It’s officially August! I’m so happy to have football back, even if it’s just training camp and the pre-season. Even though redraft is the main focus right now, dynasty is my favorite way to play fantasy football.
Today, we’re going to dive into my top 24 running back rankings and tiers for the FTR website. On top of that, we’re going to dive into the best running back value when cross referencing these rankings with KeepTradeCut. To create my rankings, I use advanced premium stats from Fantasy Data, PFF, TeamRankings, sports books, film from All-22, and many other sources.
Tier 1
1. Bijan Robinson
2. Jahmyr Gibbs
3. Breece Hall
Tier 2
4. Christian McCaffrey
5. Jonathan Taylor
Tier 3
6. Travis Etienne
7. De'Von Achane
8. Saquon Barkley
9. Kyren Williams
Tier 4
10. Jonathon Brooks
11. Rachaad White
12. Isiah Pacheco
13. James Cook
14. Rhamondre Stevenson
Tier 5
15. Kenneth Walker
16. Josh Jacobs
17. Trey Benson
Tier 6
18. D'Andre Swift
19. Derrick Henry
20. Joe Mixon
21. Javonte Williams
22. Alvin Kamara
23. Tony Pollard
24. Tyjae Spears
Best Running Back Value
Tony Pollard
FTR Rank 23 Vs KTC Rank 30
After finishing up my rankings and heading over to KTC, I was shocked to see Tony Pollard this low. Now, I’m not claiming he’s an elite back, but he’s the perfect low-end RB2 with upside to have on your roster. There is a 0% chance I would take Najee Harris (KTC RB24) over Pollard in dynasty or even redraft.
When we get near the end of tier six, I’m fine taking an “older” back because it’s so hard to project out long-term running back value. You should be playing in 1-2 year windows for running backs almost all the time. At 27 years old, Pollard should give you at least another two years of solid production.
I’m super high on Pollard, especially for 2024, as he’s my 71st-ranked overall player. For whatever reason, people forget that Pollard had his best season (15.6 PPG) playing alongside Ezekiel Elliott. Pollard wins off his efficiency, not volume. That’s exactly why, in 2023, he only had 13.1 PPG in what seemed like a great situation.
Now, Pollard heads into a backfield, where he’ll be running alongside Tyjae Spears. Obviously, this Titans offense is much worse, but the overall principle is still the same. Keep in mind that Pollard is also under contract through 2026 and was given 10.49 million dollars in guaranteed money. Both these aspects are very hard to come by for a running back.