Field Yates’ RB Targets You Need to Know 🚨 Gibbs, Henry & More | Fantasy Focus

AJ Brown cracked tier two in wide receiver rankings; he has more upside than Rashi Rice but Rice is the better bet for 100 catches this year. Brown is ranked 10th and is a fantastic shot if you want to mitigate all risk as much as possible.

Apple Pay. Apply is invested in Ashton Jeanty as an RB1 but not as high as others; concerned the offense isn't fully solved and skeptical of 90% snap share projections, believing 70% snap share may still be optimistic given Clint Kubiak's track record of not committing to high-volume backs.

Bijan Robinson received 47% of listener poll votes in a head-to-head comparison with Jameer Gibbs, reflecting the extremely tight consensus between these two elite running back prospects; the near-even split demonstrates the difficulty in separating them at the top tier.

Bijan Robinson received 47% of listener poll votes in a head-to-head comparison with Jameer Gibbs for RB2 consideration when Walker is off the board, showing competitive support.

Projected under 7.5 rushing touchdowns despite expectations for a bump this season; has only 91 red zone touches in his four-year career compared to Christian McCaffrey's 91 in a single season, illustrating the gap in offensive opportunity and efficiency between the two players.

Breece Hall is projected to score under 7.5 rushing touchdowns this season; Apple Pay. Apply is betting under on this prop.

Cam Akers is ranked as RB19 in tier four (darn good RB2s), positioned alongside other mid-tier running back options in the tier-four tier.

Field Yates ranks Chase Brown as RB8 in his tier-two grouping of "Rockstar RB ones" deserving first-round or near-first-round consideration. Yates notes Brown is also extension-eligible, similar to Jonathan Taylor.

Ranked RB8 for 2025 after strong late-season performance in 2024. From week 8 onward, Brown posted consecutive finishes of RB5, RB6, RB12, RB13, RB10, RB6, RB13, RB1, RB3, and RB7 with no game under 15 fantasy points or lower than RB13. Averaged 21.2 fantasy points per game weeks 8-17 (RB3 pace). Improvement driven by Bengals defense becoming respectable after offseason spending, reducing shootout game script dependency. Even with modest regression from RB3 pace, projects as RB8-RB10 with requisite passing game usage and average rushing efficiency.

After averaging 21.2 fantasy points per game from week 8 through season end (RB3 pace), Brown is projected to regress slightly to RB8–RB10 range for the full season. With Joe Burrow on field, he averaged 19.4 fantasy points per game (RB6 range); without Burrow, 14.1 fantasy points per game (RB14 range). The gap is driven by touchdown variance (9 with Burrow, 2 without), but volume-based rushing efficiency should remain stable. Back-to-back seasons of 11 touchdowns support top-10 back floor even if Bengals defense improves.

Chase Brown's ADP is around 25, making him available in the third round; analysts are comfortable targeting him in round two, viewing the draft capital as justified.

Liz Loza ranks Christian McCaffrey as RB9 (sometimes RB10), citing the 370-touch rule and his 413-450 total touches last season. She applied the same logic that led her to downgrade Saquon Barkley last year (who finished RB12), arguing that running backs with heavy touch workloads rarely repeat production the following year. At 30 years old coming off his heaviest workload ever, McCaffrey's efficiency as a rusher declined last season, and historical data shows that of 15 running backs over two decades who cleared 300 carries in back-to-back seasons, only six reached 1,000 rushing yards the next year. Loza concludes: "there's too much risk at his ADP given the touch and the workload."

Field Yates makes the case for Christian McCaffrey as RB3 overall (and potentially RB1), emphasizing his durability (played all 17 games last year despite injury history), elite receiving production (on the shortlist for greatest receiving running back in NFL history), and the repeatable nature of his fantasy success. Yates notes Kyle Shanahan "has a Christian McCaffrey problem" and can't help himself deploying CMC, and the Niners offense is "banked up basically everywhere but him," ensuring consistent opportunity. Yates ranks him as the number three player on his overall board, not just at running back.

Ranked RB9, reflecting concerns about his role and production outlook. The speaker has stated concerns about McCaffrey but does not elaborate on specifics in this segment.

Christian McCaffrey received 0% of the vote in a listener poll comparing top-tier running backs, a notable absence from the elite conversation despite his historical pedigree, suggesting either market saturation at his ADP or recency concerns about his draft positioning.

Chuba Hubbard is the guy to begin the season; he does everything pretty well, not a lot of things off the charts good, but everything pretty well.

Colston Loveland is the preferred pick over Roma Dune Day and Luther Burden III when asked which Bears pass-catcher to take; both analysts would go with Colston Loveland if taking a pass-catcher from the Bears.

