Best candidates to lead the league in rushing
By: Jake Rajala
The most underrated NFL position is undoubtedly running back. It shows with how much elite running backs get paid. With that said, the production with a running back can vary. The last time that a running back led the league in rushing in back to back seasons was Derrick Henry in 2019 and 2020. With that said, I’m going to project the Top-5 candidates to lead the league in rushing in 2025-2026.
Honorable Mention:
Ashton Jeanty
Ashton Jeanty is already one of the most gifted ball-carriers in the league. He is the slam-dunk favorite to win Offensive Rookie of The Year. He will certainly be leaned on heavily, as they want to control the game against the likes of Kansas City and Los Angeles Chargers. The case against him is that he may have to split a lot of carries with Raheem Mostert.
5. Alvin Kamara
Alvin Kamara is leaned on heavily in New Orleans, especially with Mark Ingram out of town. Kamara had 950 rushing yards, while missing three games last season. Not only is Kamara getting a bigger load, but his OL has heavily improved. The Saints drafted Kelvin Banks Jr, who will start at LT. They are also moving Trevor Penning from LT to LG.
4. Jahmyr Gibbs
Gibbs is one of the most explosive running backs in the game. He ran for 1,412 rushing yards last season, which was fifth in the league. He averaged 5.6 YPC. It can be somewhat challenging for Gibbs to unleash a 2k yard season with David Montgomery getting a load of carries. However, we’ve seen Derrick Henry unleash 2k yards while averaging 5.4 YPC.
3. Jonathan Taylor
Don’t close the door on JT just yet. Taylor will get more carries than nearly all RBs, as he has a shaky QB situation behind him. JT would have surpassed Bijan Robinson to be the third rushing leader, if he didn’t miss a few games. Taylor averaged 4.7 YPC and 1,431 yards last season.
2. Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley has had injury issues, as he’s never played a full season. It will also be a challenge to repeat a 2k yard season with the carries he’s gotten. Defenses will load the box and challenge them to pass the ball. With that said, Barkley is still a freak of nature who deserves to be on the cover of Madden. Of course, I have never seen a player jump over another player backward.
1. Derrick Henry
Derrick Henry ran for 2.8 YAC (yards after contact) last season, which was first in the league. He also had 42 broken tackles, which was also first in the league! Let’s not forget that Henry has also ran for 1,900+ yards twice in his career. I believe that Henry is in a better scheme with Lamar Jackson being a threat to run the ball than Barkley with Jalen Hurts.
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