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Fantasy Football Rankings 2022: Running backs

yahoo sports fantasy staff
·2-min read

It is no surprise to most of us fantasy players that Jonathan Taylor is not only the top running back in our positional rankings, but he'll likely be the No. 1 pick in most drafts when it's actually time to build your teams.

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It's hard to argue with JT's case. Just when it looked like Derrick Henry was about to dominate yet again, he got hurt in the middle of the 2021 season and from that point forward, it became the Taylor show. The star runner ultimately finished with a whopping 2,171 total yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns.

Like I said: Hard to argue with, but one of our experts does disagree, preferring Christian McCaffrey as the top-ranked running back this season. Despite two injury-plagued seasons, CMC has settled in as the consensus No. 2 back following the Carolina Panthers trading for Baker Mayfield, with the hope that Mayfield's presence under center brings more stability to the offense.

How things play out after Taylor and McCaffrey are up for debate.

Who should be the No. 3 RB in 2022 fantasy drafts?

Is it the aforementioned Henry, all healed up and ready to throw earth-shattering stiff arms again? Maybe it's Dalvin Cook, the electrifying Vikings star who's a threat to score every time he touches the ball?

[2022 Fantasy Draft Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEFs | Ks]

Or, just maybe, Austin Ekeler, the Chargers' do-it-all runner, deserves that spot.

Austin Ekeler #30 of the Los Angeles Chargers is a fantasy star
Austin Ekeler's pass-catching sets him apart from other fantasy running backs. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Ekeler's case to be the No. 3 running back off the board is pretty strong. Like Taylor, Ekeler also scored 20 total touchdowns, but unlike Taylor, he scored eight times through the air. He put together 1,558 yards from scrimmage, 647 of which were via receptions — which is incredibly important to half-and-full-point PPR players.

Whether you think Ekeler is the best option after Taylor and McCaffrey or someone else, our fantasy analysts can help you make the right decision with their rankings below:

2022 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros