NFL Playoffs Fantasy Running Back Rankings & Tiers: Christian McCaffrey Leads the Way

The fantasy regular season may be over, but with DFS and playoff leagues still in play, here’s a tiered breakdown of the top running backs to target — from elite options like Christian McCaffrey to high-risk dart throws.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) looks on during warmups before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The year-long fantasy football season is over, but we still have DFS and fantasy playoff leagues. We are going to break down the tiers of running backs for the playoffs.

Tier 1

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

James Cook, Buffalo Bills

This is the elite tier of running backs. The only concern here is that neither team is a lock to win in the first week of the playoffs. We love them for DFS as long as they are active, but in playoff leagues where you need players to advance as far as possible, it could get dicey. Still, these two backs are clearly above the rest of the pack and well worth the risk.   

Tier 2

Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) carries the ball as Arizona Cardinals safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (42) defends during the second half at SoFi Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

These are the backs who should get close to a bell-cow workload in the playoffs. There are some concerns about Jacobs' health and Williams losing touches to Blake Corum, but we are confident these guys will get the vast majority of the work as long as these teams are still playing. We would invest in these back in DFS because they'll be cheaper than the top two guys, but still come with a ton of upside.  

Tier 3

D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears

TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots

Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers

Woody Marks, Houston Texans

All of these backs are a slight step down from Tier 2, but not so far off. The issue is that they all have another back that could see a lot of touches in a near split-backfield. The only one of these guys that has bell-cow potential is Marks. Each one of these running backs is the top back in their committee.  

Tier 4

Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears

Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers

Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) rushes during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Bank of America Stadium. | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Most of these backs are the less attractive backs in a split backfield, even if only slightly, with the exception of Dowdle. That's not to say that they can't all have a huge game on any given week. Dowdle gets bumped down to this tier because we expect very little from the Panthers as a whole in the NFC Playoffs. These are players with whom you could strike gold in GPP tournaments.  

Tier 5

Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers

Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams

These two backs are worth mentioning, but should be viewed more as contrarian dart throws. While we have seen them give us some big games this season, and they do have the potential to find the end zone, they could also very well go out there and give you a complete dud. We wouldn't advise rolling with either of these backs, but they also aren't terrible options depending on the format of your competition.