Consistency Rankings – Running Backs

This ranking considers running backs that started at least  10 games in 2021 with the exception of Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey who were included due to their prominence on fantasy teams. Fantasy points were derived using 1 point per 10 yards rushed or received, six-point touchdowns rushed and one point receptions.

See Also: Quarterbacks | Wide receivers | Tight ends

Running Backs	Consistency 15 Pts	Gms	15 Pts	25 Pts	100 yd	TD
Jonathan Taylor	76%	17	13	5	13	12
Najee Harris	76%	17	13	3	9	9
Austin Ekeler	75%	16	12	4	8	13
Alvin Kamara	69%	13	9	2	8	8
Derrick Henry	63%	8	5	4	6	4
Dalvin Cook	62%	13	8	1	8	5
Darrell Henderson	58%	12	7	0	2	6
Leonard Fournette	57%	14	8	2	5	6
Christian McCaffrey	57%	7	4	2	5	2
Elijah Mitchell	55%	11	6	1	5	6
D’Andre Swift	54%	13	7	1	6	7
James Conner	53%	15	8	3	3	11
Josh Jacobs	53%	15	8	0	3	8
Ezekiel Elliott	53%	17	9	2	4	8
Joe Mixon	50%	16	8	6	6	11
Antonio Gibson	50%	16	8	0	5	8
Nick Chubb	50%	14	7	2	6	7
Aaron Jones	47%	15	7	1	5	6
J.D. McKissic	45%	11	5	0	1	3
Cordarrelle Patterson	44%	16	7	2	5	7
James Robinson	43%	14	6	1	4	7
Damien Harris	40%	15	6	2	5	11
Clyde Edwards-Helaire	40%	10	4	0	2	5
Rashaad Penny	40%	10	4	3	4	4
David Montgomery	38%	13	5	1	4	5
Melvin Gordon III	38%	16	6	0	3	8
Devin Singletary	29%	17	5	1	2	6
Javonte Williams	29%	17	5	1	3	6
AJ Dillon	29%	17	5	1	1	5
Myles Gaskin	29%	17	5	1	0	5
Alexander Mattison	25%	16	4	1	3	4
Kenneth Gainwell	25%	16	4	0	0	6
Chase Edmonds	25%	12	3	1	3	2
D’Ernest Johnson	25%	12	3	0	3	3
Kenyan Drake	25%	12	3	0	1	2
Rhamondre Stevenson	25%	12	3	1	3	3
Miles Sanders	25%	12	3	0	3	0
Saquon Barkley	23%	13	3	1	2	3

There’s a lot to like about a rookie on a bad offense that tied for the most consistent fantasy play. Najee Harris rolled back the clock to when workhorse backs ruled and doesn’t seem likely to have the offense around him improve dramatically in 2022.

Notable too was Darrell Henderson as one of the more consistent contributors filling in for Cam Akers who should inherit that workload now that he is healthy again.

D’Andre Swift also managed 54% rate on games with 15+ fantasy points and should be in a position to improve for this season.

On the downside, Saquon Barkley’s mostly injured 2021 season was a fantasy disaster and his second year of disappointment. Chase Edmonds started the season as the No. 1 back in Arizona but only managed 25% of his games as productive and now joins a very crowded backfield in Miami.

The impact of the split backfield in Denver shows up with both Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams taking turns with notable fantasy production.

100 Yard Gms		Touchdown Gms		25 FF Pt Gms
Jonathan Taylor	13	Austin Ekeler	13	Joe Mixon	6
Najee Harris	9	Jonathan Taylor	12	Jonathan Taylor	5
Austin Ekeler	8	James Conner	11	Austin Ekeler	4
Alvin Kamara	8	Joe Mixon	11	Derrick Henry	4
Dalvin Cook	8	Damien Harris	11	Najee Harris	3
Derrick Henry	6	Najee Harris	9	James Conner	3
D’Andre Swift	6	Alvin Kamara	8	Rashaad Penny	3
Joe Mixon	6	Josh Jacobs	8
Nick Chubb	6	Ezekiel Elliott	8
		Antonio Gibson	8
		Melvin Gordon III	8

Austin Ekeler stayed healthy last season and ranked highly in any running back metric. Same for Joe Mixon coming off his career-best performance. Derrick Henry missed nine games and yet was still third-best with 25+ fantasy points in four different matchups. Despite the addition of an extra game on the schedule, there were only five backs with more than 1,000 rushing yards and Ezekiel Elliott snuck in with 1,002 yards.