As point-per-reception fantasy football leagues have risen in popularity, so too has the public's general collective knowledge of the top-tier pass-catching running backs. However, the most dominant fantasy owners still have plenty of ways to separate themselves from the pack in their respective leagues. Our 2023 fantasy RB PPR rankings will prepare you for your draft, giving you a game plan when it comes to tiers, round-to-round values, sleepers and breakouts, regression candidates, high-upside rookies, the biggest busts, and more.
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Why are RBs so important in PPR leagues? Well, wide receiver points are fairly easy to come by. The drop in PPR contribution rate from top-tier WRs to, say, third-tier WRs is much less substantial than the drop in production from top-tier pass-catching RBs to third-tier RBs. Additionally, you can always find wideouts and tight ends on the waiver wire throughout the season. It usually takes an injury for a viable RB pickup to emerge.
If you’re not getting production from your RB, you’re probably going to have a tough time contending for your league’s fantasy title. If you're lucky enough to score the first or second pick of the draft, your squad will almost certainly contend for the playoffs unless you totally whiff the rest of the draft. Two of the top three most common players on 2022 fantasy championship teams were Christian McCaffrey (22.8 percent) and Austin Ekeler (22). And the three best PPR surprises of last year's RB crop could be found on at least 15 percent of championship squads: Nick Chubb (15.7), Saquon Barkley (15.6), and Josh Jacobs (15.5).
DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2023 Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Of course, stud standard-league players like Derrick Henry will always permeate the PPR world based solely on their dynamic contributions to their respective offenses. Henry enjoyed an absurd 349 carries last year, so the fact that he caught just 33 passes didn't matter. But for the most part, PPR competitors will want to target strong pass-catchers with a good chance of breaking out, like our 2022 sleepers Tony Pollard, Travis Etienne Jr., Kenneth Walker III, and Rhamondre Stevenson. Breakouts like Jacobs, who saw 340 carries and averaged 4.9 yards per attempt while also catching 53-of-64 targets, provide the best of both worlds.
2023 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Top 200 | S-Flex | IDP
Our top breakout happens to be a guy who broke out two seasons ago but experienced a sharp regression in 2022: Pittsburgh's Najee Harris. The Steelers were about as awful offensively as they could have been last year, and GM Omar Khan took notice. He hired Glenn Thomas as a special offensive assistant, which should lead to positive regression across the board in the Steel City. A passing-game guru, Thomas should get Harris back closer to the 94 targets he saw in his rookie year when he finished fourth among PPR RBs. That would be 41 more targets than the 53 he saw last season when he finished as PPR RB11. Harris has been going at the end of the fourth round in early mocks, but we would take him in the early third.
2023 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Top 200 | S-Flex | IDP
Another guy we love, provided he's healthy, is the Jets' Breece Hall. Sure, he's coming off a torn ACL and might not be able to start his 2023 campaign in Week 1, but Gang Green head coach Robert Saleh said he "looks fantastic," so we're all over the value we're getting with him at his ADP of 31. Hall averaged 5.8 yards per carry, enjoyed seven scampers of 20-plus yards, and maintained a whopping per-catch average of 11.5 yards. With Aaron Rodgers in New York, Hall could become the next Aaron Jones — or better.
2023 FANTASY SLEEPERS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Each Team
Kansas City's Isiah Pacheco should also be a tremendous value pick at his ADP of 85, and he's not even coming off an injury. In his severely underrated rookie season, Pacheco averaged 4.9 yards per carry and 10 yards per reception. Don't worry about Jerick McKinnon cutting into his workload — just draft both of them! According to our friends at FantasyPros, Pacheco and McKinnon werebothtop-21 half-PPR backs from Week 10 through Week 17 last season. With JuJu Smith-Schuster now in New England and soon-to-be 34-year-old Travis Kelce likely garnering a ton of double-teams, expect both backs to be PPR contributors from Week 1 on.
2023 AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR):
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Overall
Speaking of high-upside sleepers in explosive offenses, don't overlook James Cook in Buffalo. Now that Devin Singletary has headed for browner pastures in Houston, the second-year back should see the lion's share of backfield touches over former Patriot Damien Harris and veteran journeyman Latavius Murray. Cook quietly forced a 60-40 split with Singletary from Week 13 on last season, and he matched the veteran point-for-point as RB25 despite being on the short end of the committee. All said, Cook averaged 5.8 yards per carry (fifth-best among RBs) and ranked as PFF's No. 1 RB in breakaway run rate (44 percent). Cook also received a target on 27 percent of the routes he ran, a rate enjoyed by the likes of CMC and Alvin Kamara. You can try to wait until the seventh round to draft him, but we're targeting him much earlier.
2023 POSITION TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST
Once you get past pick No. 100, you've entered RB value territory. The Bears' Khalil Herbert and Commanders' Antonio Gibson are both PPR steals anywhere in the triple-digits, and rookies Zach Charbonnet (Seahawks) and De'Von Achane (Dolphins) shouldn't be too far behind them. However, we're not very enthused by the rookie foursome of Kendre Miller (Saints), Roschon Johnson (Bears),Tank Bigsby (Jaguars), or Tyjae Spears (Titans). There's too much talent ahead of them on their respective depth charts and too little standout talent separating them from the field in their general ADP ranges.
FANTASY DRAFT STRATEGY:
Snake | Auction | Best ball | Dynasty | IDP
We've got some veteran fades, too. Saquon Barkley is a guy that's tough to trust at his current, as the Giants have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL and he always seems to get hurt whenever we draft him early. We're also shying away from the Cardinals' James Conner and the Texans' Devin Singletary for similar reasons. And the only way we'll end up with the Rams' Cam Akers on a squad will be if we accidentally auto draft while refilling our beverage or warming up some nachos.
Keep an eye on preseason reports from beat writers and any big moves that affect teams' backfields, offensive lines, or even passing games. We'll be updating our rankings on the regular leading up to draft day, noting the many RB insights we receive throughout the summer. Our goal is to help you draft a winning team, so check back often for the latest player ranking movement and analysis.
Rankings based on full-point PPR scoring formats
