We understand that the 2021 fantasy season ended just a short time ago, but it doesn’t hurt to look forward to next year, especially for those in dynasty or goalkeeper leagues. We know there are also people who only play in redesign leagues who are interested in the prospect of next year as a running back, and our Fantasy RB ranking from early 2022 will give you a sneak peek at that.
Christian McCaffrey has been the No. 1 RB (and No. 1 overall pick) in recent fantasy drafts, but after two seasons interrupted by injury, there’s a new face at the top and CMC is slipping pretty low. Of course, anyone ranked within the top five to eight spots can be the number one scorer when all is said and done, but injury history, past production, and future projections weigh down our pecking order.
McCaffrey is just one of many RBs coming off injury-filled seasons, so there will be plenty of risky options, but they all have a huge advantage. Cam Akers (Achilles), JK Dobbins (Knee) and Travis Etienne (Foot) combined for zero fantasy points through Week 17 thanks to preseason injuries, and we saw Derrick Henry, James Robinson, Alvin Kamara, Elijah Mitchell, D Andre Swift, Nick Chubb, Saquon Barkley, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Leonard Fournette and others miss significant parts of the fantasy season. We know this is the most fragile group in fantasy, but it is impossible to put together a strong group of RBs with little to no injury history.
Fournette and James Conner are scheduled to be free agents in 2022, so obviously their landing spots will affect their rankings. If they resign with Arizona and Tampa Bay, respectively, we’ll have a general idea of what to expect, so we’ll see what happens on that front.
While RB’s draft class of 2022 doesn’t look particularly strong yet, there will be some rookies landing in favorable spots, which will affect our ranking as well. For now, we’re including Breece Hall in our top 25, but Kenneth Walker, Isaiah Spiller and others could sneak in when preseason rolls around.
Fantasy RB Ranking Early 2022
Ratings are based on formats.
| Rank | Player |
| one | Jonathan Taylor, IND |
| two | Derrick Henry, TEN |
| 3 | Najee Harris, PIT |
| 4 | Austin Ekeler, ALC |
| 5 | Dalvin Cook. MIN. |
| 6 | Alvin Kamara, NO |
| 7 | Javonte Williams, DEN |
| 8 | Christian McCaffrey, Central African Republic |
| 9 | Joe Mixon, CIN |
| 10 | Nick Chubb, CLE |
| eleven | Cam Akers, L to R |
| 12 | Elijah Mitchell, SF |
| 13 | Antonio Gibson, was |
| 14 | D’André Swift, DET |
| fifteen | JK Dobbins, LLB |
| sixteen | Ezequiel Elliott, DAL |
| 17 | Leonard Fournette, FA |
| 18 | Saquon Barkley, New York |
| 19 | Josh Jacobs, LV |
| twenty | Michael Carter, NYJ |
| twenty-one | David Montgomery, CHI |
| 22 | Aaron Jones, UK |
| 23 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC |
| 24 | Breece Hall, Rookie |
| 25 | Travis Etienne, JAX |