RB Rankings

Along with the rest of the Rams offense, Gurley thrived under new coach Sean McVay in 2017, leading the NFL in scrimmage yards (2,093) and touchdowns (19), scoring five more TDs than second-place Alvin Kamara despite sitting out a meaningless Week 17. In fact, Gurley's name was all over the leaderboards for running backs - first in goal-line carries, second in red-zone touches, fifth in runs of 15 yards or more and fifth in receptions, just to name a few categories. A physical specimen at 6-1, 227, he dominated defenders all over the field, as his sluggish form from the season before was replaced with the speed, explosiveness and elusiveness that were the hallmarks of his college days before he tore his ACL in November 2014. The Rams didn't rest on their laurels in the offseason, either. The team's offense could be even more dangerous after replacing Sammy Watkins with Brandin Cooks, and the Rams improved their depth along the offensive line in the draft. Defenses forced to choose between letting Jared Goff or Gurley beat them are likely to find there are no right answers, and there doesn't seem to be much that can slow Gurley down heading into 2018.

The second overall pick in the 2018 draft, Barkley follows in the footsteps of Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette as running backs deemed worthy of top-five selections in recent years. Barkley has the skills to live up to that billing, as his standout career at Penn State was punctuated by frequent highlight-reel performances. Barkley's speed - a 4.4 40 at the combine - and top-shelf elusiveness and agility make it extremely difficult for defenders once he finds open real estate. At 6-0, 233, Barkley is a load to bring down, and his strong lower body allows him to pick up plenty of yards after contact, though he struggled at times running between the tackles. He also worked hard to turn himself into a three-down back who can help as a receiver and a pass protector, something the Giants needed to prioritize given their aging quarterback and shaky offensive line. The team did remake its line in the offseason, signing Nate Solder and Patrick Omameh as free agents and using a second-round pick on guard Will Hernandez, so Barkley should be able to use his moves to avoid hits two yards past the line of scrimmage instead of two yards behind it. Expect him to see a big workload as the new centerpiece of the Giants offense.

While Elliott's six-game suspension cast a pall over not just his own season but the Cowboys' entire 2017 campaign, he managed to finish in the top 10 for carries, red-zone touches and TDs despite only playing 10 games. He lost a full yard off his rookie-year YPC and only managed seven runs of 15 yards or more, but his workload was unrivaled by anyone besides Le'Veon Bell, with Elliott taking 26.8 touches per game and rushing for 80 or more yards in all but one game. He's one of the few true bellcow backs in the modern NFL, coming off a season in which he was on the field for 85.5 percent of the Cowboys' offensive snaps in the games he played. While not a high-volume pass catcher along the lines of Bell or David Johnson, the third-year back has shown more than enough as a receiver and blocker to continue handling the majority of third downs. He runs with good power and doesn't lack for speed, but his biggest weapons are vision and patience, assets accentuated by the fearsome offensive line in front of him - a line that got reinforced in the draft with second-rounder Connor Williams. Assuming he doesn't run afoul of the commissioner's office again, Elliott heads into 2018 poised to challenge for another rushing title and seemingly a lock for double-digit TDs.

Playing a full 16-game schedule for the first time last year, Gordon unsurprisingly produced career highs nearly across the board, including 1,581 scrimmage yards. Even so, there remains something a bit disappointing about the 15th overall pick from the 2015 draft. While he's dangerous in the open field and has averaged six runs of 20 yards or more per season, Gordon's lack of vision and tendency to dance and improvise are problems compounded by a Chargers offensive line that has consistently been among the weaker units in the NFL during his tenure. Gordon misses more holes than he should, and as a result he's never produced even 4.0 YPC in a season, leaving him reliant on volume to stay productive. Fortunately, volume and red-zone opportunity aren't issues for him in offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt's scheme, and the Chargers finally seem to have enough talent to cobble together a decent offensive line. Gordon was a big part of the passing game in 2017, and his 31 carries inside the 5-yard line the last two seasons put him second to only LeGarrette Blount (34). With scatback Austin Ekeler and seventh-round pick Justin Jackson as depth behind him, Gordon once again finds himself in a favorable position to pile up touches.

A third-round pick out of Tennessee last year, Kamara joined the Saints with some uncertainty as to his eventual role. Unable to earn a full workload in college despite flashes of brilliance, he seemed stuck behind Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson on the depth chart, and there were concerns that the rookie wouldn't be able to stand up to an NFL pounding. One year later, those concerns have all been washed away in the flood of highlight-reel plays Kamara produced. He led running backs in receiving yards and also led the league in percentage of carries that went for at least 15 yards, with 11 such runs on 120 totes (9.2 percent). His presence prevented defenses from keying on Ingram, and the duo became the first RB teammates in history to both top 1,500 scrimmage yards in a season. Kamara displays excellent speed and elusiveness, but it's his change-of-direction skills and world-class acceleration that really set him apart. He can explode into and through even the smallest hole before it closes, and his ability to shift gears, change direction and rev back up in the open field routinely makes defenders look foolish. Ingram is suspended the first four games of the season, and while the Saints say they don't want to increase Kamara's workload too much, it's hard not to get excited for the possibility of what he could do with an additional 5-8 touches per game.