upcoming season. Running back is as random of a position as there is with under-the-radar guys popping at the next level every season.
So far, this 2026 class is extremely encouraging and it’ll be fun to see how the class as a whole continues to grow. With that, let’s get started!
Rankings
1. Jeremiyah Love - Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love is my early RB1. Love, as a true sophomore for the Fighting Irish, had a breakout campaign in 2024 and is expected to be the best back in college football in 2025.
Love is a very bursty athlete. He has that second gear to really pull away from second-level defenders and accelerates in a hurry. Combine that with his lightning-quick feet and it’s very hard for defenders to corral him.
While he is an elite athlete on the ground, he may be an even better athlete in the air. He’s the only player in this group that I saw attempt a hurdle, and Love cleared defenders with ease.
Perhaps the best part of Love’s game is his shiftiness. His ability to make cuts in mere milliseconds and not lose any steam is eye-popping.
Love does miss some holes, but overall he has really good vision. He’s really smart at reading block leverage and determining when to make his cuts, which also highlights his patience as a runner.
He’s no slouch as a receiver either. He has very smooth hands and is a really good route runner. Sometimes Notre Dame would even stick him in the slot and have him run a combination of routes in the red zone.
I think his technique as a pass blocker could use a little refinement, but he’s ahead of schedule in that department relative to most college runningbacks. He doesn’t shy away from contact in this phase and kept former Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard clean.
Love is an excellent prospect and is very close to a blue-chip grade for me. He should lead Notre Dame to another successful season and hopefully stay fully healthy after injuring his knee late last season and a spring hamstring injury.
2. Nick Singleton - Penn State
Nick Singleton of the Penn State Nittany Lions is my early RB2. Singleton could have declared in this past class and have been picked relatively high, but he opted to return to school for his senior season and have one last shot at a national title.
The first thing that jumps out on Singleton’s tape is how awesome of a pass protector he is. He absolutely rocks in this phase, both mentally and physically, and completely stonewalls blitzing linebackers, safeties, and cornerbacks.
This gives him a nice floor as a true three-down back, and he has receiving upside. Singleton does have the occasional drop, but his hands are mostly reliable. He’s also a good route runner who also lined up in the slot occasionally just as Love was.
There’s something in the water in that Penn State running back room. Every player that comes out of that room is a weight room maniac, and Singleton is no exception. He is very strong at his size and uses that to his advantage.
I’d consider Singleton to be more of a physical runner than a shifty runner. He has quick feet and can make cuts, but he’s not as nimble as someone like Love. He does have really good top speed and has a mean stiff arm.
Lastly, he has plus vision. Vision is what I tend to value most in running backs, and Singleton does an admirable job at consistently hitting the right hole.
Singleton has a borderline first-round grade for me and has the floor and ceiling a franchise would be looking for if they’re drafting a running back early. Penn State’s excellent tandem of him and Kaytron Allen should be the best running back duo in America in 2025.
3. Quintrevion “Tre” Wisner - Texas
Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion “Tre” Wisner comes in as my RB3. As part of a loaded backfield in Austin, TX in 2024, Wisner rose to the top and became the Longhorns’ true bell-cow as the season wore on.
Wisner’s smoothness as a runner is what stood out the most on tape. He has really good vision and just moves well laterally. I wouldn’t necessarily consider him a bursty lateral athlete, but he doesn’t lose speed when changing directions and has an effective jump cut.
I don’t think he’s an insane athlete, but he is a really quick accelerator and has more than enough juice at top speed. He also doesn’t accelerate too quickly behind the line of scrimmage. Wisner paced his runs well, allowing the blocking scheme to develop.
I think Wisner’s profile as a receiver is interesting. He caught the most passes of any of Texas’s running backs last year, but new Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue ran more of the actual routes out of the backfield last season for the Longhorns. Wisner is a hands catcher though and I think he can develop into a solid route runner.
Wisner is also a good pass-blocker. His vision as a runner translates to his pass blocking where he’s able to identify pressure packages quickly and effectively.
He didn’t show much power on tape, but I thought he had pretty good contact balance overall. He’s not the biggest back, but he was able to shake off arm tackles.
Consensus is extremely murky in the summer portion of the scouting process, but I haven’t seen Wisner’s name be brought up much. After reviewing his tape, he should absolutely be in the conversation near the top of this running back class.
4. Darius Taylor - Minnesota
Darius Taylor of the Minnesota Golden Gophers is my early RB4. Taylor has had two productive seasons after redshirting his freshman year at Minnesota, and he looks to continue to build on that in 2025.
Taylor is another good all-around running back. He is a really good route runner when Minnesota allowed him to run a more advanced running back route tree and is a productive pass catcher with smooth hands.
As a runner, he has a nice combination of power and finesse to his game. One snap he’ll run right through your face and the next he’ll juke right by you.
Taylor isn’t a burner, but he has good top-end speed. He accelerates quickly and is very shifty with his quick feet.
I think his vision can be streaky, but his vision is mostly good. He has an excellent feel for cutback lanes on the backside of runs that he consistently turns into explosive runs.
Taylor was a guy that was on my radar but I didn’t expect to have him in my top five. His versatility really sold me and solidified his position in my top five.
5. Makhi Hughes - Oregon
Former Tulane Green Wave and new Oregon Ducks runningback Mahki Hughes rounds out this list as my RB5. Hughes was insanely productive in 2024 for Tulane and was the seventh-ranked running back in the transfer portal per 247Sports. He would later commit to Dan Lanning’s Oregon program and should be the Ducks’ lead back.
Hughes was an impressive player on tape with his athleticism sticking out the most. His combination of top-end speed, acceleration, and quick feet created chunk plays for the Green Wave all season long.
I thought he was also the second-best pass protector in this group, behind Singleton. Hughes’s combination of awareness and physicality in this area is exceptional.
I do think the vision gets spotty at times. Part of that could be that Tulane’s offensive line looked just adequate on tape, but I thought there were a decent amount of lapses in this phase for Hughes. Still, he showed some good moments, so hopefully, that can improve at Oregon.
Hughes could also improve as a receiver. Tulane didn’t run many routes with him other than check-downs, but he’s more of a body catcher than a hands catcher. It’s a subtle critique, but is an area to improve.
While Hughes has some things to clean up, his floor as a great athlete and great pass protector was more than enough to vault him into my top five running backs. Hopefully, he’s able to continue to succeed with a jump in competition.
Honorable Mentions
Now that we’ve covered my top five, here are some other backs to keep an eye on in 2025 that missed the cut.
Desmond Reid - Pittsburgh
Kaytron Allen - Penn State
Jaydn Ott - Transferred from Cal to Oklahoma
Le’Veon Moss - Texas A&M
Kaden Feagin - Illinois
Final Thoughts
Overall, I like this running back class a good bit. Through scouting four position groups, all five of my top five running backs are in my top sixteen players on my big board, so this is a really talented group.
Runningback, as previously mentioned, is a very random position, so this board could change in a variety of ways. However, in the summer scouting period, I’m confident in my 2026 top-five running back rankings.