Stashing a fantasy football roster with as many running backs as possible is never a bad strategy. Because of the high-injury rate at the position, it often takes a high investment in the position to win a championship.
Although that's generally the case in "best ball" formats as well, there's a higher emphasis of landing one of the top running backs with "best ball." In the format, league software automatically awards each team with the highest-scoring player at all the positions each week.
That makes it key to have a running back that's going to compete for the Offensive Player of the Year award.
With that in mind, let's take a look at what we project as the top three "best ball" running backs entering the league's 2025 OTAs:
Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
The experts at Fantasy Pros have the two running backs that appear later on our list ahead of Barkley for "best ball." Fantasy Pros also has Las Vegas Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty ahead of Barkley.
But it's hard to go wrong with the reigning 2,000-yard rusher. Barkley led the NFL with 2,005 rushing yards and scored 13 touchdowns in 2024. If not for sitting out in Week 18, Barkley could have broken Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record.
Barkley isn't likely to repeat his 2,000-yard rushing performance. His fantasy value also received bad news with the league's vote Wednesday to keep the "tush push" legal.
However, Barkley will remain the top runner in one of the league's most dynamic offenses. If he stays healthy again, another 350-plus touch and 2,000 yards-from-scrimmage season is very attainable.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
The 23-year-old has started just seven games in two NFL seasons, yet fantasy managers should hardly be disappointed with Gibbs.
As an encore to a stellar rookie season, Gibbs registered 1,412 rushing yards with a league-leading 16 rushing touchdowns in 2024. He also had 52 catches for 517 receiving yards and four receiving scores.
No one scored more than Gibbs' 20 total touchdowns. In 32 career NFL games, he's scored 31 times.
That knack for finding the end zone gives Gibbs an argument for the No. 1 spot on this list. So does Detroit's offense, which is coming off a third straight season finishing in the top five in yards and points. During 2024, the Lions offense was first in points and second in yards.
The big question for the Lions offense this fall is how it adapts without offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who left to become Chicago Bears head coach. Former Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton, who was on the Detroit coaching staff in 2022, will replace Johnson as OC.
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
The former No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft rounds out our top three "best ball" running backs.
During his first season in Zac Robinson's offensive system, Bijan Robinson fulfilled his potential, rushing for 1,456 yards and catching 61 passes for 431 yards. He also scored 15 touchdowns.
Bijan has now posted a pair of 1,450-plus yards-of-scrimmage seasons to begin his NFL career.
The Falcons have more uncertainty behind center this offseason with second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. set to start. But with Penix, there's the opportunity for a lot of upside, which could elevate the 23-year-old running back even further.
Robinson is a candidate to post 2,000 yards from scrimmage this season if he plays in every game, which he did as a rookie and last season.
There's the potential for more scoring too because he only had one receiving touchdown in 2024.
