Running backs can turn a play from nothing into something in no time. They're explosive, agile, smart, patient, and, above all, absolutely lethal. Anno 2026, running backs have become more dispensible with the league having evolved tremendously since the olden days, but that doesn't rule them redundant in the slightest.
The best running backs are a combination of all qualities mentioned above. Think of Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Eric Dickerson, Walter Payton, Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson... They come in all shapes and sizes, with all kinds of different skillsets, but the potential to be legendary is endless with some guys.
These are the guys you turn your TV on for, who can change the game, and who can truly shock and amaze you. With the 2026 NFL season finally underway, Flashscore take a look at the 10 best running backs in the NFL today.
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10: Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams)
Kicking off the list is the Los Angeles Rams' trusted running back Kyren Williams. The former Notre Dame star suffered a nightmare coming out of college as he tore his Achilles in preseason, but rebounded spectacularly with three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in which he scored 44 touchdowns from scrimmage, ranking him third among all players during that timespan.
Williams is not much of a receiving back, but is a tough runner with good vision. The St. Louis native consistently averages at least 90 scrimmage yards per game, with his career high set at 112.5, and is now complemented with a very capable RB2 in Blake Corum.
9: Josh Jacobs (Green Bay Packers)
Up next is a former rushing champion: Josh Jacobs, who has played his football in Green Bay since 2024. The former Raider has been nothing short of spectacular since being drafted 24th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, amassing 7,803 rushing yards, 1,448 receiving yards and 76 touchdowns from scrimmage in seven seasons.
Jacobs entered the 2026 season with a massive question mark after being charged with misdemeanour battery and misdemeanour criminal damage to property. The running back was placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List and will not be back in action until further notice, depending on whether the NFL suspends him or, worse, he gets jail time.
8: De'Von Achane (Miami Dolphins)
After the Dolphins traded for Tyreek Hill in 2022, there was a voice in the back of their heads telling them that the only thing better than having one speed demon on your team is having two speed demons. Enter De'Von Achane from Texas A&M.
Achane led all running backs in the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine with a 4.32s and showcased his blazing speed with his very first touches - after staying inactive in Week 1 of the 2023 season and getting just one carry in Week 2, Achane went off for 203 rushing yards against the Denver Broncos and went for 100+ in the next two weeks.
Since then, the 2023 84th overall pick has absolutely taken over as the bell cow back of the Miami Dolphins, having racked up 3,057 rushing yards, 1,277 receiving yards, and 35 total touchdowns.
7: Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles)
The New York Giants took a gamble in 2018 when they drafted Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick, making him the first running back drafted that highly since Reggie Bush in 2006. Running backs aren't usually drafted that early, but there's a reason this isn't being talked about anymore.
Barkley has proven to be the real deal. The Bronx native went off for 2,028 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns in his rookie season, earning him the Offensive Rookie of the Year title. A torn ACL in 2020 hampered his development, but Barkley bounced back in mighty fashion, going for 1,650 scrimmage yards in 2022.
Barkley hit his absolute peak in 2024, his first season as a Philadelphia Eagle, becoming just the ninth member of the 2,000-yard club by amassing 2,005 rushing yards on 345 attempts. With 125.3 yards per game, 2,283 scrimmage yards and 15 total touchdowns, Barkley finished third in MVP voting as the Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl, and who could ever forget that backwards hurdle?
His impressive career includes 8,356 rushing yards, 2,651 receiving yards, and 71 total touchdowns.
6: James Cook (Buffalo Bills)
He's often hailed as a great complement to superstar QB Josh Allen, but James Cook is a bona fide star in his own right by now. Cook was eased into action as a rookie, but started to go off in 2023 when he was named a Pro Bowler after a season with nearly 1,600 scrimmage yards and took another step up in 2024 by scoring 18 total touchdowns.
We saw the real James Cook in 2025, however, as he went off for a league-leading 1,621 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns and was named a Second-Team All-Pro. Cook is guaranteed to go for around 5 yards per carry, and as the RB1 in one of the league's most lethal offenses, he'll only get better.
