Top 75 fantasy football PPR running backs for 2025

Training camp and preseason have been tied up into nice little bows and now it’s time for some real NFL football. And with real football comes a whole bunch of fake football, which is what you and I will play from the safety of our couches. For today’s endeavor, we’ll take a look at PPR running backs.

Going into drafts I want to decide where the value is in the first couple picks. That early in drafts, there isn’t a lot of value, but it’s there. This season, I see value early in running backs due to the amount of top wide receivers with first round upside. That often pushes me to wait on receiver so I can grab one of Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, or Saquon Barkley. If those three backs are gone, which they very well could be, I will start to consider a wide receiver over a back, but I’m still giving backs like Ashton Jeanty and Christian McCaffrey a hard look, reminding myself of all the receivers I like left on the board.

At this point, you’ll likely have gotten a running back if people went heavily into drafting wide receivers, but if running backs were coming off the board fast and you missed one of the Top 5 players, you should be set up well to take one of the top receivers at a discount. As it is with all drafts, how your league mates draft will help you find value.

Injuries to De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright have elevated Gordon’s importance, especially after he played well in preseason. Achane has a calf injury, which are notorious for lingering. We’ll see if he can play in Week 1, but if he can’t, Gordon could see a real chance to prove himself early.

We all know that Saquon Barkley is a stud, but we also know he has a tremendous amount of wear and tear on his body and is coming of a season where he touched the ball 482 times. He also saw a big boost in his stats due to huge running lanes blocked up by possibly the best offensive line in the league. All of that bodes well for Will Shipley, who would see a good percentage of the touches vacated by Barkley in case of injury.

The Vikings will start Aaron Jones at running back, but Mason is going to see work alongside him, while also being ready in case the elderly Jones misses time. He is who the Vikings hope takes over the lead back job, so if he can prove himself, he has room to gain work even if Jones stays healthy.