Ranked RB7 by speaker but sees him sliding to RB11 in other analysts' rankings; speaker is more optimistic, viewing Henry as a low-end RB1 or high-end RB2 target. Believes Ravens are rejuvenated and Henry is an outlier among running backs—built differently than almost any back of this era—who can maintain elite production with huge workloads year over year. Prefers acquiring Henry after taking two wide receivers or one wide receiver early.

Ranked as low-end RB1 due to durability and age concerns entering his age 32 season in 2025. Despite 325 carries and 19 receptions in 2024 with over 5 yards per carry efficiency, the speaker notes age is a risk factor and sooner or later a fall-off will occur; Henry is an outlier anomaly in fantasy football history, but the asterisk remains. Prefers acquiring him as high-end RB2 rather than first-round pick.

Derrick Henry is ranked number seven in Field Yates' running back tiers. The source notes that the order within the tier is probably more interesting than the tier classification itself, suggesting Henry's ranking relative to other backs in the tier warrants discussion, though specific reasoning is not provided in the excerpt.

Isaiah Pacheco will play the David Montgomery role in the Lions offense; while he will not have standalone value as a running back in this offense, if Jameer Gibbs is not there, he would take over that Montgomery role who saw 15, 12, and 8 touchdowns. If anything happened to Jameer Gibbs in the number two offense in the NFL, Pacheco should be talked about as a more valuable insurance running back than currently ranked.

Daniel is very much in on Jadarian Price, ranking him as a legitimate running back two (RB19 overall). With the Seahawks being the third run-heaviest team in the NFL last year and having the fourth most goal-line opportunities, Price is in a great spot with Zach Charbonnet's uncertain return timeline. The Seahawks' offense is built around the run game with Sam Darnold at quarterback, and Price has the opportunity to establish himself early against bottom-10 run defenses (Cardinals and Commanders in weeks 2-3) before Charbonnet returns. Daniel calls Price his favorite running back in this tier because he has the best chance to reach RB1 possibilities based on his clear role and the offense's scheme.

The source has two hesitations about Jadarian Price's ranking: (1) he had only six catches during his last season at Notre Dame while sharing time with Jeremiah Love, raising questions about his receiving ability; (2) while the Seahawks system is similar to Notre Dame's, the new play caller Brian Fleury (hired from the 49ers as their tight ends coach) is an unknown quantity, creating uncertainty about offensive execution.

Jadarian Price is worth the hype in Seattle to a point; analysts plan to discuss an important stat that may reveal disagreement on his ceiling or role.

Field Yates ranks James Cook as RB6 in his tier-two grouping of "Rockstar RB ones" deserving first-round or near-first-round consideration.

Ranked RB3, positioned as an obvious positive candidate. Cook is viewed as a breakout or upside play compared to other top-tier running backs, with the speaker noting he is RB6 in their own rankings but acknowledging Cook's elevated ranking as a strong call.

Ranked between RB3 and RB6 across analysts; described as a really good player who plays behind a lead offensive line that will support a ton of points.

Javante Williams is ranked as RB15 in tier four (darn good RB2s), positioned just ahead of Brees Hall at RB16; Apple Pay. Apply prefers Williams over Hall due to superior offensive infrastructure—Denver's elite offense versus the Jets' dismal unit—and better touchdown upside, though the two are very close in value and could easily be reversed.

Javante Williams has limited receiving upside compared to Brees Hall, a key differentiator in the close comparison between the two running backs; while Williams secured a contract extension signaling organizational commitment, his pass-game role is less developed than Hall's, which factors into the split decision between the two tier-four backs.

Gets a slight ranking bump over Breece Hall due to the Jets' likelihood of blowing out opponents and running out the clock late in games, which reduces passing work and increases rushing opportunity; positioned just above Hall in tier rankings.

If Jeremiah Love had been drafted at number five in the draft, he might have been selected by the New York Giants; the Giants' offense, if Malik Neighbors is healthy, should give him even more opportunities to find the end zone.

Jeremiah Love is included in Field Yates' tier three of running backs classified as RB1s, positioned among Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, Ashton Jettey, and Omarion Hampton. The tier represents backs with top-eight upside, though the specific order and ranking rationale for Love within this tier is not detailed in the excerpt.

Identified as a sneaky off-season winner; if drafted at pick five, would likely land with the New York Giants, positioning him in an offense with potential upside; represents a breakout candidate in the right landing spot.

Jonathan Taylor signed a two-year, $44 million extension with the Colts, removing contract uncertainty heading into the season. Field Yates notes this eliminates the risk of Taylor holding out or sitting out if injured, which had been a minor concern before the deal was finalized. The extension provides peace of mind for drafters but does not change the fundamental talent evaluation.

Liz Loza expresses concern about Jonathan Taylor's workload sustainability after he touched the ball 369 times last season (just one touch shy of the 370-touch rule threshold). She analyzed two decades of NFL data and found only 15 running backs have cleared 300 carries in back-to-back seasons; of those 15, only six reached 1,000 rushing yards the following year, and only four played every game. Taylor's production is heavily dependent on Daniel Jones: he averaged nearly 25 fantasy points per game with Jones under center versus less than 13 without him, creating significant downside risk if Jones misses time.

Historical precedent suggests workload concerns: of 13 running backs with 370+ touches in a season, only four (LT, Chris Johnson, Michael Turner, Marshawn Lynch) played every game the next season. Taylor touched the ball 369 times last season, just one touch shy of the 370 threshold, raising durability questions despite recent contract extension.

Significant efficiency drop when Daniel Jones is off the field: Taylor averaged nearly 25 fantasy points per game with Jones under center versus less than 13 points per game without him. With Jones recovering from an Achilles injury, there are concerns about his ability to handle the expected volume efficiently despite remaining the offensive centerpiece.

Ranked fourth among running backs despite workload concerns. The speaker acknowledges Taylor will be the offensive centerpiece with guaranteed volume, but expresses worry about his ability to handle that volume efficiently given the historical durability data and quarterback health context.

Jonathan Brooks is in the category of guys that could leapfrog the starter; however, Apple Pay. Apply is a Chuba Hubbard believer that he is the guy to begin the season.

Jordan Mason is in tier eight, a valuable holds tier; these are 16-team bye-week players in some cases coming off boards around the 14th-15th round in terms of ADP.

Josh Jacobs is included in Field Yates' tier three of running backs classified as RB1s, positioned among names like Saquon Barkley, Ashton Jettey, Omarion Hampton, and Jeremiah Love. The tier represents backs with top-eight upside, though the specific order and ranking rationale for Jacobs within this tier is not detailed in the excerpt.

Justice Hill is in tier nine, a hold tier for just-in-case scenarios.

Keaton Mitchell is in tier eight, a valuable holds tier; these are 16-team bye-week players in some cases coming off boards around the 14th-15th round in terms of ADP. Apple Pay. Apply's Keaton Mitchell point is less about the standalone value anticipated for Mitchell, more about how he thinks Mitchell is enough of a thing that he is lower on Amari and Hampton.

Field Yates ranks Kenneth Walker III as RB9 overall and expresses optimism about his outlook. Yates previously discussed Walker on Monday's show and revisits his positive outlook on the running back.

Kyron Williams is ranked as RB17 in tier four (darn good RB2s), positioned alongside other mid-tier running back options in the tier-four tier.

Luther Burden III is ranked behind Roma Dune Day in wide receiver rankings; when asked which Bears wide receiver to take, Apple Pay. Apply chose Colston Loveland instead.

Rookie running back out of Arkansas expected to be a factor in the Broncos backfield, positioning him as a potential insurance or complementary option to Ashton Jeanty.

Omarion Hampton is included in Field Yates' tier three of running backs classified as RB1s, positioned among Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, Ashton Jettey, and Jeremiah Love. The tier represents backs with top-eight upside, though the specific order and ranking rationale for Hampton within this tier is not detailed in the excerpt.

Samaje Pirine is in tier nine, a hold tier for just-in-case scenarios.

Saquon Barkley is included in Field Yates' tier three of running backs classified as RB1s, positioned among Josh Jacobs, Ashton Jettey, Omarion Hampton, and Jeremiah Love. The tier represents backs with top-eight upside, though the specific order and ranking rationale for Barkley within this tier is not detailed in the excerpt.

Diggs joins the Commanders as the clear wide receiver two on the team, taking over a role vacated by departing receivers; Field Yates notes he's "owning that role rather than trying to be the wide receiver one" and is "in a great spot" with Jaden Daniels at quarterback. Last year with the Patriots, Diggs played 55% of snaps but finished ninth in total catches and 16th in receiving yards despite limited opportunity; the Commanders had only three receivers with 250+ receiving yards last season (Terry McLaurin, Debo Samuel, Zach Ertz), all now gone, creating significant target opportunity.

Travis Etienne is ranked as RB18 in tier four (darn good RB2s), positioned alongside other mid-tier running back options in the tier-four tier.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. is in tier eight, a valuable holds tier; these are 16-team bye-week players in some cases coming off boards around the 14th-15th round in terms of ADP.

Woody Marks is in tier nine, a hold tier for just-in-case scenarios.

Zach Charbonnet is in tier eight, a valuable holds tier; these are 16-team bye-week players in some cases coming off boards around the 14th-15th round in terms of ADP.