5: Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts)
Jonathan Taylor's NFL career has been fantastic from the very start. A second-round pick out of Wisconsin, Taylor had one of the best sophomore seasons ever by going for 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns, leading the league in both categories, as well as first downs (107), the longest rush (83 yards), and yards per game (106.5)
Injuries derailed his next two seasons, but as soon as he got back into rhythm, there was no stopping him once again as he went for 3,000+ total rushing yards in 2024 and 2025, while leading the league in touchdowns once again in 2025 with 18. Taylor comfortably led the league in broken tackles with 27 and was even dubbed one of the leading MVP candidates at the midseason mark.
Across his 6 full NFL seasons, Taylor has rushed for 7,598 yards and 69 touchdowns, while also notching 1,469 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns.
4: Derrick Henry (Baltimore Ravens)
For years, we've called him 'the King', and for very, very good reason, because Derrick Henry is just that special.
At 6'3 and 252lbs, Derrick Henry stands formidably tall, while also possessing top-tier speed. All these ingredients make a dominant force of a running back, and that's exactly what 'King Henry' has become. There is no active running back with more rushing yards (13,162) or rushing touchdowns (125), which is no surprise after going for 2,027 yards in 2020 and 1,921 in his first season as a Baltimore Raven in 2024.
Known for stiff-arming defenders into oblivion, Henry is racing up the all-time lists, too, with the former Alabama Sooner ranking 10th in all-time rushing yards at the time of writing, third in touchdowns, and is looking to make a run at all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith, who thinks Henry can overtake him: "Oh yeah, I think it's possible. Derrick Henry is a bigger back. He takes great care of his body. He's in great shape. Derrick Henry broke my (Florida) state high school record. So I believe he could do it again," he told DraftKings.
3: Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers)
A true do-it-all back, Christian McCaffrey has had some of the most spectacular seasons ever for a running back. The Stanford graduate wowed as soon as he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers, but really turned heads when he went for 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in 2019, ending with 1,387 rushing yards, 1,005 receiving yards, and 19 touchdowns from scrimmage, establishing himself as a truly elite dual-threat running back.
McCaffrey has since been rather plagued by injuries, but that didn't stop him from producing another all-timer of a season in 2023, goign for 1,459 rushing yards and 564 receiving yards, while almost going for 1,000/1,000 again in 2025, after an offseason riddled with uncertainty. 1,202 rushing yards, 924 receiving yards and 17 total touchdowns, of course that earned him First-Team All-Pro honours, while also being named Comeback Player of the Year.
McCaffrey is on a legendary trajectory with 7,589 rushing yards and 5,390 receiving yards as he enters Year 10.
2: Jahmyr Gibbs (Detroit Lions)
When the Detroit Lions drafted the electric Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in 2023, people questioned why. With bigger gaps to fill, why would the Lions add another running back?
It soon became apparent why. Gibbs was an absolute speed monster and went for over 1,000 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie. The former Alabama Sooner formed a formidable duo with David Montgomery over the past years, with the two Lions being dubbed Sonic and Knuckles, with Gibbs providing the lethal speed and Montgomery the wrecking ball type power.
After three consecutive Pro Bowl seasons to start his career, Sonic was given the reins of the Detroit Lions as true RB1. This followed years with 1,929 and 1,839 scrimmage yards, as well as 20 and 18 total touchdowns. Gibbs is a total game changer and the total package in a juggernaut Lions offense.
1: Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons)
Bijan Robinson promised to be a league wrecker when he was drafted eighth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. An electric runner with top tier receiving qualities, elite body control and blazing speed? What's not to love?
Robinson had somewhat of a rough start in Atlanta, where head coach Arthur Smith split reps between him and Tyler Allgeier, but that all changed in 2024. Under Raheem Morris, Robinson went off for 1,456 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, while his 2025 season was historically good: 1,478 rushing yards, 820 receiving yards, making for 2,298 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns.
The First-Team All-Pro is everything he promised to be, having become a truly elite player in the NFL as he enters his age-24 season. There is so much more to come from him.